^In the context you're talking about, those words may be acceptable, but they're NOT "just words." Would you call a black person a nigger if you didn't know him? No, you wouldn't, thus proving the point that they aren't just words. They're derrogatory descriptors developed out of prejudices (not stereotypes, big difference).
I have a problem with "minorities" (quotes because many ethnic groups, for example, Mexicans, are no longer a small fraction of the population, but rather make up a significant portion) claiming racism when it clearly isn't racism.
There are a variety of reasons for this behavior, one being over sensitivity (of course, I'm white so I probably don't have the racist experiences they've had--in short, I don't necessarily blame them). Many ethnic groups are taught through their experiences and through their upbringing (parenting) that white people (or other races) are out to get them. This creates a climate of oversensitivity, hence Apples' comments about a black person being offended for calling someone black.
Another aspect of this topic revolves around political correctness and the extremes to which it is being taken by politicians and other people in positions of reform. We're gradually working our way into a situation where just about anything can be seen as offensive. Some even bring deconstructionism into the picture here and attribute the rapidly increasing political correctness to the principles of deconstructionism.
It's a difficult situation to remedy because everyone is walking on egg shells, tip toeing around peoples' over sensitivity. The best way to go about it, that is if you car about NOT being racist, is to be respectful of others and their racial, emotional, and cultural baggage.
Racism breeds this hostility between cultures and ethnic groups.
[/b]SHAKE YOUR BLOOD
