Ameliorated words of offensive origin

[Kim & Rima McKinzey]

>...That
>might be a nice hook, since there was a lot of meta-discussion of
>what "putz" REALLY means and whether people should be offended.

When we lived in Logansport, IN, in 1983, an indoor putting green -
not quite a miniature golf course - opened.  The name was Mr. Putz.
I thought it was hysterical - but I'm not sure whether anyone else in
town knew why...

What about the terms starting out offensive/insulting and then
co-opted by the offended/insulted party?  Like "freak" in the 60s or
"queer"?

Rima