It amazes me how many racists try to excuse using the word with the excuse of "oh, it actually means an ignorant person and has nothing to do with race" as if that makes a difference even if it were true.
EDIT: While we're at it, I fucking HATE the "I have black friends" excuse. As someone who legitimately has friends who happen to be black, outside of the context of calling that excuse bullshit, I have never and will never refer to them as my "black friends," but rather as my friends because that's what they are. No distinction is necessary because making that distinction is, surprise!, racist.