It's a shame he let a couple of jerks in a club make him lose his temper and resort to words that should never be tolerated for any reason; I'm glad he apologized.

I'm very relieved that he apologized too. One thing though, it sounds like the "jerks" were baiting him, trying to get him to loose his temper and make a racial stink, and they were successful. Also,I think that most non-minorities (if such a thing exists) are getting really tired of tip-toeing around, worried that something they say is going to be turned into a racial slur, even though it wasn't meant to be. A little less knee-jerking, and politicizing, and a lot more open heartfelt conversation about race is what is needed to help all of us understand each other better. Of course, it seems that the leaders and politicians don't want that to happen. It would ruin the power bases that they have worked so hard to build.