When to properly use the N word

Good book:

 

I used the word once in a story.
We were covering the public debate about changing the school's nickname from Redskins.
The village president told me, "I consider it equivalent of the word 'nigger.'"
So I quoted him. And used it. Seemed to make the point.

Unfortunately, for no reason I can think of, I capitalized the N.

 

That's an appropriate situation. I was at one paper where a former elected official was on trial for shooting a dude who he thought robbed him...A cop testified that the guy (who is black) said "I shot the wrong n-" when he was arrested. That's fine too. But I was at one paper where a guy was raising money to pay for a relative's funeral and they talked about how he was listening to a rap song with the lyrics "Damn, I can't get over how they did my n-" For some reason, that bothered me.