When I was a kid, Songwronger, there was a black family living a couple of houses down the street. Two boys and two girls. We used to play together. We were KIDS, for God's sake, and there were no racial slurs of any kind. One of the girls was going to college, and she used to stop in on her way home from school and she and my mother would have long chats.

"Negro" or "black" used to be a perfectly respectable—and respectful—words. Not racial slurs. I, for example, would be considered "Caucasian," or "white." I would not consider these terms to be slurs. In fact, until recently, these were terms used by academic anthropologists. "Nigger," on the other hand, has always been pejorative and offensive, and not just to black people.

And you will note, Songwronger, that I put these words in quotes.

The only times I feel it might be necessary to use such perfectly acceptable terms at all is for purposes of identification, such as, "Who is Mr. Doyle? He's the black man over there."

I see nothing wrong, or "racist" with this. The only hate speech here has been yours, Songwronger, and if you feel you've been offended and hurt, then that's your problem!

Yes, I have noted, as has anyone with eyes, that Mr. Obama is, indeed, black. I don't see that this should, in any way, affect his ability to fill the position of President of the United States. I AM aware, however, that there are many who feel that this is very important to them. And these people generally don't dare mention his racial heritage when they criticize his politics or performance in office, for fear that the real reason for their savage criticism will become all too obvious.

Don Firth