A lot has been made of the actual definition of the word used, and how it "translates" to this or that or the N-word, which I think totally misses the point.

It’s NOT the same as the N-word. That’s just ridiculous. It’s not even about the word itself, but the way he said it. He could have used any three syllable combination (ababa, babalu, oom-pah-pah, etc.) and it still would have been an ugly comment.

The reason the N-word is so toxic in this country (and other English-speaking countries) is because of its obvious cultural context. I’ll never forget the time I was on another nation's airline and heard the song “My Neck, My Back” by Khia on the in-flight entertainment system. (This song is full of every vulgar word you can think of.)

To us here, that would never be on an airplane where children could hear it, and if it was it would be a big news story. But for that nation and its airline, those words did not mean anything because English was not their language.

“Macaca” has no cultural context in this country, so while I do think that Allen’s intent was clearly ugly (and THAT’S the problem), I don’t think he had a specific word in his mind when he said “Macaca.” But he didn't need to... he used a non-English sounding word to indicate ethnic difference.

I don't give a damn what "macaca" means, or if it means anything at all. The intent was crystal clear.

To clarify, the m-word is as toxic in Europe as the n-word is in the U.S.  Eventhough the m-word has no obvious cultural context to most Americans, it does to many of us "foreigners."

A 'kiss' float?

????