I never looked at her comments as a racial slur. I don't think she had a problem with his ethnicty. She had a problem with the family business and actually put up with a lot.
I think she was repulsed by the way of life that Michael had originally condemned, but later embraced.
To me, her comments were indisputably racist. If she meant the family business or Michael's way of life then why didn't she say so?
Even if that is what she meant, calling mafia involvement a "Sicilian thing" is inherently racist and stereotypical, the same way as referring to someone's crack addition as "this black thing" or someone's alcoholism "this Irish thing" would be.
