They do not disappear if they are too useful, Senator Byrd was not even badgered for using it a few years ago.
I’m a white guy from Oakland. During lunch time or after school (its been many yeras now) we’d all play basketball. To many black kids, the game was playfully called N-ball. I must have heard it called N-ball about a billion times in my lifetime. One day, I said, “You guys want to play N-Ball?”...or something to that effect. I got death stares and one dude said, “What do you mean by that?” It was almost like I was the guy who cut off Kunte Kintes foot (from Roots)...thats how much tension I stirred up. I tried to joke my way out of it but, it wasn’t funny to anyone and I learned my lesson that day.
My point is: If black people insist in using this word, it’s going to seep its way into the larger culture....including white culture. Thats how it works. Either the N-word is taboo for all of us or taboo for none of us. How can a woman be fired for using a word that is basically common in most inner cites?
I say it’s politically correct liberal madness. She apologized. Move on!!!
He was talking about “white niggers”, so that doesn’t count.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin030801.asp
And he did apologize.
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/04/byrd.slur/