"Racist" is the choice ad-hominem term of opprobrium directed at those who would have been attacked as "Commies" in the 1950s

"Racist" is the choice term of opprobrium for those who would have been attacked as "commies" in the 1950s, even if no one seems to really know or agree on what it means.

Witchcraft trials and Salem per se don't actually exist in this day and age.  But their spirit lives on in this 21st century.


Here is how the Oxford Dictionary of American English defines racism:

racism

Syllabification: rac·ism

Pronunciation: /ˈrāˌsizəm

NOUN

1The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES

1.1Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/racism

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In popular usage, the term is used to denigrate another person's views on race, whatever they may be, as long as they do conform to one's own views.  One can have a negative reaction, to behaviors and attitudes that are prevalent among members of another race--without believing that all or even most members display those traits, and not be a racist.  

Some people don't like Korean food.  Others don't like the sound of spoken German.  And still others have a loathing for classical music (e.g., Beethoven), while others may have a negative reaction towards a certain group because of statistically significant higher rates of violent crime (whatever the sociological cause)--the Swiss generally do not have a favorable opinion of Albanians or Gypsies because of this belief, which can be borne out by objective data.

One may not be attracted physically to African Americans   or drawn to their culture, without being racist or judging their value as being "less."   In fact, I have an interest in things African--especially East African (Ethiopian/Somalian/Eritrean) but not in the hybrid Afro-American culture that has sprung up on the American continents.

This is not especially subtle is usually lost on many.

In fact, the belief that all people, all races are equal may be behind the negative judgments held about another group, as no explanation based on innate racial characteristics can be ever used as a rationale for higher rates of juvenile delinquency (as to whether discrimination might account for it is another matter).

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Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic vice-presidential candidate, was soundly "condemned" by many Democrats in her own party for having stated that "Obama would never have won the primary if he had not been black."


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People usually don't require some sort of evidence that another person is "racist," which makes stating that another is racist so attractive a method of attack, when reasonableness and a coherent case cannot be made:  the label sticks usually once it is affixed.