Words mean more to some than to others. Most Black people I know don't really care about the "n word". They really don't like to be called it, but they really don't make it a big deal. While usage of the word by a white person is considered racially insensitive, the singling out of one group from using a word can be considered a type of racism in itself.

IMO, racism doesn't seem to be going away because our political correctness won't allow it to.

Just for the record, if Sarah Palin had a black child, she would probably have reacted differently to Dr Laura's statements. Words are words just like plants are plants. It just depends on how the individual reacts to them. I haven't heard anything of this until now. I would expect if it was a big deal, there would be enormous outcry from the black community. Had VP Joe Biden made similar comments or supported similar comments, I honestly wouldn't care either way.