I look at culturally conditioned racism (learned behavior, VS instinctual racism) with a kind of wry sympathy.
The poor fools suffer TERRIBLY under the doublethink. I can't really help them though. Overcoming such conditioning is something only they can do. I wish them the best, and continue to spread awareness. The people with learned racism are often victims you see-- they have parents or authority figures that are in the "evil, willfully racist" category, poisoning their minds from a young age. It should be illegal, but part of having the virtues of freedom of speech and expression, is having the vices that go with it. The price is eternal vigillance.
Allecat:
The basic impulse is the same: "Not like self, shun". Skin color is arbitrary, as is gender, language, hair color, or even how big a nose is.
The underlying mechanism is what I am referring to here. It's basically the same mechanism that makes being uncomfortable around disabled people, or to ignore the homeless, or be sexist. The mechanism is "natural". It, however, is not "acceptable."
Since we seem to be discussing this from the lens of your own anectdotal experiences, instead of more openly as a general observation, let me ask you an enlightened question.
When you were playing "cooties tag", did you approach adults the same way you did other children?