To be honest - the fact that the man WAS a racist doesn't mean every utterance was racist.
This one clearly was. Defending the use of the word as if it is not prima facia racism, clearly qualifys.
Not so clearly.
Explain where the racism is in that.
Seriously?
Defending the use of the word, and trying to insinuate that there is nothing "racial" in its use, is prima facia racism.
Why use the word? Why defend the use of it? The word is a knife. It is intended to cut. It's like the word "***." Oh you can try to argue that it could reffer to a ciggarette or a torch - but the intended purpose of the word is to offend and to put a person down.
In the case of the N word - it is intended as a racial slur to put down and demean a person because of the color of their skin. It is racist - no denying that. To try to defend and de-vilify racism is racist.