I was 18/19 when I learned a word was derogatory against Mexicans. I'd grown up in Germany around American kids in a Department of Defense School system. I had the privilege of having no concept of racial inequality - I don't remember ever hearing the N-word spoken to or by any of the kids in my class, no one said anything about Mexicans... we were all just kids, and we all looked different from each other.

At 18/19, I was seeing a soldier who lived in nearby barracks, and one of his soldier friends was a cook. They called him "Beaner." I assumed it was because he was a cook. (Beans = food.) One day, he and I were alone in my boyfriend's barracks room (they were roommates), and I called him Beaner. He then explained what the word meant and why I shouldn't use it. (Obviously, I was mortified.)

"Oh come ON, you were a legal adult and you didn't know 'beaner' was a derogatory word used for Mexicans?"

Absolutely, yes.