So you can only use decriptors if the intended audience knows you aren't racist? What svloid is saying is that you have to consider that the person that claims to be offended might be racist because they are offended by a word which was not used in a derogatory way. We have people like Jesse Jackson that make a living keeping people feeling like they are being kept down, even when they are not. Hypersensitivity prolongs the problem, taking offense when clearly none was intended discourages communication and understanding.