Another thought-provoking and well-executed post but the problem that concerns me is that there is no distinction (in this article too) between racism and skin colour (or other different physical features).
Different race does not automatically equate to different skin colour and I think it would be much more useful in the fight against all forms of prejudice if we could get definitive data on the reasons behind peoples prejudices then we could find the formula for addressing the problem.
The other issue is a perception of acceptability from both sides of the argument, what is considered acceptable or unoffensive to one, is considered terribly offensive to another.
Behavioural intent also come into play thus making the whole issue even more complex and difficult to define.
of course, if every human stuck to the Humanist's ethics of reciprocity, the whole of humanity's relationship issues would be solved!
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You raise an interesting point about racism and skin colour. I believe racism is more likely to be based around culture than physical appearance or skin colour. Different cultures do things differently and have different practices and understanding about what is consider acceptable or unacceptable behaviour. It is quite easy for people to associate people of a particular race with a particular culture. It would be nice to collect reliable data on why people are racist. Unfortunately, the topic is taboo to even the most racist people that I doubt we could get honest responses.
I actually believe the opposite is true and the trigger is physical appearance. Example. If someone tells a joke mocking the French, its often considered funny and they are fair game. By definition though, it's racism but an 'acceptable' form of racism.
If the same joke was changed to involve someone who did not have white skin, and no mention of nationality or culture, its is quite rightly treated with disgust and considered as racism, even though by definition, its not.
We also need to examine how this would work in different countries to get a fuller picture and not throw personal geographic bias into the research!
This one would be a long discussion over many beers!
Best wishes :-)