Yet somehow we don't have editors replacing the word "cocksucker" with, say, "sexual performer". Non-US readers may not fully appreciate the stigma associated

Yet somehow we don't have editors replacing the word "cocksucker" with, say, "sexual performer". Non-US readers may not fully appreciate the stigma associated with the word "nigger". It has complex usage rules, incomparable to other racially derogatory words such as "goon" or "chink" (I don't think that anyone really uses "injun" anymore). I think Mark Bauerlein's comment is sport on, to a student in his class who got offended by the word he said: "Listen, you’re in college now, and that’s going to put pressure on you. In many courses you’ll have to face some awful facts of history, and to handle them well you can’t let them offend you so much."