Using the term does not make you a racist. However, it does make you sound like a racist. Most people are measured in their words, particularly in an interview. Using a word that is generally considered racist makes you sound racist so most people would avoid using that word. That someone would use that word is reason to question their overall judgement.
To go back to an earlier example if I was attacked by a black man I would describe him to the police as a black man, not as a Ni**er because I don't think of him that way. To use a word in a traumatic situation may be understandable but it also indicates that that word is close to the surface anyways, and the trauma lowered the self-censor bar somewhat. That is troubling. That McCain, who has had many years to cogitate on the matter, used a highly derogatory term is scary. To say he only applies it to his captors means he knows and acknowledges its derogatory connotations, being against an entire race.
|