Glad I missed that one
Kevin Drum raised the class vs. race based affirmative action question. Again. And Cobb's reaction is pretty much on point. However, since Kevin has been correct on racially charged topics often enough that I'm willing to let the occasional error slide, I'll say a bit more than that.
Affirmative action does not exist to correct any flaw in Black folks. It was created because at one point white folks didn't know how to hire Black folks (and, as became obvious later, other designated minorities), because white folks actively and passively, consciously and unconsciously, denied the racism in their behavior and judgments. Affirmative action was created to address the flaws in white people's practices.
Until white folks get over their racism entirely the reason for race-based affirmative action programs continue to be valid.
