Well...

I grew up in the pre-PC 1950s. I grew up calling Brazil nuts "n----r toes" and geodes "n----r heads". Never called any of our neighbors -- or anyone else -- that. They were "Mrs. [pronounced "Miz") Smith" or "Mister Drummond." In fact, I don't think I heard that word used pejoratively until I was well into high school, even by our neighbors who were people of color (like white, brown, yellow, and red). We'd trade various things, trying hard to "jew" the other guy down -- not that any of us knew anyone of the Jewish faith, just that that was the word in common usage. We also played the "French harp" (harmonica) and later, because some didn't use "French letters" they caught the "English disease". We might "n----r rig" or "jury rig" something, and we'd go to the store for German sausage, Irish potatoes, and English muffins. One of my friends had a "Japanned" cabinet in his house. Now I live out here in The West, where a nearby mountain, named by the Chinese fella who's buried on it "Chink Peak", is undergoing a name transformation to "Chinese Peak." "Squaw Valley" is up for grabs, as is a small stream named (on the map) "S--- Creek." Seems like lots of people get their Irish up over things these days, don't it?