nigger derives from negro which is the spanish/portuguese word meaning black. however history colours words just as much as symbols. as mentioned the swastika was a peaceful symbol before hitler used it for his party. now it's a universal symbol for nazism and genocide of jews. therefore you don't flash swastikas to jews you just met on the street, because that has a high probability of offending them greatly and reminding them of a painful history.
nigger wasn't a bad word per se until it was used in combination with racism - i.e. it was originally, if i understand correctly, just a neutral word to describe black people, like how people use the word asian or black today. because all that changed in recent history, this word is still strongly tied to oppression of black people in USA, South Africa, etc... and thus its casual use today can cause serious offence.
[edit: cleaned up, it didnt' drive at my point clearly enough, and a sentence at the beginning contains a seeming contradiction so i removed it]
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