Okay, I didn't realize it either. I see what you mean. I'd say it's less clar-cut and more pervasive, but I see what you mean.
this is the equivalent of a writer showing a character thinking and behaving in a racist way, and then responding to interviews on the story by saying, "It's not REALLY racism, it's just prejudice against other races." I'll repeat what I said upthread: if in the story, it's shown as wrong, then I'm not going to care a lot about how they choose to call it. I think it's cowardly, but the first thing is to think that it's wrong.