lauracipolla

the thing with names being offensive is the intention, of course. to give you an example that you might find strange, in my country we use the name "Negro" to address people of dark (or just darker than white) skin, and sometimes not even connected to the person's color but just developed as a nickname for them. they're never offended, of course UNLESS you say it in a harsh tone (and generally followed by more words that indicate dislike or contempt). I know well because I was once married to a dark-skinned person. I'm sure you wouldn't be able to do the same in the States... (I really don't know about other countries...)