> where that really gets me irritated is that blacks can call other blacks that all day long, AND they can use derogatory words for whites (honkey, etc) (no, it doesn't offend me, I really don't care what you call me, but the doublestandard ticks me off) yet if a white guy says it to a black it's bad. Excuse me, but frankly words do not change meaning based on what color the guy who's saying it is. And anyone who thinks they do change meaning is every bit as racist as he claims others to be.

How about that somewhat-related anecdote awhile back: There was an official of some sort in the news who was basically pressured into resigning after he used the word "niggardly" in conversation with someone who happened to be black. All the experts agreed that the word was unrelated etymologically to the word it sounds like, but "important people" came out of the woodwork to show they cared and question whether a word should be taboo for just sounding too much like another taboo word.

Obviously not, I think, because I'm sure we could find that half the language can sound like something wrong. An example springs to mind: I gave a speech when running for school president and I called a former candidate "a dark and sanguine man." People who hadn't even bothered to look the word up first came to me angrily afterwards, assuming it had been a racial slur. I don't think the issue was even newsworthy. I also think the guy's boss (assuming he had one) should have talked him out of resigning.

gab"By the way, it means 'humorous'"by