I am an Aboriginal Australian. A very close non-Aboriginal friend recently bought a black dog and called it Jigga Boo. I pointed out to her that this name is another name for n....r, and that some people might find it a bit offensive. She responded by saying that the word has different meanings now and like a lot of other words that were once considered racist it can now be used as a word of empowerment. (I find this comment just as offensive coming from a middle class white person). Since that response she has not spoken to me. I guess I just want to see what others think about this? Was my reaction to the dog's name justified?

Was my reaction to the dog's name justified?
Jansey,
My answer is No ! Jigga Boo is a term that is used to indicate a useless non-thinker, it is not aimed at any race at all. I live amongst indigenous & if I were to take their every word serious I'd have to think that they are the most racist people on the planet.
Your reaction is racist not the term. I quite often refer to our judiciary as useless Jigga Boos. I never get corrected by anyone except by those it is aimed at, strange really ?.
I knew of a dog called Motop (faggot in local lingo) & everyone just laughed including the faggs.

I guess in light of the public discussion now occurring as a result of the racist taunt by a young girl towards Adam Goodes at the Collingwood v Sydney game on Friday night, I have been thinking about how words and names can harm - they perform an act as well as an utterance (see J L Austin - How To Do Things With Words). I don't believe that racism is ever inadvertent, as the contemporary language of unconscious bias plays to. I beleive that racism, or using words that hurt is always a conscious decision, and those that making justification claims ("it was a joke", "I didn't mean for it to be taken that way" etc etc ) are ignorant of the power of language, or worse, hide behind the obfuscation that occurs when claims of racism are made. I have way more to say on this subject, but I'd like to hear what other people have to say.

Jansey, there is a concept in the criminal law called mens rea, which means an intent to do a wrongful act in the knowledge that it is wrong. That concept is at the heart of the law. If someone does a bad thing but doesn't intend to, they may be negligent, but unless that negligence is wilful in the knowledge that the outcome will be bad, they will probably not be convicted of the more serious crime.

What you are doing is saying that if you find an expression offensive, then the intent of the person using it is not relevant. What you are effectively seeking to do is to make that person responsible for the way you choose to interpret what they say, despite their own claim of a lack of intent to offend, which as they are your friend, would seem to be genuine.

The problem with that approach is that it has no reasonable means of being tested. If you say you find something offensive, then it has to be either accepted or rejected on whim, since nobody can get inside your head. You may have a personality disorder such as NPD or you might be politically motivated to cause a stir. You might have misinterpreted an ironic or satirical remark. You might be very sincere but excessively sensitive to perceived offence because of your personal history. At this stage we're still talking about you, not about the person who is accused of being offensive.

On the other hand, their intent might be easily tested. It may have been said as part of an argument, or they may have a history of involvement with racist groups, or evidence about their expressed racist opinions might be brought. Until that intent is demonstrated, however, then basically it's a case of assuming good faith on their part.

If we didn't take this approach, then it is clear that the rule of Law on such topics would become impossible, since anybody could be silenced by somebody else claiming they found it offensive.

as a result of the racist taunt by a young girl towards Adam Goodes
Jansey,
I heard about it on the news but they only said that the girl made racist remarks, they didn't disclose what she actually said. If they want to make it a public issue then they need to tell us what the offensive remarks were. How else are we to judge ?

Time to grow up & move on Jansey. You can spend your entire life blighted by continually looking for some slight, or you can enjoy your life to the full. Big people are very hard to offend, small can find a slight or insult behind every bush.

When I spent time in the islands I found the people in some parts of Papua referred to white people as dim dims. Some of these were simple village people who used it as I would refer to some people as Slav, or Indian. Some were very highly educated & were well aware of the meaning of dim in Oz. The ones I knew well as friends, used it as a well meaning joke on me.

Some were probably anti white who used it in a derogatory way. No matter how they referred to a white it would have the same meaning to them. Please tell me why I should let the nastiness of some spoil the joke between me & my friends?

Any grown man who lets himself be upset by something some 13 year old kid shouts at a football match has some growing up to do. It is both weak & stupid to give someone else the power to spoil your day. If you grow up & let any nastiness slide off you like water off a duck, you diminish not only the attempted insult, but even more the one who attempted it.