What is racism? It is discrimination based on race. A racist is one who discriminates based on race.
Is there anyone in this world who does not discriminate based on race? Certainly some people discriminate more than others. But almost ALL people discriminate, based on race, to some extent. You go through your life and you meet people who are of different races. Based on your experiences with these people, you form opinions about race. This is especially true in heterogeneous societies like the United Sates. I'm not sure about homogeneous societies (like Japan, China). These opinions extend to ALL members of that race, even people who you are meeting for the first time and know nothing about. It's just how the mind works, it wants to lump everything into categories.
Some people try really hard to not be racist (politicians) while others are overtly so (Rev. Jeremiah Wright). It's human nature to be racist - that's why it's such a big problem. Does anyone believe that a bunch of people got together one day and decided "Let's be racist!"?
I think on the racism contiuum, Japanophiles are towards the lower end. They tend to accept anything in the style of Japan. They are judging the creative work, not merely pre-judging based on the fact that it is Japanese. For example, "Animatrix" is american animation done in Japanese style, and I liked it for that style. It's just a preference. It isn't a "racial" preference.
As for the fanboys who say "The dub of [show name here] is not as good!!" Some dubs are genuinely bad. I think more often, people who are not Japanese do not realize how bad (or how good) the Japanese voice acting really is. When it's replaced with their native language, they suddenly realize how ridiculous it is, and don't like it anymore. This is not racism; it is simply ignorance. Fanboys who say genuinely good dubs are bad (ostensibly just because they're not in the original Japanese) are racist.
Expressing a preference for Japanese works by itself is not enough to call someone a racist. The reason for the preference must be "because it's Japanese." If someone says "I like the art style of [work]" and the work happens to have been created by a Japanese person or organization, that isn't enough to call them a racist. Is someone says "I like the art style of Japanese works" then they are a racist. The statement appears to pre-judge works based on the mere fact that they are Japanese. If someone says "I like the art style of Japanese charcoal bush paintings" they are not a racist, because "Japanese charcoal brush painting" is the name of the art style. It originated in Japan, but is practiced by artists throughout the world. The person is expressing their aesthetic preference- they're not racist.
Now I know I just called everyone here a racist, but can we please stop calling each other racists?
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<SIENNA> Dude
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