Racism, fear of the different or unknown, is a human condition that sadly we are not all that much closer to eradicating.

In the USA, a place with such mixed-mutt-heritage, this fear seems out of place, but when you see how it has always been stoked by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and other hate mongers-- stretching back in our history, then contextually it becomes more clear. We don't take an active role in educating and bringing different people together and we pay the consequences born of manipulation of ignorance and fear combining to brew some dumb-ass meanness.

One of the obvious out comes of the "War on Terror" and the attacks of 9/11 has been the rise of racism against Muslims and people of Arabic decent. The obvious peddlers of these fears have been, on many occasions, shouted down. Even the former presidential candidate John McCain had his anti-Arab moment in the sun with his statement that Barack Obama is not an Arab... “No, ma’am, he’s a decent family man, citizen who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues." Because as we all know, Arab men cannot be decent family men.

As it always is with these things, the more obvious (shall we say Palin-esque) the racism, the easier it is to combat. Lately though I have been on the alert for and made queasy by the more hidden, insidious forms of racism. The are getting more and more strongly rooted in the visual and verbal discourse. Particularly racism against Muslims, Arabs, and Arab Americans. Just after 9/11 the rise in racism was obvious and therefore easier to fight, but it is getting dangerously embedded now, more subtle and more manipulative.

One of my internet stops, is to browse through "The day in pictures"on the WaPo site. It is not posted every day, but a few days a week. It's always an interesting view of the world. The format is a collection of pretty stunning photos taken all over the world on a certain day, by many of the top photo journalists in the AP, Reuters, and others from around the planet.

This week I was been struck by some pretty unsavory and extremely subtle racist subtexts.

First alert was an over-fascination with photos of the Muslim religious holiday Eid al-Adha, that involves the sacrifice of cows, sheep and goats. Whereas usually any given country event gets one or two photos max, the Wapo chose to run numerous photos of this religious observance... culminating in one graphic and totally out of context photo on the 9th of blood on a street with 3 school girls walking by. The effect of the photo is quite at odds with the text of the caption. And the whole series of photos seemed more focused on pointing out "Otherness" and the violence of sacrifice than a cultural understanding and celebration of a major religious group.

photo AP, Mohammed Muheisen

The long shadows, the blood near innocent girls... It looks like a shot after the events in Mumbai, or a bombing in Baghdad.

But this last set of photos really triggered my racism radar. The last two photos at the end of the slide show on the same day as the photo above, one after the other were an ugly piece of subliminal racism and racist commentary.

The first showed the Hajj in Mecca, photographed as a swirling mass of humanity, individual people distorted in movement by the shutter speed, unknown, strange, with the black tower in the middle...

AP photo, Assan Ammar

and the photo immediately following this one? A swirling teaming mass of Barracuda. Yes, Barracuda-- dangerous long toothed fish who we have written trashy horror movie plots about, circling in the same pattern and motion as the Muslims on pilgrimage in Mecca.

Reuters, David Loh

The subliminal effect of this is striking. The dehumanizing aspect of the comparison is both subtle and overt-- and the choice is certainly intentional.

I do not accuse the photographers of racism in any of these photos, but I question the choice and placement and running of the photos in the WaPo. They are not a part of a specific context of story or broader theme. They are chosen and placed to create a visceral reaction.

As we go through this transition and we move into the next game changing era in US and World relations we need to be on high alert for this kind of racist imagery, not just what people say but what they show. After all a picture is worth a thousand words and some of the most effective racist propaganda over the decades has been in the form of photos, manipulated images and illustration.