The insinuation, based on his article, that Josh Marshall couldn’t possibly think or say things he wouldn’t share is utterly ridiculous.

I saw no such insinuation. He wasn’t speaking in general terms, he was talking specifically about racism—white-on-black racism and its history.

I don’t like the n-word. I don’t use it, ever. No one who enters my home is allowed to use it, and if they did they’d be told to leave.

Does that imply that I never say other things in private that I’d rather not be made public? No, it does not.

This language stuff is always hard for me. Not really sure why this or that word bugs people so much. People are still going to think what they think and then it becomes a game of “don’t let someone catch you saying…”

So if someone who disliked your mom/sister/daughter/wife walked up to her and called her the c-word, you’d just shrug it off (and expect her to shrug it off)? Somehow I doubt it.

Everyone I know and have ever met says stuff they wouldn’t want to be caught saying in public. Every day, all the time. When someone finally messes up we all jump on em and say ‘Ah HA! I knew you were x,y,z”.

This is absurd. Do you talk the same way here as you when speaking with family members at home? What about at work or when applying for a job? What about when pulled over by the police? What about at a party with friends?

Of course we speak differently in different situations. Barring adults with medical/psychological conditions, young children are pretty much the only ones who don’t edit what comes out of their mouths (and even they will lie to stay out of trouble if they know something they did was socially unacceptable).

If we never censored ourselves there would likely be a lot more blood flowing in the streets every day than there already is.

Keep in mind that all of this ugliness came out in a videotaped deposition that was part of a discrimination suit filed by a former employee, so it’s NOT something Deen said in private that’s being used as some sort of “gotcha”. People shouldn’t have to put up with racism, sexism, etc. in the workplace.

I think it’s a dumb game and I hate playing it. You can’t say X but you can say Y that means exactly the same thing.

What word means exactly the same thing as n*****, with all of its history?

You can hate someone’s guts and every action you take validates that hate but if you say nice words then it’s all ok.

For example?