Racism and Tolkien.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

It is mentioned in the wikia that the upleasant appearance of the haradrim is based on european mongols.and also apparently the squint-eyed description of the evil men is an example of racism towards chines and japanese

Well that is a misreading. I have never heard it used that way and the oxford and websters dictionaries do not include it as a definition. Squint-eyed denotes having a squint or generally looking suspicious NOT having almond shaped eyes. There is, alas, a derogatory term for this (slitty eyed). Ignorance of language by third parties does not make Tolkien a rascist. I wonder if the Wikia author has read the letters where he says how sorry he is he cannot claim any Jewish origins or warns his son that he will be shocked by South Africa's divisions...

[tom the eldest]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Well that is a misreading. I have never heard it used that way and the oxford and websters dictionaries do not include it as a definition. Squint-eyed denotes having a squint or generally looking suspicious NOT having almond shaped eyes. There is, alas, a derogatory term for this (slitty eyed). Ignorance of language by third parties does not make Tolkien a rascist. I wonder if the Wikia author has read the letters where he says how sorry he is he cannot claim any Jewish origins or warns his son that he will be shocked by South Africa's divisions...

Yeah,the wikia is edited by lots of people right?so maybe yeah,they were written by people who havent read the letter

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

Yeah,the wikia is edited by lots of people right?so maybe yeah,they were written by people who havent read the letter

Is this the "Lord of the Rings Wiki"? In my view it's very untrustworthy, and mixes material from the books with ideas from the films, merchandise and a slew of other things that did not come from the mind of Professor Tolkien himself, along with a lot of fans making assumptions and reading into things and presenting them as fact. Tolkien Gateway is a lot more reliable in my opinion. As I said in another thread, the fact that "Lord of the Rings Wiki" forgets the "The" from the beginning of "The Lord of the Rings" says it all about how rigorous its approach is to information.

Originally Posted by Belegorn

I could care less if Tolkien was racist.

So you do care to a certain extent?