You make a valid point — we don’t want to water down language or make false accusations.

Preservation of cultural heritage is a real concern for traditionalists and isn’t necessarily racist. Sometimes people get called racist for it unfairly. But sometimes it can be racist.

For example, of course Jews want to preserve their culture. However, if you’re a white orthodox Jew and you brought home a black orthodox Jew, would your parents be OK? I have noticed subtle racism among Jews where certain groups (German Jews in particular) are treated differently. Not that long ago I read about issues among African Jews who had moved to Israel.

I have seen this same dynamic work among Muslims. Theoretically they all follow Allah and are equal, but when you hang out in groups of Muslims there is a definite favoritism towards certain groups and others are consigned to the back of the bus.

It’s hard sometimes to differentiate between cultural and racial issues.

As another example, I had a friend in the deep South, a red headed Catholic, who told me he would never date anyone who wasn’t a white Southern Catholic. Was this racist? He showed no racism in any other part of his life that I could see. He WAS however, very traditional. He believed strongly in his cultural heritage and wanted to raise his children that way.

I’ve also encountered Italians, Germans, etc., who have the same viewpoint. People might call them racist when in fact, they really are trying to preserve their culture. A Catholic from a small town in Bavaria who objects to their child bringing home a Jew or a Hindu is likely focused on culture, not race— the tell is, they would also be upset if their child brought home a white atheist from Berlin. The Amish are like this. They are not OK with their children marrying outside the community, even if the prospective mate has the exact same genetic heritage. So for them, it really IS about the culture.

Yet sometimes culture is used to disguise racism. How many Southern Christian congregations are mixed-race? Yet the black church DOES have a unique culture different from the white church. But do people mix socially together after church? Can they all meet up for barbecue?

This is something that people have to examine in their own hearts by challenging their own assumptions — if they found someone who had the exact same culture but was of a different race…

With Indians, some sub-castes do have a very unique culture, so even though most of the caste system is, I believe, wrong-headed and based on prejudice that has caused long-standing damage to the lower castes, at the same time there are some groups for whom there might be real cultural reasons to stick to marrying within caste.

Thanks for your comment because it gave me an excuse to think more deeply about things like culture and race and where they intersect.