Clarence Thomas today: "The Constitution does not pander to faddish theories about whether race mixing is in the public interest."
It's not just Scalia. Clarence Thomas also deigned to provide the public his "wisdom" on Brown v. Board of Education:
My view of the Constitution is the one advanced by the plaintiffs in Brown: “[N]o State has any authority under the equal-protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to use race as a factor in affording educational opportunities among its citizens.”... The Constitution does not pander to faddish theories about whether race mixing is in the public interest. The Equal Protection Clause strips States of all authority to use race as a factor in providing education. All applicants must be treated equally under the law, and no benefit in the eye of the beholder can justify racial discrimination.
Scalia and Thomas are just another expression of how much more conservative the rightist faction of government is than the rest of the country. Even among those who oppose affirmative action, few quibble with the fact that diversity and being exposed to those of different races and backgrounds are good things; most simply imagine there might be unstated alternative paths and don't want to see their own children's college application at risk. It's a softer form of racism and privilege protection. That's still a bad thing, but it's a step forward over the long arc of history.
But Scalia and Thomas are far beyond that. They're completely unreconstructed revanchists far to the right of public opinion. But then, that's par for the course for the hyperconservatives in D.C. who determine public policy for the rest of us.
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