You did say it.

> with slots going to the rich and privileged) [...] AA just pushes against THAT

It doesn't give away the slots reserved for the rich.

And it's not a tiebreaker between equally qualified candidates. At Harvard, Africans who performed in the 4th decile were admitted more often than Asians in the 10th decile. [1]

[1]. See page 11 (by document numbering). https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1199/169941/202...