Watching the movie Rocky and when Mickey calls Sly a "Bum" he reacts worse than if the entire crowd chanted the N-Word at Apollo. In all fairness Apollo Creed is played by Carl Weathers...
Back in the day, it was a harsh insult, just like punk. But, thanks to creative wordsmiths that can string together a litany of obscenities, so they sound like an aria. People like you and I. A number of far nastier, and filthier words and phrases, have diminished the effectiveness of the simple classics.