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Of Races
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SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 3:33am

Post #1 of 120 (1146 views)
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     Of Races  

There was all this talk about whether Tolkien harbored racist sentiments, and that he somehow poured it into his writings. The critics are many, and they entertain their stance based on Tolkien's various Middle-Earth so called 'Races'. They argue, that since there are different Races in Tolkien's world, and that some are portrayed positively and some negatively, therefore its inevitable that he was racist and had feelings of resentment or hate towards some races and love towards other races that he favored.

The popular belief is that the existence of Races is the generator of hate and resentment, and that if different races didn't exist, then all will love each other, and hate will disappear. I disagree with this opinion.

From my personal experiences, I can say with complete confidence, that the existence of various different races within the Human Race, is not the reason for racism or hate. The main reason there is hate and mistrust between peoples is because of 'Difference'. And this is not exclusive to Race, but rather its an integral part of human nature, to dislike the 'different' and this resentment can be found plenty even within the same race, same people, and yes even within the same religion. The fact is that a group of people who are ethnically the same, with the same background, can possess within them, feelings of mistrust and animosity at the slightest of difference, it may be a cultural difference, it can be a geographical, political, economical, and monetary class difference, any difference. You don't really need much difference, One doesn't need to travel all the way to idea of Race, the slightest and faintest echoes of difference already create this division and separateness.

So I find this whole fascination with 'Racism' rather incomprehensible, when the truth is that hate, resentment and malevolence can be found within the same race of people, so this entire argument of 'racism' disappears into the air, for its a fantasy, a non existent nonsense, a non starter argument, a total absurdity.

People are not racist, they just have a difficulty accepting the different as an equal, they refuse to trust them, because they are scared of change, of the unexpected and the unknown.

So I personally don't see anything negative about Tolkien's creation of those Races, and it doesn't prove even to the slightest that he hated people because of their different 'Race'. He might of disliked some people because they were 'different' then him, but that is never exclusive only to race and to Tolkien, so he can't be singled out and attacked as a 'Racist', a word that has negative connotations.

I absolutely have no problem if Tolkien for example liked his own 'White Race' cause I know with absolute certainty that he hated many white people who were different then him, for not all white people are the same, then what does this make him?

The animus here again, is not race, cause if it was then every single white person should be loved by Tolkien unconditionally no matter what, even if they were the most evil people in the world, and I believe that Tolkien never felt that way, because non of us behave like that. We may love our own ethnicity, but we sure can hate some people within our specific ethnicity, and our common ethnicity can never cover up those bad apples that live among us.

The question that remains is how can humanity stop its pathetic dislike of the 'different' and begin to heal by trusting, and actually if not loving but at least liking each other, no matter what the difference is?

Tolkien treats this age old question with these following passages first by Elrond:

'Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction; none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Frodo.'

By having all try to solve a problem that is so great that it shrinks our differences is one way about it, the second way is by working in unison, together to try to resolve it, otherwise all will suffer the consequences, for if each race will think about what's good and beneficial for them alone, then all will lose, including that race.

Now Tolkien goes further with Aragorn stating:

'Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you *stand, Men of the West!*'


Under the threat of Mordor, we are all and I stress All Men Of the West, there are no differences, for the slightest of difference will be utilized by the enemy, and then all will lose.

And then the most vital of all statements:

This day does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace. Aragorn.

1. The exclusion of the resentment of the 'different'.
2. The triumph is shared by all.
3. The fall of One is the fall of All.
4. We can never rebuild this world as separate units but only Together.
5. We have to share this world together.

And peace is the result of the above 5 lessons from Aragorn's short but undeniably extremely valuable statement.

I'm no preacher or a politician…



(This post was edited by SaulComposer on Jun 11 2014, 3:37am)


Maciliel
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 3:39am

Post #2 of 120 (860 views)
Shortcut
     how can you know this? [In reply to]  

 
you state...

I absolutely have no problem if Tolkien for example liked his own 'White Race' cause I know with absolute certainty that he hated many white people who were different then him

forgive me, but i cannot fathom how you can say you know this. can you please reference a letter or an interview in which tolkien states he hated specific, white individuals?


cheers --

.


aka. fili orc-enshield
+++++++++++++++++++
the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel telpemairo


Cirashala
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 3:40am

Post #3 of 120 (841 views)
Shortcut
     Mods up! [In reply to]  

I applaud you- well said!

I cannot add anything to what you've already said, and for once we completely agree on something Wink

Excellent insights!

I've actually addressed this very thing in a fan fiction I'm writing for TH. I hate racism in and of itself- it's pointless, and stupid. People should be judged for the content of their hearts, not what is on the outside or what is "different". As you say, ALL races have their good apples and their bad apples, and it's unfair to judge based on what someone is rather than who they are Smile

Again, wonderful post! Cool



SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 3:43am

Post #4 of 120 (858 views)
Shortcut
     Google the letter [In reply to]  


In Reply To
you state...

I absolutely have no problem if Tolkien for example liked his own 'White Race' cause I know with absolute certainty that he hated many white people who were different then him

forgive me, but i cannot fathom how you can say you know this. can you please reference a letter or an interview in which tolkien states he hated specific, white individuals?


cheers --

.


Read his response in letter to the Nazis, and the words that he used to describe them, that's one example, just google it, its all over the web...

I'm no preacher or a politician…



Maciliel
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 3:52am

Post #5 of 120 (855 views)
Shortcut
     i believe you are referring to letter #30 [In reply to]  

 
i believe you are referring to letter #30 ("to rutten & loening verlag"), as numbered in humphries' "letters of j.r.r. tolkien."

while one may intuit from the letter that tolkien does not share the bigoted views of nazisim towards jews, nowhere in the letter does he state (or hint) that he hates individual white people.

unless you are referencing a different letter?

there's also a reference to nazis in letter #29, in which he refers to the nazi's "lunatic laws," but (again) nowhere in that letter does he specifically mention hating an individual white person (or persons).


cheers --

.


aka. fili orc-enshield
+++++++++++++++++++
the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel telpemairo

(This post was edited by Maciliel on Jun 11 2014, 3:53am)


Cirashala
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 3:53am

Post #6 of 120 (822 views)
Shortcut
     in his letters he mentions it [In reply to]  

Letter #29, in regards to a German translation of The Hobbit and the publishing firm wrote to ask if Tolkien was Aryan, to which he replies in a very polite British way of saying "Up yours!" Smile

Do I suffer this impertinence of the possession of a German name? Or do their lunatic laws require a certificate of Arisch origin of all persons from all countries?....Personally I should be inclined to refuse to give any vestatigung (although it happens that I can) and let a German translation go hanged. In any case, I should object strongly to any such declaration appearing in print. I do not regard the (probable) absence of all Jewish blood as necessarily honourable; and I have many Jewish friends and should regret giving any color to the notion that I subscribe to the holy pernicious and unscientific race-doctrine.

Writing to his publisher at this point (this letter is to his publisher):

You are primarily concerned and I cannot jeopardize the chance of German publication without your approval. So I submit two drafts of possible answers.

A second letter, #30, goes into more depth about his family's origin.

But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.

So yup Tolkien most definitely had issues with Nazi Germany, who were primarily white and Aryan supremacists and thus the same race as him, if not the same ethnicity Cool



SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 3:55am

Post #7 of 120 (838 views)
Shortcut
     Human Nature [In reply to]  


In Reply To
i believe you are referring to letter #30 ("to rutten & loening verlag"), as numbered in humphries' "letters of j.r.r. tolkien."

while one may intuit from the letter that tolkien does not share the bigoted views of nazisim towards jews, nowhere in the letter does he state (or hint) that he hates individual white people.

unless you are referencing a different letter?

there's also a reference to nazis in letter #29, in which he refers to the nazi's "lunatic laws," but (again) nowhere in that letter does he specifically mention hating an individual white person (or persons).


cheers --

.


I believe that Tolkien was human, and humans sometimes hate and sometimes love. No one loves all, and hates all.

I'm no preacher or a politician…



SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 3:56am

Post #8 of 120 (810 views)
Shortcut
     Glad you liked it [In reply to]  

Thanks, yes I don't believe its strong insight but just plain common sense...

Thanks Again

I'm no preacher or a politician…



Maciliel
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 3:57am

Post #9 of 120 (817 views)
Shortcut
     but that's not what the op was stating [In reply to]  

 
but that's not what the original poster (saulcomposer) stated, and not what i was referencing in his original post.

to refresh, this was the statement for which i asked a citation:

"I absolutely have no problem if Tolkien for example liked his own 'White Race' cause I know with absolute certainty that he hated many white people who were different then him
"



nowhere in letter #29 or #30 does tolkien mention hating any person.

it is clear he does not share the racist sentiments of nazism, but that is not the same thing as hating a person or persons.


cheers --

.


aka. fili orc-enshield
+++++++++++++++++++
the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel telpemairo


Cirashala
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 3:59am

Post #10 of 120 (824 views)
Shortcut
     Hitler [In reply to]  

He comments about Hitler in letter #81 to Chris Tolkien, as well as various white people who have Hitler-like characteristics. Is that enough of a hate an individual for you?

We knew Hitler was a vulgar and ignorant little cad, in addition to any other defects (or the source of them). But there seem to be many vulgar and ignorant little cads who don't speak German and who, given the same chance would show most of the other Hitlerian characteristics.

He may not have said hate specifically, but the use of the term vulgar and (a British person could help me here? I am not completely versed in British insults) cad would definitely indicate extreme disgust of an individual, I would think...



(This post was edited by Cirashala on Jun 11 2014, 4:01am)


SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 4:00am

Post #11 of 120 (815 views)
Shortcut
     So you're saying he never hated anyone? [In reply to]  


In Reply To
but that's not what the original poster (saulcomposer) stated, and not what i was referencing in his original post.

to refresh, this was the statement for which i asked a citation:

"I absolutely have no problem if Tolkien for example liked his own 'White Race' cause I know with absolute certainty that he hated many white people who were different then him
"



nowhere in letter #29 or #30 does tolkien mention hating any person.

it is clear he does not share the racist sentiments of nazism, but that is not the same thing as hating a person or persons.


cheers --

.


Do you think he was an angel or a human?

I'm no preacher or a politician…



Maciliel
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 4:00am

Post #12 of 120 (822 views)
Shortcut
     the sentence of yours i quoted [In reply to]  

 
the sentence of yours i quoted wasn't referring to human nature, but specifically the fact that you "knew" tolkien hated specific white people. when i asked you for a citation, you stated it was to be found in his letter responding to nazis. there are two of these letters, #29 and #30, and in neither of them does tolkien state he hates a specific person (of any race).

cheers --

.


aka. fili orc-enshield
+++++++++++++++++++
the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel telpemairo


Maciliel
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 4:04am

Post #13 of 120 (806 views)
Shortcut
     i have no idea [In reply to]  

 
i have no idea whether he hated anyone or not. many humans do have hatred for others, or some specific individuals, but not all. i have no idea whether tolkien did, and unless you can find some statement of his or something similar -- you don't "know" either.

you can speculate, of course.

and this has nothing to do with whether tolkien was an angel or a human.... but has everything to do with your statement that you (your words) know with absolute certainty that he hated many white people who were different then him.


cheers --

.


aka. fili orc-enshield
+++++++++++++++++++
the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel telpemairo


Elizabeth
Half-elven


Jun 11 2014, 4:04am

Post #14 of 120 (806 views)
Shortcut
     We cannot see into his heart, only what he chose to write. [In reply to]  

And no one has yet shown anything he has written about "hating" any individuals of any race.








SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 4:05am

Post #15 of 120 (816 views)
Shortcut
     You wanted something written [In reply to]  


In Reply To
the sentence of yours i quoted wasn't referring to human nature, but specifically the fact that you "knew" tolkien hated specific white people. when i asked you for a citation, you stated it was to be found in his letter responding to nazis. there are two of these letters, #29 and #30, and in neither of them does tolkien state he hates a specific person (of any race).

cheers --

.


And I provided, but still that was not good enough, well then I simply said that its human nature to hate just as it is to love. There is no doubt that Tolkien given the fact that he was human harbored feelings of hate, and yes even towards the bad apples of his own race...

I'm no preacher or a politician…



Elizabeth
Half-elven


Jun 11 2014, 4:07am

Post #16 of 120 (829 views)
Shortcut
     About that speech of Aragorn you quoted... [In reply to]  

...that is all Jackson, no Tolkien. The description of the Battle of the Morannon at the end of Book V does not include any speech at all from Aragorn.

For that matter, you speech attributed to Elrond is from the movie, too, and contains nothing by Tolkien.








(This post was edited by Elizabeth on Jun 11 2014, 4:13am)


SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 4:14am

Post #17 of 120 (818 views)
Shortcut
     True [In reply to]  

But it doesn't run oblique to the Spirit of the Tale, and I don't think Tolkien would have disagreed with it...

I'm no preacher or a politician…



Maciliel
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 4:21am

Post #18 of 120 (809 views)
Shortcut
     no, you did not provide [In reply to]  

 
no, you did not provide.

you pointed towards a letter in which tolkien expresses divergence from (and one may surmise, distaste towards) the racist ideas of nazism, but nowhere in either #29 or #30 does he state that he hates anyone.

just as your belief that you "know with absolute certainty that he hated many white people who were different then him" is not equivalent with actually knowing that tolkien hated some individual white people....

it is just as true that just because you state that you provided proof in these letters does not make the "proof" so.

interjecting your own beliefs into someone else's interview, letter, etc. does not make that person believe what you do or make that person conduct himself/herself in the way that you think they ought or have done.

i'm puzzled that you cannot observe yourself that in letters #29 and #30 there is no use of the word "hate" coupled with an individual, or any expression of the sort. you do veer from this specific to a sweeping generality (i refer to your specific sentence, and you respond by making a sweeping generality about human nature, which does not address the fallacy of your original statement).

but it appears that you are determined to inject your own beliefs into another's words, and i cannot prevent you from doing this. nor would i try, if this is your wish. i can, however, point out the logical fallacy of what you're attempting.

i'm afraid i don't have any more time at the moment to belabor the obvious. i do appreciate and agree with your sentiment that humans have problems with the differences of others, and from that many of our conflicts arise.

i must depart now to labor more on turin's stay in nargothrond.

you will likely hear from others on this thread who will (as elizabeth has) confirm that unless you can quote an interview or letter in which tolkien explicitly states that he hates an individual, you cannot possibly know this.


happily galloping far away ---

cheers --

.


aka. fili orc-enshield
+++++++++++++++++++
the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel telpemairo


SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 1:48pm

Post #19 of 120 (788 views)
Shortcut
     The letters are not needed [In reply to]  

You're not likely to find the word 'hate' in any letter knowing that these letters will be published one day. What is needed is connecting the dots and understanding what he insinuated, but said all this, even without the letters, lets say these letters never existed and Tolkien never wrote them. The idea that he never had feelings of hate towards anyone is robbing him of his humanity, cause normal functioning humans have both feelings of hate and love, this is called human nature, so unless you're ready to enlighten us with the suggestion that Tolkien was some kind of an angel, then you can't really say that he never hated any white people, or any people for that matter. There are always those people even within the same ethnic circle that raise contempt given they are the bad apples that tarnish the name of the given particular ethnicity and background.

I'm no preacher or a politician…



SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 2:29pm

Post #20 of 120 (784 views)
Shortcut
     You said it... [In reply to]  


In Reply To
He comments about Hitler in letter #81 to Chris Tolkien, as well as various white people who have Hitler-like characteristics. Is that enough of a hate an individual for you?

We knew Hitler was a vulgar and ignorant little cad, in addition to any other defects (or the source of them). But there seem to be many vulgar and ignorant little cads who don't speak German and who, given the same chance would show most of the other Hitlerian characteristics.

He may not have said hate specifically, but the use of the term vulgar and (a British person could help me here? I am not completely versed in British insults) cad would definitely indicate extreme disgust of an individual, I would think...



Very good point!

I'm no preacher or a politician…



Arannir
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 2:46pm

Post #21 of 120 (783 views)
Shortcut
     A lot of what you see is true... [In reply to]  

... though as it was said above some things sound a bit too certain and are mixed with quotes from the book.

But nevertheless, he has reacted - to nazism in particular - quite strongely to any racist accusations against his work. That makes me believe that even if he may have had attitudes towards race I would not sign today 100%, his opinions were soundly based on a deeply humanitarian and humanistic outlook on both the world and human-beings.

Also we have to remember that he started his works before the devilish race-nonsense by the nazis changed the way most people (especially in the Western hemisphere) approach the topic altogether. I guess after the experience of the Holocaust and WWII, the way he describes some characters and races may have - rather incidentally - reminded some people too much of the way the Nazi's defined "Aryans". They, however, forgot that Tolkien based his writing on a totally different viewpoint and historical context - plus, as I said before, a deeply humanistic (and Christian) basis.

That a conservative Oxford-Professor with a love for rural British lifestyle born in the 19th century (who may not have had real contact with people of different "colour" at all until he was quite old already) may not 100% sign what we today perceive as the "right way" to approach race issues, can very well be the case, of course.

I guess each and every one has to decide then how far one is willing to accept differences, may they root in the change of time, change of character or whatever else (although in the case of Tolkien the issue should be not that big... since there does not seem to be any sort of racist agenda behind the writings at all).

As a gay man I have to accept that many of the people I love to read and look up to when it comes to philosophy (especially political philosophy, which is a large part of my daily work), had very strong feelings against gay people and even more so things such as gay-marriage. It is a thin line than (sometimes) to judge what was a personal flaw and fault - and what the "force of circumstance".

But I have really digressed now... I guess most of us here agree on your fundamental verdict that we can rather safely assume that Tolkien was no racist and that his races in Middle-earth had no agenda behind them that was shaped by racist feelings.

"I am afraid it is only too likely to be true what you say about the critics and the public. I am dreading the publication for it will be impossible not to mind what is said. I have exposed my heart to be shot at." J.R.R. Tolkien

We all have our hearts and minds one way or another invested in these books and movies. So we all mind and should show the necessary respect.



Arannir
Valinor


Jun 11 2014, 2:52pm

Post #22 of 120 (778 views)
Shortcut
     Actually... [In reply to]  

... he shows much more sympathy for another people here than many other people back then who thought WWI and WWII and the rise of Nazism were deeply connected to some sort of "German" character (a certain Iron Lady felt so right up until 1990).

"I am afraid it is only too likely to be true what you say about the critics and the public. I am dreading the publication for it will be impossible not to mind what is said. I have exposed my heart to be shot at." J.R.R. Tolkien

We all have our hearts and minds one way or another invested in these books and movies. So we all mind and should show the necessary respect.



SaulComposer
Rohan


Jun 11 2014, 4:08pm

Post #23 of 120 (765 views)
Shortcut
     Just to clarify... [In reply to]  

There is a difference between having feelings of hate towards your own people who are slightly different then you, or the bad apples among them , this is a natural human condition, and having murderous designs while using racism as an excuse for murder. While the former is a natural human condition, some people even harbor hate towards their own family members, the latter is just criminal behavior which is deplorable and terrible.

Hitler for example murdered Jews who became Jews by choice, they were 100% ethnic aryans, but they had a different religion. Therefore he murdered them not because of race, but because of his wicked and evil heart and mind, and they could have been a million other things, and he still would have found 'reasons' other then race and ethnicity or religion to carry out his dark and vicious designs...

The criminals and tyrants of this world always justify their criminality by suggesting that they are doing some positive 'service' to their own race or humanity at large. That is the ramp they base their evil designs on to justify just about every evil under the sun. So Hitler did what he did cause he was an evil and terrible creature, sunk in darkness full of evil designs, and he didn't think twice of killing even his own people, those very few Germans who disagreed with his wickedness. So its not racism, its just evilness.

If you think about it from a racial point of view, the fascination of WWII Germany of anything racist was just an excuse to justify murder, for it really has no scientific value, and it's totally idiotic. Remember, that those Germans believed in the superiority of the German race because they were Aryan. So what is this Aryan thing? the source of this word is in Iran, one can notice the similarity between the word Iran and Aryan. So these Germans believed that they originated from Iran. Now you think about it? what is so virtuous about that? since when Iran in its history was famous for producing the most beautiful and perfect humans? this is nothing but a sham, and a total lie. Most Iranians have dark complexions and the so called 'pride' of the Germans in ww2 for having blue eyes and blonde hair can have no similarity with Iran. So what was this all about? its was categorical hogwash and nonsense. So ww2 Germany contradicted itself on multiple levels. On the one hand they were proud of been superior given their so called 'superior' physical attributes of blonde hair and blue eyes (which as of itself is an idiotic notion, cause not all Germans share the same physical attributes, some are dark, some are white, some have brown eyes and some have blue eyes, they're all different) and on the other, they connected themselves to an Oriental country located in Asia, that has absolutely no physical similarities, for finding an Iranian that has blonde hair and blue eyes would be difficult as finding a diamond in the sand, there are almost no such Iranians. So this whole race thing is pure baloney, and was invented by the Nazis in order to justify their crazy and demonic designs, so its not race, its just simple raw wickedness...

Note how Tolkien responded in his letter mocking the nazi so called race science, Tolkien was wise enough to understand that ww2 German really had lost it, and their so called science was a thing to mock and a total absurdity.

I'm no preacher or a politician…



(This post was edited by SaulComposer on Jun 11 2014, 4:15pm)


Elthir
Grey Havens

Jun 11 2014, 4:24pm

Post #24 of 120 (761 views)
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     side point [In reply to]  


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You're not likely to find the word 'hate' in any letter knowing that these letters will be published one day.



Side point: are you suggesting that Tolkien knew his letters would someday be [collected] and published?

If so [if that's what you meant], what is this based on?


squire
Half-elven


Jun 11 2014, 6:54pm

Post #25 of 120 (747 views)
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     I'm not sure I'm following this correctly. [In reply to]  

You seem to be claiming that racism, so called, does not and logically can not exist, for the reason that people also discriminate against and dislike or even hate people of their own race.

If I've put your views correctly, I will say I disagree. Racism may not be logical, as your analysis suggests, but it exists. Racists give a relatively larger or much larger 'benefit of the doubt' to strangers identified as being of similar race, than they do to strangers of apparently foreign race. There is about fifty million tons of literature and testimony over the past five centuries at least, that support the ideas that racism existed and still exists, and that racism is absolutely not just more hatred of the same kind found between individuals and groups who are of identical race.



squire online:
RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'.
Footeramas: The 3rd & 4th TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion and NOW the 1st BotR Discussion too! and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!"
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