There’s a bit of another layer to it. The n-word is used as a credible death threat in America. It is a word that has been used to dehumanize and declare a person can be killed and lynched without consequence --because that is the legacy of our country and that word. People calling people n-words historically have been able get away with actual murders–and they know it.

It’s the same way a Nazi saluting is someone demonstrating they don’t value human life and support genocide. But it is still outlawed in Germany and Austria because the action carries with it much deeper implications there.