What do you think of the word "thug"?

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

No one is telling you what you can't say. People are just calling you a racist when you say racist things.

I think it's ironic that Internet "progressives" who routinely call Republicans "Rethuglicans" are now lecturing people that the word "thug" is racist.  Especially when the word "thug" derives from India, where it described professional robbers and murderers who strangled their victims.

The PC police need to be stopped at every turn, especially when they are the ones who are warping the meaning of neutral words, claiming they are "racist" when they are not.

Here is a fun and interesting fact about language: the signified meaning of words changes, depending on the context. When a DailyKos user calls the Republican Party, the Rethuglican Party, there is no racial connotation because Republicans are typically white. When a CNN news anchor calls African-American rioters "thugs", it racist because it is referring to African-Americans. It is racialized because the term "thug" is rarely used to signify anything that is outside the context of Black culture. The DailyKos use of "thug" is used because it is a pun.

Referring to a group of white Harley-Davidson riding types as "thugs" is an archaic usage of the term. Referring to a group of Blacks as "thugs" is the contemporary usage of the term. I don't need to point out that rappers frequently refer to themselves as "thugs" and that the term has been popularized because of hip-hop. This does not mean that the term is socially acceptable: the Black community says "nigga" as well.

Words that change meaning depending on context:
-greaser (slur used against Latinos, also a term that refers to James Dean-type rebels)
-wetbacks (slur used against Latinos, also a term that simply means having a "wet back")
etc.

Pointing out that the word "thug" is often a racialized term with pejorative connotations does not mean that I'm trying to outlaw the word or that I think the word is inherently bad. This is not censorship or political correctness or whatever. Frankly, I don't care about what words people say, I care about the behavior and sentiments. Racists will always invent new code words that are socially acceptable to say in public. Racism is not defined by word usage, it's defined by hostility towards a "race".

[Хahar 🤔]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Wouldn't racism be dependent on intent, or even effect, as opposed to perceived intent? I'd assume the latter would be referred to as "perceived racism".

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Wouldn't racism be dependent on intent, or even effect, as opposed to perceived intent? I'd assume the latter would be referred to as "perceived racism".

No, racism may be unintended. After all, racism is simply the belief that some races are superior to others. It's entirely possible to believe that African-Americans are inferior without recognizing this belief or feeling the slightest inkling of hostility.

People often make judgements based on internalized heuristics that are unrecognized. In white America, these internalized heuristics dictate that African-Americans are dangerous criminals. This is racism because it ascribes a tendency for violence or criminality to racial caste. However, this form of racism is not intentional, it is at the subconscious level.

If this sounds like a "SJW"/radical argument, consider that this posted was inspired by an insight of book written by a Nobel Prize winning psychologist, Daniel Kahneman.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Wouldn't racism be dependent on intent, or even effect, as opposed to perceived intent? I'd assume the latter would be referred to as "perceived racism".

No, racism may be unintended. After all, racism is simply the belief that some races are superior to others. It's entirely possible to believe that African-Americans are inferior without recognizing this belief or feeling the slightest inkling of hostility.

Ah. I didn't intend to draw this out, but if racism is the belief in racial superiority, does that mean that a white man calling a black man a "thug" (assuming, of course, that in a non-racial context, usage of the word would be appropriate) is automatically indicative of that white man's belief in his racial superiority to the black man?

It is not automatically indicative of a white man's belief in racial superiority but every possibly piece of evidence suggests that it is indicative of a white man's subconscious or conscious belief in racial superiority. Again, most racism is entirely unrecognized by white Americans. Racism is not a pejorative state of mind defined by brutal acts of violence and unalloyed prejudice, it's a simple belief, recognized or unrecognized, that character attributes, typically pejorative, may be ascribed to a racial construct.

At first glance, most Americans think I am Latino. After Americans speak to me for extended periods of time, they typically think that I am an Arab or even an Indian. This embodies unrecognized racism: people place me into a different ethnic slot when they realize that I am well-educated. The assumption is that Latinos are uneducated and that Indians are educated, which is a misguided assumption based on a faulty heuristic. Statistically speaking, it's far more likely that an American would speak to a well-educated Latino than a well-educated Indian. This is a very benign form of racism but it's quite easy to see how this tendency could have negative effects in other contexts.

[BaconBacon96]

Very context dependent.

Most of the time in Australia it's used to refer to petty violent criminals, Bikie gangs and so on without racial connotations so I have no issues with the word. That said, I don't live in the United States...

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

[CountryClassSF]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Chris Matthews once said the word "Chicago" was a racial dog whistle.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Yes! I'd like to be able to call people crackers if they're brittle and lack substance. How dare SJWs take this ability away from me!

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Yes! I'd like to be able to call people crackers if they're brittle and lack substance. How dare SJWs take this ability away from me!

That has never been a normal use for that word.

[Bojack Horseman]

It's a compliment (e.g., "thug life")

It can also be used as a racial epithet, yes.

"Rethuglican" is just a hilariously partisan term that even I can't take seriously.

And yet they call us the "Democrat party."

Thug is the new N-word these days as it has the same meaning as Pig has toward police officers.

[CountryClassSF]

This is the one time I'm really proud of President Obama. For the first time in my adult lifetime.  I am glad he didn't cave in to political correctness. Good on him.

[MaxQue]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Sorry than we don't let you be a bigot.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Sorry than we don't let you be a bigot.

You're taking credit for this?  Give me a heads up on which word is next.

[CountryClassSF]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Sorry than we don't let you be a bigot.

You're taking credit for this?  Give me a heads up on which word is next.

I'm not sure how you can call him a bigot when he's expressed zero bigotry whatsoever.  What other words do you want banned?

[DemPGH]

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Totally agree with you here.

Further:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thug?s=t

^ That's what every one of my dictionaries say as well. There's a specific reference to a group of bandits, and then there's a general reference to a ruffian, criminal, etc. So if someone is using it in a racially charged way, that's their problem.

[memphis]

The sexist implications of the word are even stronger than the racist ones, not that anybody cares. It's much more likely to be applied to a scummy white man than a scummy black woman.

[muon2]

One problem with the current debate is that there is a modern context largely derived from hip-hop culture. Most of America is not tuned in to that culture, except for a few items that broke through into mainstream. The use of thug in the current debate was not one of those items.

So we now have a situation where part of the US that is aware of the newer connotation accuses others of racism when thug is used to describe blacks. You have the majority of the population confused by the accusation because the word never picked up the new meaning for them. I'm not sure how one is supposed to resolve this.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Totally agree with you here.

Further:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thug?s=t

^ That's what every one of my dictionaries say as well. There's a specific reference to a group of bandits, and then there's a general reference to a ruffian, criminal, etc. So if someone is using it in a racially charged way, that's their problem.

Admittedly, it's looking like the police involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray deserve the word "thugs" more than anyone in this situation (not that I would expect that use to escape charges of racism either).  "Thug" is probably not the best term for the violent rioters and looters. Call them cruel opportunistic idiot neighborhood-killers.

(Yes, that phrase could apply to many politicians and powers that be as well. But if someone comes up to a person in a coma to slit their throat, that would be murder, not heroism, even if it's to make a point.  It's much harder to build up than to destroy, so wanton destruction doesn't solve anything even if it draws attention. Burning the village in order to save it has always been b.s.)

[Mister Mets]

I don't think it's the province of a bunch of white people on the internet to decide what is and isn't racially charged, I really can't think of any legitimate use of this particular word that other words wouldn't capture just as well, and there is a big honking difference between advocating prudence and restraint and tact in word choice and being 'PC police' who want to 'tell people what they can and can't say'.

Wouldn't white people be the ones who know what their intentions are when they use the word?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Nine out of ten times it is used apporiately, but it seems to be Fox News' latest dog whistle (the one out of ten times that it is used in a very racist manner are basically whenever Fox uses it as a stand-in for the N-word).  I also heard a guy I know refer to the protesters as "just a bunch of thugs burning down their own neighborhood."  It was pretty disgusting!

[Mister Mets]

It's a compliment (e.g., "thug life")

It can also be used as a racial epithet, yes.

"Rethuglican" is just a hilariously partisan term that even I can't take seriously.

And yet they call us the "Democrat party."

Thug is the new N-word these days as it has the same meaning as Pig has toward police officers.

If this were true, the response to Obama using the t-word would have been much more vicious.

[Holmes]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Yes! I'd like to be able to call people crackers if they're brittle and lack substance. How dare SJWs take this ability away from me!

To be fair that describes a lot of white people.

[publicunofficial]

There's nothing like seeing white people share their important thoughts on how unfair it is that they can't be racist.

It would be nice if race would stop taking over random words.

Sorry than we don't let you be a bigot.

You're taking credit for this?  Give me a heads up on which word is next.

It's not random. It's whatever word you choose to use to describe black people next. And yes, that is YOU and your kind specifically.

[Rockefeller GOP]

9 out of 10 times it's used it's a racial dog whistle.

That is simply BULLSH*T, LOL.