You claimed to not know how it works--then decided its not necessary. I was calling that out more than anything. And I then went on a rant about AA in general. But I need you to understand, you are positing the same argument as racist whites who USE that argument to HIDE their racism. You are not wrong in your feelings. Clarence Thomas agrees with you and his argument about it being insulting to Black folk to suggest they NEED HELP holds weight for me. But stances like his and yours ignore the fact that enrollment of high-achieving black students all of a sudden went up after AA. Its not like blacks had JUST STARTED to become high-achieving. And as racist as this country remains to be, we simply don't want to peel back any gains made thanks to AA. And why SHOULD WE TRUST them to do what's right? So to be honest...maybe this is a TRUST issue. Do POC trust this white government? SHOULD THEY? And it sounds like you and Judge Thomas are saying WE SHOULD.
Oh and context warning: you're speaking to someone who DOES NOT CARE if its discriminatory to give blacks a boost.
With all of my HS achievements (A average GPA, Yearbook editor, student government, and many other achievements)---looking back, if being black allowed Affirmative Action to give me a boost--good. But I had to hit my roommate with the facts--pure facts about my achievements and my GPA. I am smarter now, and I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder because I started college when I was 17. I was young and trying to prove myself to the world.
You know....a Jewish man is suing a black woman-owned venture capitalist fund because they give their grants to BW. He is calling them discriminatory. Meanwhile the company he founded is allied with dozens of Jewish and Hebrew speaking orgs that cater to Jewish people, investors and families. They just SAY they are open to all. And no one has a problem with Jewish people looking out for Jewish people. They title their funds as so as a way to discourage non-Hebrews or Jews from applying. Meanwhile, someone sees something helping black folk, and its a problem. They wanna join our safe spaces...like all the WW applying to be in "Black girls run." So with all of these conditions, I'm always gonna have a little smoke for people like this guy who suggests people looking out for Black people are problematic. That fund was started BY black women FOR black women because they rightly acknowledge that BW get <1% of the investment capital out there. I'm really not trying to hear anyone talk about we need a fair and level playing field when we play their game and they STILL exclude us intentionally. I'm not trying to hear it anymore. Cause it was never a fair game. Asking black folk to play fair is just their way of saying: "too many black folk doing good now." And that's literally what's going on in so many areas of life.
However--- know that I hear your assertions, and we need civil discourse. Being the one many disagree with is uncomfortable, but it contributes to the entire conversation and it needs to be heart----- and know that even if your voice shakes, I need you to always speak up. With all love and respect.