“Was it what they said or that white people said it?”
I think you nailed it.
Funny when we’re discussing this topic, we’re so damned politically correct (not referring to any person) and have to write “nig**r”. It’s almost childish, as we’re saying the same fuck*** thing! Or we can just say the “N” word, like we’ve never said the word before. Granted it’s rude, but when the story is about a word and we can’t quote the word, we’re as whacky as the left.