During the Vietnam Era, “slant” (like “slope” and “gook”) was consistently used by most non-Asian Americans as a slur. Still: there is much to be said against using shifting euphemisms for groups and for occasional use of the opposite extreme of co-opting a slur and using it proudly. “Yankee doodle” could be used as an insult for them damn, insolent, uncultured colonials; through Shakespeare’s time and well beyond, “Jew” could be hurled as an insult. We Yanks and Jews did well to embrace the terms and hold on until they were neutral and even, among many populations, respectable.