I suspect a lot of people would be ok with

affirmative action if it really were just a gentle thumb on the scale for the the deserving second kid in your example, but I don't at all think that is how it is implemented. The reality is colleges would rather have a wealthy, highly resourced black kid with a 1250 SAT than a poor Asian kid with a 1500.

Also, I've been involved with some minority-focused recruitment programs at law schools, and on more than a few occasions I've been shocked at how poor the undergrad transcripts are for some kids at top 30 law schools.