I'm not very clever, but I've been thinking about racism lately and what it actually is.
I think a lot of what gets called racism these days is actually just caution and wariness. If you were forced to take in a random homeless guy off the street, you would be wary of him, right? We're very tribal in the way we think. This guy off the street isn't a member of your immediate family – he's not a part of your group – and so you're suspicious of him, and his intentions, and the effect he could have on your group. Ultimately, you worry about all this because your primitive brain is concerned for your survival. This homeless guy is unproven, so you don't trust him. He could pose a threat to your group and your structure and thus your own life. It's a normal fear. You wouldn't call this hoboism, though, would you?
Over time, if he started to demonstrate his worth, and integrate into your family, and do his fair share of the work, and uphold your values, you might come to regard him as one of you. He would be an honorary member of your family. This works the same way with minorities and with people from other cultures. A lot of people who get branded racist aren't actually racist – they're just wary until the outsiders have proven themselves, but fully willing to accept them when they have.
Where real, proper, true racism comes into play is when a person refuses to accept the outsider because of their skin colour or whatever even though they have taken all reasonable steps to integrate into your society. By which I mean they're not trying to make your society like their own, and they're not segregating themselves into their own cliques or sub-groups, and they're not afraid to fly your flag and express patriotism. When a person from another culture has done all of this, but someone still rejects them because of their race, that is what I would call actual racism.
I don't really have a point to make here. Just trying to see how other people define it.