[identity profile] ninebelow.livejournal.com 2009-07-29 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I can't deny that they probably did originally,

There is no "probably" about it and "originally" isn't some point lost in the mists of times, it is a couple of decades ago (at most). That is to say within the living memory of a large number of people. So it is disengenuous to say it has magically evolved beyond having any racist implications, even if the current situation you describe is true.