My general thinking is what my mother taught me. "Sticks and stones break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Of course that would not hold true in a criminal trial, but in general, words do not hurt. How we take what was said is what hurts. And in this day and age, we seem to have every little "group" of people getting their feelings hurt because of what somebody said. "Well they only said what's in their heart" so that shows that they "hate" whatever they misspoke. Going back to the lesson from Mom, "If you don't show that it bothers you, they will stop it." I think that still holds true today. If you don't like what some one calls you, gently correct them, then drop it. Unless it's actual slander, forget it and ignore them. They will go away.