AOG - "although the throwing of a banana skin has certain implications, it is hardly physically injurious."
That is true, but we are not judging the impact of words and actions on a sliding scale with their damage being graded by the level of injury they cause.
I have little to add to the balanced posts that have preceeded - all the books and stories mentioned were of their time, and the important cultural aspect is to ensure that when they are read, that the differences in cultural attitudes are clearly explained, along with the constant evolution of attitudes across the board.
I don't believe that John Barnes is suggesting, much less advocating the burning of books - i am not sure where that thought originated?
I do believe that fundamental differences in culture and lifestyle do breed fear ad hostility in ethnic groups, and a byproduct of that is passive, and indeed active racism.
The answer to this issue, as with so many issues in modern society is proper education of pre-school and primary school children, where appropriate attitudes can be taught - but as I have said ad infinitum on this site, that takes money which will never be provided while the government continues its ludicrous obsession with the entire nation paying for higher education.