You don't know anything about her... True, but you can't honestly believe that these women are 'shining examples of honesty and integrity' in their community, can you? I don't believe it for a minute. If they had any shred of honesty this incident wouldn't have headed to the courts.
I follow the old rules, if someone says something that pisses you off, tell them about it, then piss them off. Granted, I've come to blows with some people because if this practice, but that's as far as it got. No court room or sleezy lawyer needed.
I agree that the best way to deal with ignorance is to call the person on it right then and there.
If this flight attendant had a microphone, do you think the women could have felt humiliated in front of everyone?
Sometimes people may have integrity and file a lawsuit that may seem frivolous to others.
Perhaps the women have heard alot in their lifetime. Like walking thru a store and hearing someone say "yeah, you have to tie everything in the store down or those niggers will steal it." Or maybe they were getting ready to move into a new neighborhood and someone called the old owner and said "don't let those niggers move in here." Or maybe one of them got pulled over by the police in a nice suburb and asked "what are you doing in this neighborhood?"
Being subjected to remarks like this will cause you to assume the worst sometimes.
Perhaps this attendant never heard the rhyme with the word 'nigger' in it. But maybe she has. I really don't understand why she chose that rhyme myself. It doesn't fit the situation.