I greatly admire Justice Thomas. I know what he means. I hope he is not as bitter as often portrayed. I have heard him laugh and he mixes well with law students and the groups he speaks to.
I guess I became highly disillusioned with so-called affirmative action when I learned that the Black student quotas were largely filled with Black student from affluent families, the type of families which have the sophistication to fill out all the forms, know where to get the forms, say the right things, etc. That really burned me when I considered the poor Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and anyone else who came from less privilege and caring who were still basically stuck in their caste, but these elitist schools got to feel good about themselves for helping the “downtrodden”. Makes you sick, and would equally make Dr. ML King Jr. sick because he envisioned a color-blind society.
Oh, and I meant to add that Thomas should have been admitted to Yale on his merits. He was an Honors grad of Holy Cross. But he never claims that he got in on his own. The interviewer will charge with with being an affirmative action admittee and he does not argue with then. Perhaps he knows that Yale would be all too happy to challenges him. Sad.