It truly is a fascinating thought exercise that one word has that much power. There are way more offensive slurs out there. But I can honestly say, when I hear that word, I dont think of color. Just trashy piece of shit with no regard for the environment they exist in. It covers everybody. For the general public, the word has evolved to encompass everyone and anything. But some won't let it go. Like they insist on owning that particular slur.

Example: when we were kids, we had the corner store where we got the penny candy and comics and all that shit. When parents used to send their kids to go buy smokes for them. It was owned and operated by Indians. Parents always referred to the store a "swami's". A rare throwback slur indeed. But we did not know that. We called it the same thing. We loved that place and were in and out of there several times a day. We called them that to their faces because we thought that was what they were called. Childhood ignorance turned it Into a term of endearment. They are still there 30 plus years later. Pillars of the community. Now I buy my cigars off of them instead of candy. They have a sign up that says "The Swamis" behind the counter. Words can evolve and if dickheads can co-opt innocent things and make them racist (ie. nazis using Buddhist symbols for their logo) then the it can go the other way too. It just seems that when something goes from bad to good, certain people won't let the bad meaning be left behind. On the other side, God forbid you try to co-opt a currently racist symbol to represent something wholesome and unifying. I forget my point. Just be good to people and the rest takes care of itself I guess.