*snicker* Had to share.

http://www.twolumps.net/d/20091104.html

Ary recently mentioned to me that a Russian friend of his refuses to read any of the Middle Earth books or watch the movies because she was told the orcs were based on the Russians (?!) and she feels Tolkien was racist. (Correct me if I have represented that wrong, Ary) In a similar vein, I have always felt that it was fairly obvious that the Haradrim and Southrons were based on Africans in general, whether intentional or not, and there is a slight vibe of "white people good, black people bad". I cannot deny that this is also racist, but I also know that Tolkien was from the generation of my great-grandparents, and that was how they were raised.

What are your thoughts, flist? Was Tolkien racist, and how does that colour your reading of the stories?