Why is there a high sensitivity in the US to anything that might be racist?

Answer 1

Well, the US is now hypersensitive to talking about black people in general if you are not a black person, but blacks were heavily mistreated historically here, so white people sometimes feel like they owe something back, though most white people today are not racist.

However, race sensitivity isn't all that extreme at all if you are talking about smaller minorities. For instance, it's still politically correct to be racist against Arabs. The mere accusation in 2008 (a false one, by the way) that Obama was raised as a Muslim nearly caused 1/3 of the country to believe he should have been disqualified from being president.

It's also still politically correct to be racist against Asians, even after Japanese internment camps in WWII. But for African Americans, because of the bad history and the civil rights issues, that is one race that the white majority is extremely sensitive to talk bad about. Racism is definitely bad on all fronts, but in US's specific case, some sensitivities are much higher than others for various historical reasons.

Answer 2

Racism = Ignorance in any country!
It is offensive to make inferences, jokes, or derogatory comments based upon someones race In any country not just in the USA. But I guess you'd have to experience it to understand.