“I know plenty of people on the left call me an Uncle Tom. That really pisses me off, because it isn’t true. I felt the sting of racism every day growing up. I know what it’s like to come from nothing, and to deal with the sneers and the patronizing looks from white people who thought they were better than me. If you’ve had that experience–and you probably have–I understand it, and I feel for you.
But you need to know who your real enemies are. It’s not the racist cop who hassles you in your neighborhood, or the Nazi on TV, or Donald Trump. They’re relatively easy to deal with. The real enemies are the white liberal elites who tell you you’re a victim–that you’ll always be a victim–and that you can’t stand on your own two feet. They say they want to give you a hand. What they really want is to use you, and to keep you down.
My advice to you is simple: don’t ask for help from smug white liberals, and don’t accept any if offered. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re a victim. Be a man! Work hard, and be better than they are. Be successful on your own terms. Be a rugged individual, not just a tiny part of a perpetually downtrodden group crying for government protection. That’s the road to true independence. That’s the path to true equality.
You may think that it’s unfair that you have to start the race from behind. So what? Life is unfair. Good looking people make more money than ugly people. Tall people are more successful than short people. Sick people have tougher lives than healthy people. Left-handed people have more trouble getting through life than right-handed people. That’s just the way it is. You have to play the cards you’ve been dealt.
Martin did it. Malcolm did it. I did it. Even Barack Obama, totally misguided as he was, did it in his way. So can you. You don’t have to be a slave. Your life is in your own hands, not the government’s. Make the most of it.”
Based on his concurring opinion in the affirmative action case, I think this fairly depicts what he would say. When you think about it, he sounds like an existentialist: Jean-Paul Sartre for the 21st century. Are you convinced?