Racism and Tolkien.

[Zigûr]

I think it's worth remembering that Professor Tolkien's work tends to portray racial prejudice as a source of wasteful conflict and a symptom of evil: Elves vs Dwarves (especially in the case of the Petty-Dwarves), Númenóreans vs "Lesser Men", Castamir vs Eldacar etc. While I agree that the portrayal of the Easterlings and the Haradrim for example may not necessarily be sensitive by today's standards I believe they are intentionally meant to convey a sense of Otherness in which we are encouraged to perceive how Sauron (and ultimately Morgoth) exploits superficial differences of nation and race to exacerbate conflict. Racial prejudice was a weapon of the Enemy in the same way that he was the Enemy of reason and clear thinking, denying his slaves the opportunity to think past fear and hate. Many people may have prejudices, but they also have minds with which they can think past them and perceive them as irrational; it's when they fail to do so (or are inhibited from doing so by some other power) that problems arise. I would also argue on a semantic level that having irrational prejudices does not necessarily make one "racist"; that would involve accepting that irrationality as somehow valid as opposed to rejecting it and reasoning past it. Personally I find Professor Tolkien's work to be very profound in its condemnation of racial prejudice.