Racism in LOTR?

[The Ninth Valar]

I don't think there is any racism per se in the books, but simply a sort of "Western" view of things. In the West, the terrors either come from over the western waters (not really likely in old European days, though) or from the East/North: the Huns, the Goths, the Visigoths, the Mongols, the Persians, the Moors. These people came from the east or the north of major Western centers of activity (somewhat from both south and east in the case of the Moors).

Look at LotR: the Easterlings, a generic race of men invading from the mysterious east, from where the Huns, Persians and Mongols came. The Orcs (in the First Age) were marauders from the North, like the various -goths. With those from south of Umbar (Harad, correct?), they could simply be analogous to a Moorish type of invasion/enemy.

You may ask, "Why not make M-E centered on the Eastern shores, not the Western, therefore making the invaders western or European/American/Middle-Eastern?" Well, I look at it this way. Symbolically, you have the Children of Iluvatar coming from the East, from the lands of the rising sun, sort of a dawn country then, and where do they want to go? The West: the sun traverses the sky like a sign saying "go West." It's a place of fulfilment, signifying the end of the struggles of the day and an eternal rest. I don't think it would work the same having people on the Eastern Shores; you focus on the start of the day but give no thought to its progress or its end, and the rest that follows.

That was rambling and I don't think it accomplishes what I set out to say. Basically, in a western world, the enemies come from the east. In a world supposing to be an ancient Europe, why not follow the trends and have the enemies come from North and East? It makes sense. Then, as the ages past (and the north fell = germanic tribes were assimilated) the attacks still came from the east, but also from the south (Moors, if you want). I guess you could even say the Carthaginians were a southern invader of a western power, but since I consider that a war of equals with no right or wrong, I can't say who was necessarily invading or on the moral high ground, where we place the elves and three houses of loyal men.

In short, it's late.