Comment 22 by Misfire :

@ Comment 19 by Red Dog

Agreed, same rules apply.

The article also touched on a point I wish were raised more often, the racism implicit in so much cultural relativism. Try telling your friends about a small district in, say, southern Germany, where since the Crusades innkeepers have been inviting guests to have sex with their daughters (or any other awful story you'd like to make up). Explain to your friends that it's quite beautiful how this culture has lasted for hundreds of years, and that apparently the women don't mind, as it's part of their culture.

I guarantee you: where the women are white, the it's-their-culture crap won't fly. Bring the skin reflectance value down to below 50 though, and suddenly all manner of enormities get the pass.

Racism is responsible for a lot of evils -- just today look at the horrible news about the young unarmed black kid in Florida who was gunned down by a white neighborhood watch leader with no consequences. But while I agree with your distinction, in this case I think its primarily not racism. If you look at the advocates for cultural relativism they usually come from the left. I think its primarily from people -- especially academics -- who are reacting to the racism and imperialism that were a major part of disciplines such as anthropology in the past. In reacting to those errors they over compensate to the other extreme and refuse to pass judgement on any society that is different from the west.