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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   21934 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 30, 2024

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Clarence Thomas is a perfect argument against affirmative action. He presents one with a dilemma, which either way proves that affirmative action is bad.

Is Clarence Thomas a brilliant jurist?

-- Yes. Then one should take his arguments against affirmative action, which are cogent and well argued, seriously and realize that affirmative action is bad.

-- No. That's why affirmative action is bad, it leads to the appointment of mediocre minds like Clarence Thomas to important positions.

Yes. Then one should take his arguments against affirmative action, which are cogent and well argued, seriously and realize that affirmative action is bad.

This argument doesn't follow. Even if one assumes that Thomas is a brilliant jurist, and we take his arguments seriously, that does not mean we will necessarily agree with his arguments. Brilliant people can be wrong too.

Ah, that makes more sense. I initially thought you meant he was an affirmative action appointment and was therefore the most persuasive example against affirmative action because he sucked. I didn’t pick up on the fact that you were establishing a dilemma.

Edit: On rereading, I think if you didn’t intend the message to be “Clarence Thomas sucks,” you rather muddied the waters by mentioning his name immediately after saying, “Nowhere can a black person rise farther with less talent than by claiming to be a Republican.”

Should have clarified by linking to Candace Owens and Mark Robinson but I was lazy at that point.

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