I have to interject here...
I totally understand why it would be offensive to certain listeners. I am of Italian descent and the only time anyone has referred to me as an eye-talian was some racist redneck asshole who felt it was his job to tell me how disgusted he was that we eye-talians keep moving to his neck of the woods w/ our yankee attitude and lack of morals. He definately did not use it to compliment me. I don't consider com to be a racist, he's one of my all time greats. But let's not forget how the world was up in arms when the sauce started handing out copies of Eminem making "racist" slurs. We can't say words are offensive only when they are offending us personally. We need to understand that every race/religion/nationality has racial slurs attatched to them and we either need to say, fuck it, free speech, say whatever you want, or all agree that if you aren't arab, probably shouldn't say ay-rab; if you aren't black, probably shouldn't use the n-word. It's all the same thing.