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Maybe we should all have a John Howard Griffin experience and then revisit this topic.
It may be that those looking from the outside can only apply an intellectualized analysis of the hurt, anger, degradation such words cause to the targeted groups. Then, on the other hand, outsiders may not understand the psychology of taking ownership of a pejorative term in order to lessen the meaning and denigration of a word.
Bottom line is that the original intent of the word was to designate a certain group of people, and by association remove them from the circle of humanity (it was easier to enslave someone who you didn't believe was human). It continued after slavery because people still wanted to believe that former slaves were still less than human, less American, so deserved less than equal treatment.
As a social experiment, the descendants of slaves/former slaves should start pasting confederate flags in their car windows and joining KKK organizations.
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it's gritty
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