Is "Thug" a Racist Word?

[TheStruggle]

 

[DrDune]

edit beat to the trick daddy punch

 

[TITS]

And no, the word "thug" is not exclusive to blacks. Liberals need to stop pretending it is.

No one's pretending shit. Certain news outlets use the word exclusively for blacks, and it's been spreading.

 

[BearGrounds]

Seems the aunt is more concerned about them being called thugs then them beating up a weaker kid. Real principled family there.

Superintendent should have told her to fuck off.

And let's not pretend like hip hop culture hasn't glorified being a thug for decades now.



Don't want to be labeled a thug, don't behave like one.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Sssshhhhh.

 

[LEGS MAHONEY]

Well the family of the attackers stated it as such so it's obvious they are trying to distract from the fact their kids are pieces of shit.

What better way for a POC to try to turn the tables than play the race card. Nothing else to see here.

 

[Slick_36]

It would be up to the person making the assertion to prove it.
My guess is that, much like the "full moon effect", a careful analysis would prove it inaccurate.

This thread was started because obviously there's a perceived correlation. If I look on Google for articles about white thugs, I get just as many articles that are about it being an exclusively black word as I do articles that actually are about white criminals where the word thug is used. You telling me it's selection bias without giving me any evidence yourself is the equivalent of you just saying "nuh uh" while shaking your head.

 

[elfeliz]

Yes, I have noticed that word has been used a lot towards black people especially from right wingers. Its code word just like illegal is used instead of Mexicans. There are other examples too but I can think of them right now

 

[The Diplomat]

The Nazis were thugs. The Mafia were/are thugs. Gangbangers are thugs.

I don't see the issue.

 

[Slick_36]

...and never towards white people. It's always a black guy who's "ghetto" so he's a "thug" now. Maybe they should just stop using the word because it's thinly veiled racism.

They were calling Trayvon Martin a thug for christ's sake. The fat wanna-be security guard that killed him was the real thug.

Or just stop using the word because it doesn't inform the reader in anything other than to let you know they're probably black. If they did something violent, report on it and the reader will come to the conclusion that they're a thug on their own.

 

[Teppodama]

Thought crimes and newspeak evolving slowly but surely.

 

[Slick_36]

The Nazis were thugs. The Mafia were/are thugs. Gangbangers are thugs.

I don't see the issue.

No one is arguing that the word itself is racist. Just making the obvious observation that it's used selectively in the media.

 

[The Diplomat]

No one is arguing that the word itself is racist. Just making the obvious observation that it's used selectively in the media.

I can agree with that. I don't think that should be an excuse for everyone to go overboard anytime the word is used, though. I'd think it's the most appropriate word for someone attacking an innocent just for fun.

 

[BADodd06]

Sounds like bullshit.

I'm blown away by your intelligent criticism

 

[Armbars]

I dunno?

Is punkawallah a racist word?? I use it to describe my Indian co workers. They laugh at me.

 

[Slippery Kantus]

No one's pretending shit. Certain news outlets use the word exclusively for blacks, and it's been spreading.

 

[Hard To Tell]

Yes. Clearly the main problem here is the word used to describe people who behave like this, not the behavior itself.

Other problematic, stigmatizing words and terms that need to go are murderer, thief, rapists, sex offender and pedophile. #stopthehate.

 

[Slick_36]

I can agree with that. I don't think that should be an excuse for everyone to go overboard anytime the word is used, though. I'd think it's the most appropriate word for someone attacking an innocent just for fun.

I agree, that's exactly what the word should describe. The problem isn't with the word or people's interpretations of the word, it's that the media is redefining it behind a facade.

 

[Slick_36]

Yes. Clearly the main problem here is the word used to describe people who behave like this, not the behavior itself.

Other problematic, stigmatizing words and terms that need to go are murderer, thief, rapists, sex offender and pedophile. #stopthehate.

That's not what the thread was about and you're being willfully ignorant in what the problem is. But this obviously will mean nothing to you, your mind is already made up and you just want to be heard.

 

[Co-Co Zola]

Spoiler