da da da, i don't love you, you don't love me.

So Reverend Sharpton didn't accept Michael Richards' apology, and in rejecting it, he called for the following:

The use of the "n-word" by both blacks and whites needs to be stopped, Sharpton said.

(Source: this article at CNN.com)

It's something we talk about all the time--reclaiming or eschewing terms for the sake of politics. So which is it, or what's the middle ground? Can a cogent identity politics exist that both embraces and rejects a slur? Does the simple fact of Sharpton's request open up a space for constructive dialogue that keeps us from needing to choose one over the other?