Singing a folk song that conflicts with modern sensibilities in the context of accepting it was a norm at some time in the past is okay when we are talking about topics such as hunting where society may still be divided on the topic. Many people today are anti-hunting and I have heard the Young Coppers refer to being heckled for still singing hunting songs, but they are quite clear that these songs are part of the tradition they have inherited, though they acknowledge when introducing such songs that attitudes have moved on.

But racism in all its forms is a different matter as the stereotyping and dehumanising of certain ethnic groups has been propagated (historically and now in certain parts of the globe) in order to justify slavery, colonisation and genocide. Anything that puts forward these stereotypes in song, literature, or any other manifestation needs to be discussed and challenged as the stakes are so much higher.

We can't just sit in our little anachronistic bubble when it comes to racism, for all the reasons explored on other threads and leading to the fomration of Folk Against Fascism.