"Can't for the life of me imagine having friends who would use the term "nigger" in ANY circumstances."

Well there are some black people who like to use it from time to time, and I reckon I well might, if I was black, as a way of defying racists.

But that aside, in my experience the only people I've heard use the words, and a bit more commonly "darkie", have been old people who really aren't being racist in any intentional way. The real racists I've come across tend to use terms that look inoffensive, but in an offensive way, with a nod and a wink and a nudge.

The crucial thing is the intent behind the words, but that's a lot harder to deal with. "Paddy" and "Mick" can be used as an offensive way of talking about Irish people, but equally it can be used in a friendly, or purely neutral way. I don't think that I'd have any time for someone who wanted to stop us singing "Paddy works of the railway". If someone uses "Paddy" in an offensive way, I don't think the right way to deal with it really is to try to censor the language. Physical or verbal force is a better way, directed at the person, not at the language.

The only difference with "Nigger" is that, apart from the odd exception I gave above, it's not going to be used in a friendly or purely neutral way, so the physical or verbal force should come quicker.

And once the racism is done with - I read somewhere that by 2002 over 50 per cent of children born in California will be of "mixed parentage" (what other kind of parentage is there one might ask, but I take it that means "race"), so I can't see how it can really last for all that much longer in historical terms)- all the various words that are used to offend will cease to have that power. I say hopefully - but I think realistically, in the long run. I mean, I'm sure that Normans and Saxons used to be very offensive to each other.

But to come down to a rather frivolous question - how come "coon" ever took on this kind of meaning anyway? It makes as much sense as "squirrel" or "porcupine". Or "possum".