I agree with a lot of the commenters that we should not be berating someone this much for something they did when they were 13...especially Billie Eilish who seems to be a true ally.

I understand why you, the author, think this response from Billie isn't enough, but if what she's saying is true (she didn't know the meaning and just liked speaking in gibberish language at THIRTEEN), then of course she shouldn't apologize for something she didn't do.

Later on, frankly, you do much the same thing. I would say using the "N" word at nine years old is FAR worse than mouthing along with "chink" at thirteen (and I'm Asian, though not East Asian). I have never and will never use the N word in my life and I certainly knew better at nine.

You, like Billie, say sorry, but you first defend yourself, saying that the Black friend called you a "Chink" and say you were "lashing out in mindless frustration" as if that justifies anything at all. What you SHOULD have said, knowing better at how many years old you are, was say, "I've used the N-word in the past and I'm sorry." Then you say we should spell out the slurs against us, but you don't spell out the slurs you used on your Black friend! This is so wrong.

And you are still hypocritical.

(For what it's worth, I believe Billie. My mom used to call us "thugs" growing up, which is pretty common in Indian culture for cute, naughty kids, and I didn't know it had negative connotations until I was much older. Sometimes you just don't know. I'm still learning about some slurs, like the ok sign, which I learned about a week ago.)