> Would you contend that the offensiveness of racial slurs like the n-word is not a settled issue? John McWhorter would. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/30/opi

> Would you contend that the offensiveness of racial slurs like the n-word is not a settled issue? John McWhorter would. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/30/opinion/john-mcwhorter-n-word-unsayable.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/30/opinion/john-mcwhorter-n-... Or perhaps more pertinent to your question: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/11/opinion/use-mention.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/11/opinion/use-mention.html McWhorter thinks it's crazy that the word is such a profanity that even mentioning the word is taboo.