Maybe Santa Fe mayoral candidate Oscar Rodríguez will lose votes because he quoted an ugly word while discussing an ugly episode in his life.

He says he'd be fine with that outcome, should it come to pass. He also says he wouldn't sanitize a story about bigotry and hate that's stuck with him for 50 years, even if he had a second chance.

Rodríguez used the N-word — the full word, not the sanitized abbreviation in this sentence — during a speech last week.

Critics in an unsigned statement ripped him, saying: "The use of this word caused harm, distress and re-traumatization for Black residents of Santa Fe."

They ignored a hard truth. It was a teacher who pelted Rodríguez with the N-word. This happened when Rodríguez began his senior year of high school in the fall of 1975. He decided to q

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