That is a subject that upsets me a lot. I don’t believe in censoring things in context, when it is obvious the context is someone saying what a thing is, not actually “saying” it themselves.
If I hear that someone called someone else a ‘n_____’, and I talk about the incident, I don’t say, “Oh my god, he called that guy an n-word!” No, I say it full out. It’s stupid and dishonest to do otherwise.
Why? Why do you have to say the full word? Why is it dishonest to say “he called that guy an n-word”? Everyone knows what you mean by “n-wood”
It reminds me a lot of when Anthony Scaramucci was recorded saying that Steve Bannon sucks his own cock, and then in all the news reporting about it, the reporters tripped all over themselves to avoid saying the word ‘cock’, using all kinds of absurd euphemisms and unclear language so they wouldn’t have to actually repeat it. It was laughably stupid and pathetic to witness. Either repeat the full quote, or only make a reference to offensive language having been used; don’t do this idiotic dance of trying to have it both ways. Just make it clear what the context is, so the use of the word can’t be willfully misunderstood.
If you just say “he used offensive language”, it leaves things unclear. People may interpret that to mean he used a racial slur or something. “offensive language” can mean a whole lot of different things. Saying “he used an offensive word for the male anatomy” or something like that is much more precise. As for why not to say the word outright, there are times and where it is widely accepted that you do not curse or at least watch your language. There are times when kids could be watching. Some people when listening to the news, don’t want to hear the bad language like “cock”.
In case it isn’t already clear, I absolutely do not condone the use of the word ‘n_____’ in any context other than discussing its use by racists.
What about saying it when playing a racist character, in something like Roots?