Meanings are not in words—they are in people. When someone uses a word to intentionally be offensive then, yes, it is offensive. This is why people within a particular subculture can use a given word without a problem: because they are not trying to be offensive to one another; most often they are being humorous or generating social intimacy. When people outside that subculture use the same word, they are almost always trying to demean, belittle, or otherwise be offensive. Not cool.
If you are not a part of the subculture, don’t go there; you lack the cultural currency to do so. There are, of course, exceptions to this. Comedians like Paul Mooney, Lisa Lampinelli, etc. have the currency to make jokes with offensive words because they are proven allies of the groups they are “offending.” But this license does not extend to everyone who claims to be a comedian or making a joke. Michael Ricahrds of Seinfeld showed a decidedly racist impulse not too long ago and no one finds him funny anymore.
Bottom line: yes, it is offensive.
I'm proud to have this man on
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