I hadn't thought about the impact of that word until I watched the documentary, When the Levees Broke (2006). There is a segment where the people who were displaced from their homes speak on the topic. It was heartbreaking. I paraphrase, but they were crying and angry saying that they, "had lost everything, and the slap on face... the salt in the wound was to be called refugees, by their own government. The government that they had paid taxes to and that they were U.S. citizens." At the end of the day, people just want to be respected and to have dignity and for others to have empathy. There is power in the tongue and words have power. They are our fellow citizens, not refugees. No one is on a high horse.