I didn't target states--the word indicates a certain animosity toward states. I just reported results found by well respected researchers who collected, analyzed, and reported data. They weren't trying to target states, either; they were tasked with finding out which states are more racist based on criteria that can be measured.

I do know there are pockets of blue in red states, almost exclusively in cities, and pockets of red in blue states, almost exclusively in rural areas. But thank you for providing this information for any of my readers who are not aware of this.

I tend to agree with you that use of the so called N-word is less a marker for racism than are various others--shooting Black people because you think you can get away with it because they're Black, for example--but it is a marker, nonetheless.

We also agree about another thing: No state is going to shut down any word. We have free speech in the United States. States don't have the right to forbid the use of certain words--though some local and state governments are essentially trying that out with book bans and teaching whitewashed history.

Where I don't agree with you is about the word "Nigger" being a word of the heart. It's not my place to criticize, since I'm white, but my feeling about it is that even if you're Black, it denigrates your Black friends to call them what your oppressor has called them.

I think you may have been trying to point out that state-wide data doesn't necessarily apply to every city, town, or rural area in that state. And on that, of course we can agree.