but keep in mind I was very young.
Not only did I grow up in a world that was far more racist than I realized, but I pretty much internalized those norms. Example: I had read Gone With The Wind several times, and it was only in my most recent re-reading, about 10 years ago, that I was struck and horrified by the racism in it. And I'd NEVER noticed it before.
Another example: Several years ago my science fiction book club in Kansas did two books one month, Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, and Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. The first was published in 1977, the second in 1959. They both have a fair amount or racism, especially to us now, all these years later. But the difference is, in my opinion, that the racism of Lucifer's Hammer is vicious, clearly says Black people are terrible, not worth anything, and can be destroyed. The racism in Alas, Babylon feels more benign. It's patronising, but never suggests Black people are less than human.
I had originally read both of them when they first came out, and I recall liking both of them a lot. It was the reading of the two of them together that made me see the racism.
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