I get the argument you make. I am not here for a semantics battle. Who cares what you call it. It is not OK.
Most people are a minority in some phase of their lives. If you move to Colombia (as I did as a kid) and you are white, are you not the minority? If you are affiliated with a religion or creed or if you are homosexual... then are you not a minority in some circles and the majority in others? When I went to a mosque in Saudi Arabia around people I didn't know who didn't speak my language and people got mad and yelled 'Ameriqui!' at me... I felt like a minority. My gay friends go to a gay club in New York and they don't feel like the minority in the room, but others who are straight may. If you are a liberal at a Trump rally then you may temporarily feel like a minority in that crowd. In those situations, it is easy to belittle or overpower someone and it is easy to cross a line. In the NBA, white players are a situational form of minority. No doubt that is different than for our entire country as a whole and that our history cannot be ignored and the ongoing climate cannot be ignored.
Still, the minute that someone tries to subject another person through use of racially motivated comments, they are out of bounds. Call it what you will, I would call it an attempt to flex power over someone through the use of a racially motivated slur. Substitute the skin color and see how uncomfortable you are. It would have been an outrage and hence... it is not OK. If I am looking to create change, then I would take the high road. I would never encourage, defend, or support this behavior especially when I am telling others that they need to stop doing the same thing. That sentiment does not gain you much ground.
Harrel crossed a line. Don't cross it. Call it what you will... it doesn't help create change.
