It it impractical to call anyone a nigger/nigga or a fag/faggot in almost any context and expect normal relations with most people to continue.
There is really no good reason to call anyone these things, with the exception being a black person using nigger/nigga. It's a reclaimed word, which is kind of a tricky thing to discuss. Some white people think that because it has been reclaimed that they should be able to use it. The thing with this is that originally the word was a way for white people to exert their power over black people. By reclaiming it for themselves, black people have taken that power back. White people trying to use it with this reasoning are just exerting their original power, which is doing the exact opposite. This comes up a lot when people try to argue about why it's okay for black people to say it but not white people.
do you guys think that maybe the REASON that people still use the term faggot is as primarily a way to demean straight men as 'unmanly'? Espeically since just calling them unmanly is perhaps not as 'sharp' of a word? And its become culturally stuck in men's minds that if they aren't manly that they basically suck as a person, which makes fag such an effective insult?
There is no debate, this is exactly why. This is why you can't divorce the word faggot from its meaning and turn it into a general insult. The REASON it's an insult is tied into its homophobic roots. By calling someone (typically a man) gay or a faggot, you're telling them that they are lesser. So, not only are you implying that gay people are subhuman, but you are ALSO reinforcing the homophobia of those hearing this insult. The person being insulted is going to continue associating being called gay (and homosexuality in general) with being humiliated, everyone else is going to be reminded of the same thing with the potential threat that they'll be the next one called this. The word bitch is used in the same way (making someone your bitch, someone acting like a little bitch, etc.), by implying that a man is something associated with women, you're implying he's subhuman while also reinforcing the idea that women are subhuman and you don't want to be like them. That's why people arguing that these jokes are fine within your circle of friends that you know aren't offended by things isn't a good argument. You're still reinforcing these ideas among people that you're supposed to LIKE and they're going to perpetuate it. If you and a friend get comfortable calling each other fags, you're endlessly supporting hate speech between each other and you're likely to start using it elsewhere. It's best and easiest that you just don't support hate speech at all.