Former England football captain John Terry has been cleared of making a racist remark to a fellow professional. However it is clear he said something which caused offence, which the BBC sports website chose to call racially sensitive.
In his summation of the case at Westminster Magistrates' Court last
Friday, Judge Howard Riddle said that "there is no dispute that John
Terry directed [racially sensitive] words in the direction of Anton
Ferdinand".
So what then is the difference between a "racist" remark and a "racially sensitive" one?
Best Answer
"Racially-insensitive" is the bigot-sensitive version of "racist".
Edit: let me add a bit of less-flippant elaboration:
Usually when someone makes a "racially sensitive" remark, he's being "racially insensitive". A racially sensitive remark is one that touches upon sensitive points, so being insensitive (towards race or any other touchy subject) means not being aware of the sensitivity of the issue.
The reason I call this phrasing "bigot-sensitive" is that it avoids calling someone "racist" by saying he's merely "insensitive to the sensitivity of the issue".