[arcticbull]

In a some cases they had racism at their core - but that's a step removed.

They thought that the parents were (for whatever reason) incapable of raising their children appropriately and that the best way to properly raise the children was away from their homes, their cultures and their problems. They may even have thought their goals were noble and justified - as most folks tend to.

I cannot see a meaningful difference between taking kids away from their parents for racial reasons, for class reasons or really any other reason.

The issue isn't necessarily why they saw them as inferior, it's that they saw them as inferior.

> For example, teenagers routinely join the army, and spend time learning and training at what is essentially a boarding school.

This choice is made by the family and the individual. This is not the same thing. A meaningful harm vector is the removal of autonomy.