Speaking Of Star Frontiers

One of the alien races in Star Frontiers are the Yazirians.

They look like simians crossed with a flying squirrel and are sometimes known as "monkeys".  The game makes no mention of this being a slur.

A female of the species.

The Yazirians are in the news lately because the race was recycled into D&D's Spelljammer setting as the Hadozee.

Hadozee have an in-world nickname of "deck-apes".  They look like apes and they commonly choose a life shipboard working up from the deck.  The game makes no mention of this being a slur until 3e.

Well, someone decided that "deck-ape" is code for CENSORED and thus they need to be removed from the game, or something.  Deck-ape is derogatory, therefore it must be an allusion to black people?

There's lots of derogatory terms which have nothing to do with black people and are still derogatory.

But if it's because they have a derogatory nickname and look like simians...

I don't think it's the game designer that's racist here.

I haven't been following it too hard.

But I've had these guys in several Star Frontiers settings and I never saw any racism associated with how it tells us the race behaves.  They are a warrior race with tight clan associations and a strong code of honor.

I read "wookie" into that not CENSORED.  But then, I don't get up in the morning looking to be offended.