The first time I heard the term (verb?) nigger-rigged I was confused, didn't understand, then I was appalled when it was explained. And I've been appalled any time I've heard it since, which has not been often.
And that first time, over 30 years ago, I hadn't realized until then that the person who said it was a racist. I called her out! Told her that makeshift is a term to use, or just rigged. And the term she used was very offensive, inappropriate, told her not to say it in my presence and strongly suggested she not use it again. She didn't understand what was wrong with the expression, showing her true face!
I have black friends with whom I've discussed racist and anti-Semitic expressions, how they become part of speech without folks realizing how they came about, or how offensive they are. We agreed that dialogue is needed, in order to educate or inform others when they use words that are describing people's race or situation/condition and using it as a verb, adjective, or other parts of speech. They've pointed out that the word black is regularly used to describe bad, bleak, (or dark) forces. Since then I've been careful not to use the words black or dark in those ways. If dealing with a cruel person, I will say they have a cold heart, not a black or dark heart. A black mark is now a bad mark, or just a mark against whatever.
I never use the n word, as a firm rule. Felt compelled to mention it here because I wonder how this woman would feel hearing it, used as a verb or in any other way; putting this in terms she can understand.
Really, the best replies when being accused of racist or anti-Semitic or anti-LGBTQ, or insensitive speech will include some of these: "I apologize I didn't realize it was inappropriate, or insensitive. That wasn't my intention. I've never thought about it before. No one ever pointed that out or called me out on this before. I'll make every effort to be conscious of this and considerate in the future. I'm sorry I offended you, I was repeating what I've heard without really thinking about where the term came from. Thank you for telling me how you perceived it. I will remove that expression from my vocabulary."
In other words, we're human, we use language to communicate, we all may use words or expressions without grasping where or how they originated, or how they might be construed. But once we are made aware, we should apologize and make every effort to remove the offensive language from our vocabulary and speech patterns!
IMO, not doing so indicates you harbor bad feelings for the group you've maligned, and are not willing to hear them or change your language choices. Yes, showing your true face!
= new reply since forum marked as read