The accepted answer reads, "In light of all this, the fuller answer is that because the term is recognisably ethnic, using kowtow instead of (say) grovel does c

The accepted answer reads, "In light of all this, the fuller answer is that because the term is recognisably ethnic, using kowtow instead of (say) grovel does carry some racist overtones, particularly when applied to someone interacting with a person of a different ethnicity."