A CONFESSION: I've been debating whether or not to share this, but what the hell: Passner's column was not, believe or not, the first time a Tigger/[n-word] pun has appeared on the pages of the Justice. The previous time, yours truly was responsible- albeit in a very different context, and with very different (which is to say, no) consequences.
When I was Arts Editor in 2000, "The Tigger Movie" was released, and we ran a review of it in the Arts section, accompanied by a photo of the "cheerful scamp." Being in the habit at the time of amusing myself by running funny photo captions that referenced music and movies, and seeking to pay tribute to the seminal '80s rap group N.W.A., I gave the photo the caption "Tiggers With Attitudes." Shortly before, I believe, I had seen the VH1 "Behind the Music" special on the group, on which the show's ubiquitous, ofay narrator used the word "niggaz" several times.
It ran, not a single person noticed or even said a word, there were no calls for my resignation, and I didn't think of it again until two days ago. There, I feel better now having that off my chest…