You know, I did too! In fact, this summer when I joined a new softball team where one of the managers is black, we were sitting at a picnic table following our first game and I made a stupid racist remark about a black kid I saw throwing rocks off an I-94 overpass in Detroit.
A teammate next to me kicked me under the table and that's when I realized Don the manager was sitting at the other end of the table when I made the remark. I don't know if he heard me or not but I felt absolutely awful. The point I'm trying to make here is that I never once considered Don as being black.........he's just a guy I'm playing ball for.
You know, that's always been my attitude towards use of the "N" word. It does not apply to decent, regular folks, just to those who've earned the designation through their behavior.
Probably something I should lose, but the old dogs/new tricks thing applies.