"Nigger" isn't banned, but in all honesty, do you really find a need to use the word? It's embarassing to see people dance around it by saying "n-word" or "n****r", so instead of jumping through hoops, why not stop fucking using it? But then, I also find "African American" to be just as infuriating, because it's like George Carlin said, "What if they're from Jamaica? Or Haiti?"

These euphemisms only serve to reinforce that there's still racial discrimination, and that rather than face it, people would rather dance around it by dressing it up in bows and pretty language which turns out equally offensive. "Retard" is only in similar trouble not because it's not descriptive, but because it's become a pejorative, or a slur. No one had problems with 'retard' until 'retard' became synonymous with 'I think I'm better than you, you fucking idiot!'

On that note, if you MUST draw attention to it, why not "disabled"? True, to the point, without being dressed up in an offensive paperdoll dress and yet still serious enough to be descriptive. They're handicapped, does it matter beyond that distinction? Only if you're an asshole or a doctor.

On a semi-related note, the word 'nigger' isn't outright banned, but A- it's not a good idea to use it if you're white at all (meaning I'm probably not even exempt, being half white) and B- when is it a good idea to use it anyway? Symbolically speaking, they held a 'funeral' for the word, but it hasn't stopped it's use.

I think the best thing to do is not to take it back (i.e. rappers using 'nigga' all the time) but to plain ignore it. Words have a lot of power, but only if you let them have that power.