What did he say? How are readers supposed to know what they can and cannot say if the reporter doesn't tell them what got the man in trouble? Did he say "nigger"? Note that I am not using the word "nigger" here. I am mentioning the word. I am talking about the word. The reporter could simply have said that the man in question used the word "nigger." That provides information to the readers. Here is how my New Oxford American Dictionary (3d ed., 2010) defines "nigger": "n. offensive a contemptuous term for a black or dark-skinned person." Are we reaching the point where dictionaries may not report the meanings of such words, lest certain readers be offended? What is offensive (objectionable) is not the word itself, but its use.
Language
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