I have written, not favorably, about the columnist Leonard Pitts more than a few times, such as here, here, here, here, and here. But now he has written something I can completely endorse.
Writing critically of Rev. Wright, Pitts argues with great force:
If you condemn bigotry when it is turned against people like you, but tolerate it when people like you turn it against someone else, you forfeit all claim to the moral high ground. You are a hypocrite acting only from narrow self interest.
The appeal of this argument is not lessened (in fact, it might actually be enhanced) by the fact that Pitts himself obviously doesn’t really agree with it.
Go back and read all, or even some, of his views discussed in the links above and then ask yourself if you think he would agree with the following slightly amended version of his recent statement:
If you condemn preferential treatment based on skin color when it favors people not like you, but tolerate it when people like you benefit from it, you forfeit all claim to the moral high ground. You are a hypocrite acting only from narrow self interest.
I don’t think he would, either.
