Whither "teabagger"?

An interesting email exchange with a frequent (and provocative) commenter on the 27east website, AlwaysLocal, who protested the fact that we allow the term "teabagger" to be used on the website without pulling down those comments as either profane or insulting.

AlwaysLocal argues that the term refers to an obscene--and, as far as I'm concerned, very obscure--sexual practice, and thus should be outlawed from use on the site.

My answer: "Teabagger" is definitely something the mainstream media used in the early days of the Tea Party movement--clearly in a "nudge-wink" insider way. That was even more true when it came to left-leaning commentators, who seemed to gleefully adopt the somewhat derisive term for the followers of that particular movement.

But I think two things: a) the term was only recognized as insulting (because of the obscure sexual meaning) by a select group of the audience familiar with it, and b) it has become a much more common, and benign, tag to put on the movement's members. (Hmmm...can I say "members"?)

Thought I'd toss it out there: Anyone have any thoughts about this debate? My inclination is to allow the term to be used, but to keep an eye on the situation, and make sure we don't cross a line into something inappropriate on the site...