This is not meant to be racially offensive!?

There's a certain amount of that in white Australian culture as well, though perhaps not so much. I think it's more common among those with more money and comes from the British higher cles - i.e. dukes and whatnot felt the need to maintain their status as 'higher' than the other cles they had power over. I laugh to see it in today's society, because most of us are not leaders and have no need to feed our status by showing the world how together we are. Added to that, Western culture has moved on, and trying to prove we're not human doesn't gain us credibility anymore. As a white Aussie, I've been exposed to the attitude you speak of within my family and I don't subscribe to it as a way of life. It's self-destructive and stupid... though I don't recommend telling everyone your deep dark secrets and crying about it all the time, either!