Meanwhile, many low-income black and latino students dream of simply going to college at all, and even with affirmative action, have to face the reality that their dreams may not be plausible. The core of Fisher’s argument assumes that because she is white, she automatically deserves a spot at the University of Texas, even though she did not present herself as a competitive candidate for admissions. Fisher’s argument assumes that, somehow, people of color with grades equal to hers are less qualified by default. And white supremacy agrees with her.

This is what allows Fisher to get away with blaming her own shortcomings on the supposed “advantages” that people of color have. It’s why many minority students have probably heard the phrase, “You’re lucky you’re a minority. It’s so easy for you to get into college.” In order to uphold the notion that white is, by default, the superior race, white people will continue to avoid facing their own shortcomings by masquerading their inferiorities as oppressions and conflating their own agendas with progress. It’s really easy to get away with this when the people in power are also white and will claim “reverse racism” whenever affirmative action is mentioned, even though it’s not just a racial policy.

Truly, it’s no surprise that Fisher’s proposed solution is a “colorblind” entry process. Colorblindness has always been a very effective way for white people to pretend to be progressive and “non-racist” while conveniently ignoring the voices and unique challenges of people of color—black people especially. And the educational system is an especially cogent example of systemic racial prejudice in this country. Because while you could try using economic status as a blanket, you can’t pretend that poor white people face the same issues as poor blacks. Black people, in fact, are still trying to recover from a number of oppressive and discriminatory practices, including being legally barred from buying property in suburbs when they were first developed.

To this day, housing discrimination still exists in the form of blacks being shown fewer houses and charged higher interests rates—all in the interest of maintaining modern segregation. This of course means that black children are less likely to live near quality grade-school education, and we already know that minority schools are underfunded. But add in how frequently black schools are closed, often in favor of prisons, and you have a school-to-prison pipeline that simply does not exist for white children.

Some minority schools are legitimately failing to offer courses considered necessary for college admission, such as Chemistry and Algebra II. This suppression of minority education is the sort of systemic oppression that affirmative action policies try to account for, and until we live in a country in which everyone truly starts on an equal footing, we absolutely need race-based affirmative action to survive.

It’s clear that Fisher has been out of her lane for too long, but it’s time she started working her way back. Because she has repeatedly shown that she is a woman of privilege who neither knows a thing about discrimination, nor has the inclination to listen and learn, she’s continued to speak of an injustice that she has never faced. Ms. Fisher, if you ever do feel like having a grown-up conversation about racial discrimination and unfair advantage in America, we’ll be happy to offer you a seat at our table—just as soon as you turn in your five-page essay on the historical disadvantages suffered by white people, in an educational system built on the backs of those forced to attend “separate but equal” schools since their conception. We’ll wait.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.