the whole western word is racist. It had to be. Racism was the justification of empire. It was understood that the white people of western Europe were genetically superior to all other people. That justified conquest, killing, torture, slavery, everything. The most respectable people (in fact, particularly respectable people) were and are racist. Winston Churchill was a rabid racist. That's why he so strongly believed in empire. His history of the English Speaking Peoples is primarily a statement that white, English-speaking people are racially superior to all others. He didn't even try to hide his racism. It was normal for a person of his social status and time. And it's still there. If you ever meet a British colonial official - and I have met more than a few - even and official at the lowest level, they are unspeakably arrogant, dismissive, bullying.... When I was teaching in Hong Kong I met a good many journalists, western and Chinese. One of my students was a quite young brit who worked for The South China Morning Post. He had no journalistic talent that I could see - and no experience. But soon after his arrival, he was moved past some very competent Chinese reporters (who I also taught) to become an assistant editor. And, oh, he was an arrogant twit. My cousin's husband was similar, an arrogant Brit who exercised enormous power because he was a Brit and secretary to the governor of Hong Kong.
Canada, superficially, has less racism. But that's quite superficial. Blacks and others get less pay than whites with same education and jobs. Much of Nova Scotia is a sinkhhole of racism - particularly against blacks. Open racism was a powerful anti-jewish, anti-black, anti-chinese force in Montreal (and other cities) well into the 1960s and even later. When Martin Luther King tried to register for a room and a New Brunswick resort in 1960, he was refused on the grounds his presence might annoy white customers.
We still have a long way to go.
