Following is another reader's response to Debito Arudou's last "Just Be Cause" column ( www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080805ad.html ) on the use of the word "gaijin."
When I consider the debate over the use of the word "gaijin," I am of two minds.
First of all, I consider its practical daily use, where it is given meaning by the intent of the user. When my mother-in-law uses the word, I'm quite certain she does not intend it as an epithet, because she loves me dearly. However, I have heard it uttered in a derogatory and threatening manner enough times — usually unprovoked — to be able to conceptualize it as such. The daily, practical use of the word doesn't bother me greatly, and I would never go as far as to suggest that is on par with the "N-word," but I do consider its casual use to be undesirable, as there are a number of more appropriate substitutes in the Japanese language.