Words: I has them.

If you've been reading me for a while, you'll know that I've had runs ins with plenty of people over language changing over time. Both "Gang Bang" and "Trippin" have changed in definition since I was in high school, leading to some ridiculous and needlessly adversarial exchanges. I've talked plenty of times about the phrase "That's so Gay" being used to imply negativity. I maintain that the word Gay has changed meaning already, and that the word itself is less important than the intention of the user. I will never EVER get behind the idea that certain words are only okay for certain people to use.

It is well known that we think in language, yet it is often suggested that we not use certain words under the general heading that they are OFFENSIVE. Offensive means that someone is offended. There is no universal barometer of offense, no one thing that no one or everyone finds offensive. My first rule about taking offense is: the offending party must admit that they are personally offended, rather than making a reference to some general standard for offense that's been violated. If I say something that personally offends someone in the room, I want to address that and talk it out. If someone is asserting that some words shouldn't ever be uttered due to their terribly offensive qualities, I could give a rat's ass. People and their feelings are of concern to me, ethically and morally. Abstract concepts and their arbitrary applications, not so much.

Lately, I've seen this applied to comedy as well. Purportedly, there are some subjects that should never be made light of because they are just too offensive and/or serious. Apparently Ricky Gervais is a big mean guy for saying outloud that Robert Downey Jr used to have a huge drug problem. Goodness me, how offensive!
Moreso, it is even suggested that people who don't agree with this party line on offense are less worthy of basic human courtesy and respect. Basically an argument of Oh, you don't agree with me? Then you're an asshole who can fuck right off. I don't mind telling you that I find THAT pretty goddamn offensive. Can we really ever work out our differences if we assume that a difference of opinion equates to a difference in how much basic human courtesy and respect some people deserve? I gotta say no.
Then there's the idea that if one doesn't tow the party line on an issue, it's because one must not realize how awful *thing* is, else we'd know that it should never be joked about. The old Well, maybe if you'd been kidnapped/murdered/raped/set on fire/had a retarded child/been in a plane crash/etc then you'd know how awful it is. Certainly there is something to be said for learning about your fellow humans by walking in their shoes. But the idea that if we all had the same life experiences, then we'd all agree is as ludicrous as it is misguided.

IMHO, nothing...and I do mean NOTHING is too sacred to mock. Of course, there's a big difference between a Chapelle Show sketch and a KKK pamphlet. Personally, I don't care for the word Nigger, and I seldom have occasion to use it. If I did use it, though, that alone would not make me a racist. If I used that word, and someone then assumed I was racist, I would expect/hope they would inquire, at which point I would happily explain my stance. Of course, non-reactive, good communication is required to make this work.
There is a line of thinking that in comedy, one must go "too far" so that one's audience will go far enough. I concur. I think people like George Carlin, Seth McFarland, Dave Chapelle, and Ricky Gervais are/were goddamn hilarious and should continue to challenge us all with humor and words that invite us to think critically and express ourselves as completely and accurately as possible.
Even though I am jack-sprat-nobody as far as novelists go, I have taken a fair amount of shit for making evil monsters seem sympathetic, and don't I know how dangerous that is?!? Yadda yadda yaketi shmacketi. I think KMLYLM is a gripping character study of a psychotic mind, the purpose of which is to say that no so-called evil deed happens in a vacuum. The idea that my books shouldn't exist because some crazy man might get the wrong message is, to put it simply, bad. The thing that will break down barriers and improve human relationships with other humans (etc) is MORE open communication, not less. Stifling words, thoughts, jokes, and language because it makes us feel all oogy impedes our progression as critical thinkers, and as humans far more than any asshat making off color, tasteless, or insensitive jokes.

EDIT: I'd like to add that with great power comes great responsibility. (Yes, it's from Spiderman)
All this freedom of speech is predicated on the hope that human beings will NOT behave like malicious hateful ignorant assholes.