It was DC city govt. and the guy resigned quickly because there was such a firestorm from ignorant morons who don’t know that the word “niggardly” has absolutely no etymological connection with that “other” word .....
“I used the word ‘niggardly’ in reference to my administration of a fund,” Howard said in a written statement yesterday. “Although the word, which is defined as miserly, does not have any racial connotations, I realize that staff members present were offended by the word.
“I immediately apologized,” Howard said. “ . . . I would never think of making a racist remark. I regret that the word I did use offended anyone.”
When Howard, who is white, noticed the reaction to his use of the word, he apologized to his three-member staff, which is made up of two blacks and another white. It is unclear which two employees he was addressing when he used the word.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/jan99/district27.htm
Until people start standing up to these "victims" and their "feeelllings", it will get continually worse.
In the early 70's this junk was just getting a good start. Teaching 8th graders in middle school in TX, I called some boys down in the back of the room for being noisy(English class). They grumbled that I could not call them boys--it was insulting. I said it might be insulting to their fathers if I said "Hey you there, boy"..but it could not be insulting to them because they were boys, unless they were girls. I told them they would not correct my language and dictate what words would be correct for me to use. People need to do more of standing up against this mess of PC sewage flowing thru the ed. system.
vaudine