<p>Oh, I dont know if they are being hypocritical. Affirmative Action is a real pickle of an issue. There are legitimate points on both sides of it that could easily attract ones support at varying times in ones life. I support Affirmative Action, but even I can see why it ought not exist. And if I can ever see Thomas’s and Connerly’s point-of-view, and find their position more compelling than my own, I am gonna ditch my view as if it was last month’s trash.</p>
<p>I think guys like Thomas and Connerly have a valid role to play in the struggle over this issue. I want to win it, of course, but not at the expense of public consensus and reason. I think reason is on my side of the issue, though it seems to sit there so precariously I wonder if maybe I am just seeing things. People like Connerly and Thomas help keep people like me in check. They make me evaluate whether I really am seeing the truth. They also ensure our ideas and willingness to experiment dont get out of hand. I personally am glad we have extreme disagreement within the black community on this issue. I welcome it, and I applaud Thomas and Connerly, and others like them, for being such effective and worthy adversaries. Were they pushovers, having no genuine support for their views, I would question their integrity.</p>
<p>We blacks would experience a nice little surge forward if we would make one “small” change in the way we do things. I think we need to allow ourselves freedom to take positions that challenge the status quo. We have just GOT to get to this place. It is a healthy sign when blacks passionately and rationally argue against programs others commonly assume are helpful. It means these blacks are confident enough in the power of blacks in general, to rise unaided above our history. I think it also means these guys love what they think is good and true. You just gotta respect that. It could very well be that these people, who believe as they do so fervently that they are willing to incur the bitter rejection of most of their race, are right.</p>