I would like to think that, after thousands of years, that we the human race would have learned better by now, but. It seems that just about every group has set its own standards for what's acceptable and what's not. If I meet a Middle Eastern Muslim, I don't care whether he's a Sunni or a Shiite; a Rwandan--I don't care whether she's a Tutsi or Hutu; and I don't imagine either of them would care whether I am a Methodist, Baptist or a Catholic.
I learned from this board that a particular nickname for someone from Ireland is offensive to them; yet there was nothing, to me, to distinguish it from the other nicknames I've heard. Okie to me is not insulting a person from Oklahoma.
What are we to do?