What people are missing is that this was the 50s and damn near every white person that didn't have a black family member probably said "nigger" at least seven times a day.

The mob isn't some benevolent organization that loves everyone, so it is completely believable that they held those opinions.

In The Departed, Nicholson's character is an Irishman from Boston, so it is dead on that he'd harbor some sort of racist feelings (even though one of his opera companions was a black woman...and a FINE one at that).

This quote right here:

>>I didn't see that in Goodfellas. They use the word, then go and throw Sam Jackson into the mix, although I don't believe they ever use the word in any of his scenes, nor does it really contrast with his character. I don't remember if it was Pesci or Liotta or both that use the word. If it's Pesci, it contrasts to how he's also pals with Jackson, but then also kills him later on. I don't know though.

Tommy admonished a date earlier for saying "I could see how a white girl could fall for him" when discussing Sammy Davis Jr., so he wasn't immune to racism. The real-life guy the character was based on was good friends with Stacks Edwards (Samuel Jackson's character), which was why they sent him to kill Stacks. They got him to do it by saying "he could be made" if he did it. Tommy was a psycho and would have killed anyone for any reason, but that probably made the deal even sweeter.

The inherent racism in these characters shouldn't make anyone enjoy the films less, but it should attract your attention. If anything, the filmmakers seem to be saying, "don't forget that these guys are scum. you might like them, but they're scum".