Wk. 6 Ch. 8 Racism revisited

[Sparrow]

The theme of racism was introduced in Ch. 4 and discussed in Wk. 3:
tolkiensring.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=hobbit&action=display&thread=1090292468. We see this theme again in the elves reaction to the dwarves. How do prejudices and racial strive develop in Middle Earth? In our world? What, if anything, does truth have to do with these attitudes?

[Stormrider]

Was it racism or the need to be protective of their realm? Or was it anger from past troubles between the races from injustices done (real or imagined) on both sides?

And as Andorinha and I commented on another thread, shouldn't the Elves have been partoling their domain and have been aware of Dwarves traveling through their forest? In that case, they should have know that they had become lost, hungry, thirsty, and desparate. If that was the case, why wouldn't the Elves have been more giving toward the Dwarves knowing their plight? Would the need to be protective have given them the right to imprison interlopers even if they were in dire straights? Or were they considering all the past injustices between the two races and allowing that anger be the deciding factor?