I think it is better to see the thread. Just got in so I would be scratching my head what happened. Personally I thought the thread was fine but I am not the owner or a mod and ultimately it is their call and given they tend to get things right 99% of the time then I am fine with what they opt to do.
I happen to think Jack Straw was not being racist and people misconstrued what the thread / Jack Straw was saying. Society is such a complex issue though so it is easy to read things wrong or more into them than there actually is.
I like the idea of closing rather than deleting threads.