NP "racist" Tolkien?

[jbor]

on 28/12/02 1:03 PM, Dave Monroe at davidmmonroe at yahoo.com wrote:

>> Is it at all conceivable to you that _TLOTR_ isn't
>> "racist", doesn't reproduce (inscribe, represent,
>> present ... whatever) "racisms".
> 
> Isn't "racist," does do the rest.  Not deliberately,
> not consciously, not "insiduously," but ...

And, perhaps, not at all.

That's all the argument is, that - knowing when it was written, who it was
written by, understanding what racism is etc etc - it's still possible to
read/receive the text as not "reproducing racisms", as not having been
written by someone who was consciously or unconsciously "reproducing
racisms". You simply can't or won't allow either possibility. Anyone who
doesn't see it your way is neurotic, or an idiot, or ignorant, or
uncritical, or hasn't given the case serious consideration. Sorry, I just
don't buy that.

As I said before, for whatever reason/s it's done, labelling something like
_TLOTR_ "racist" when it isn't actually distracts attention from, and makes
people sceptical of the identification of, those aspects of our various
world cultures which are racist, and which are potentially and actually
destructive.

best