If you missed Dr. Laura’s rant on her radio show, and the resulting fall out you’re lucky. For the uninitiated, she decided to use the N word a dozen times in response to an African-American listener’s question about how to get her white in-laws to stop using the word.

Dr. Laura used the popular argument that “Black guys use it all the time.” Citing black comics and HBO as apparent role models, she pointed out that they use the word and that somehow makes it okay for white people to indulge.

Dr. Laura did appropriately apologize, kudos to her for not using the faux apology “in case anyone was offended.” But apparently, it was not enough, based on the media circus that followed and the fact that Dr. Laura was pushed–or jumped off her radio show.

The only reason that I found her ridiculous comment worth writing about is that we get this question in our diversity classes all the time.

To start, in case you weren’t paying attention in history class in school: this is the word that white people used as they lynched blacks for no reason.

My African-American friends do not use this word nor do I. I would never allow my children to use it.

If you want to ask yourself what’s appropriate behavior, should you turn to comics on HBO? Please!

Of course as I wrote in We Need to Talk; Tough Conversations with Your Boss in the workplace it could get you fired for good reason. What you do at the mall or on the lake is your business but is that really your values? Really?

Not to mention that many prominent African-Americans have condemned it’s usage, including Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey and even Richard Pryor. Pryor, who used it early in his comedy act, stopped using it after a trip to Africa. “To this day I wish I’d never said the word” Pryor said. “I felt its lameness. It was misunderstood by people. They didn’t get what I was talking about. Neither did I…so I vowed never to say it again.”

May others follow suit.