I do remember the comment made, back then. It's a word in the dictionary, and because it has part of a word that is derogatory to black people, everybody jumped on the guy's back. I respect folks with a large vocabulary. Would I have used that particular word? No.
However, the same word is tossed around as a greeting, as a friendly saying by many black people. That, in and of itself, lessens the "slur" aspect of the word.
Then again, with the word for today in question (short for Japanese), it was a short word used as an invective during a time of high tension and anger (we were attacked and it was war). The word, while spoken with hatred, does not itself become a slur. The stereotypes mentioned (buckteeth, etc) are those used to describe the culture, sure, but mostly propoganda. Rather than see the word as a slur, folks ought to see it as a reflection of the hatred of Japanese at the time of 1941.
I know for a fact we're past that point. We incorporate parts of Japanese culture into our lives almost every day, and they do the same to ours. We clearly (as a culture) do not hate the Japanese, and as a culture they don't hate us.
I'm of the firm belief that the word itself isn't a slur. Saying "***" (starred out I bet) has no harm in it. Saying "*** go hom" would be very bad, but that's not the word, but the intolerance to people and the unjust indication that they are not allowed in [fill in the blank town].
Saying "*** go home" is like saying "brits go home". It's the rest of the phrase that holds the negative. It's the rest of the tone, the way its said, etc. The 3-letter word is not the culprit, the entire package is.
