Dr. Ben Carson deserves a “‘coon of the year’ award,” says a tweet from Anthea Butler, a University of Pennsylvania religious-studies professor and a frequent MSNBC guest. Butler’s revealing invective was in response to a tweet from Daily Beast editor-at-large Goldie Taylor. That tweet highlighted a Sports Illustrated article in which Carson championed Americans’ right to fly flags — including the Confederate flag — that other Americans see as a symbol of hate. The Urban Dictionary website defines “coon” as a “Insulting term for a black person.” The site treats the insult as similar to other words that are rarely...