My 6 year old and the N-word

A Tea Party-sympathetic friend sent me a link to a video, Tax Day Tea Party Racists Caught Saying N-Word!!, which mocks the people accusing the Tea Party of racism (the host can’t find anyone who will say the N word).

My 6 year old was watching over my shoulder and says, “Dad, what’s the N-word?”

I said, “It’s a bad word you don’t need to know.”

“Come on, Dad. Tell me. I won’t say it.”

So I look at him, and tell him. He says, “What’s that mean?”

I said, “It means black people.”

“But that’s not a bad thing!” he retorts, mystified why the N-word is bad if the referent is not bad. I say, “Well…. it’s hard to explain. It sort of means ‘you’re a trashy person because of your skin color.'”