I don't think holding up South Africa as an example of what is and isn't considered racist is a great idea. They're years behind countries like the UK on that score.
A lot of people don't seem to understand why 'coloured' is offensive. I believe it's down to the history of the apartheid system in South Africa where 'coloureds' were treated even worse than 'blacks' in the social structure. Anyone that draws comparisons with racism and abuse of people for...