https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/02/biden-supreme-court-nominee-smear-campaign/621408/
Appeals to meritocracy in this context are not about merit; they are a means to diminish people whom these critics would see as undeserving no matter what they achieve. If the Republicans seeking to stoke resentment over this appointment can successfully turn the story of the first Black woman on the Supreme Court into another example of Black people getting free stuff they haven’t earned, they will be perfectly satisfied, even if she is confirmed. The important battles over the future of the Court have already taken place, and the right has already won them.
If the first Black woman appointed to the Court is qualified to be there then bully for her. Go right ahead. But if there are better qualified candidates who are skipped over because it's more important that Biden put a Black woman on the court instead of the best available person (who might be a Black or other minority man) then it's racism.
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