Can I also throw the following in to the mix.....
Going back many years (long before there was such a word as race-ism in the English language) when I was at school there was a guy there and although he was UK born and bread, both parents white true blood Scots his facial appearance has a slight resemblance to that of someone from Asian origins. His nickname, which he did not particularly like (indeed he hated it), was 'Chinky' Watson (his surname being Watson). As he resented that nickname because he felt he was being associated with looking like an Asian was he being racist?