Reply #58: Because they were racist

[supernova]

My grandmother was a nice person too, but she did use the word "colored." I did not hear her use the N word, though it's possible. I got the impression growing up though, at least in my family that the N word was akin to cussing, so it wasn't used.

It's possible to be a good person to your family and still be racist to other people. A lot of it with the old folks is ignorance. They simply didn't know any other way of decribing or talking about other people, doubly true if they didn't have much education. That's a big reason why the civil rights movement was so important. In order to bring about civil change, you have to develop new language for that change. And it's very difficult for some people.