“&Who calls 'young black males” thugs? Who does that? I think some people call criminals thugs, no matter what color they are.
This is NOT true. People called Trayvon Martin a thug when the only person with a mug shot was the one who killed him. What do they call the multiple white young males who have committed mass acts of terrorism against innocent civilians? They have the privilege of being “mentally deranged” or a “quiet kid who was misunderstood”."
Thug has the connotation of a petty criminal, not a violent one. A thug is a young person (of any color) who maybe steals from convenience stores, grabs the purses of little old ladies. Someone who stalks and shoots people (like the guy at UCSB or the guy in the movie theater in Colorado) is a violent criminal (obviously), but that’s not what a thug means. Tsaernaev is not a thug - not because he’s white - but because the word thug isn’t apropos for a violent act of terrorism.
I think most normal people were able to distinguish between Trayvon Martin who was going about his business, and the so-called “gentle giant” in Ferguson who had just knocked off a c-store.
I seem to recall that “thug” was the term widely applied to Richard Sherman not too long ago after an incident in a game. Sherman himself said–and I think he’s right–that “thug” seems to be a new way to call a black man the n-word.
I always considered people who riot and loot, destroy private property, etc., “thugs” whether they were white, black, or any other ethnicity. They don’t deserve that description?
Every year, parts of my city get trashed by thugs on May 1st. I high-tail out of the city before the trashing begins, so never had to witness it, but judging by what I see on the news, the overwhelming majority of those thugs looks like white males… ask any small business owner who had to replace windows or clean up the aftermath - they are thugs regardless of the race, age, gender, etc.
Sounds like the Honorable Tupac describes a thug as many of us would describe someone who has overcome all odds in order to succeed. A very hard worker, an overachiever. Or maybe someone who didn’t have anything, robbed a bank, and now he’s got enough? Hey, what’s the difference?
quote President Robert Brown acknowledged Grundy’s right to hold and express her opinions but said her remarks unfairly “typecast” certain groups of people. He stopped short, though, of acknowledging the comments were directed almost exclusively at whites.
“I do not say this lightly or without a great deal of consultation and soul-searching,” Brown’s letter reads. “I understand there is a broader context to Dr. Grundy’s tweets and that, as a scholar, she has the right to pursue her research, formulate her views, and challenge the rest of us to think differently about race relations. But we also must recognize that words have power and the words in her Twitter feed were powerful in the way they stereotyped and condemned other people.”
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I don’t know if Hough was punished, but he certainly got less restrained institutional censure.
Tupac-whatever, his pronouncements or definitions are meaningless to me. I still say thug is not a racist word. The black guy in Ferguson who knocked over the c-store was a thug, and white college kids who overturn cars and throw trash when their football team wins are thugs too.
As of recent times, the word “thug” has been used to dehumanize and/or justify injustices to an individual of a particular race. Repeating, the value is gained when looking into the difference between the language used to describe individuals of varying race.
No, thug does not mean a black criminal. Yes, thug has been used lately to describe black criminals and black men. Additionally, I do not believe thug is the new n-word. Two separate usage histories along with the intent behind the usage.
I only have one musing when it comes to the beliefs of the Duke professor. He could equate the hardships of one race, who largely immigrated in the 1850s and beyond, that encountered a unique set of racial discriminations due to certain events to another race, who was enslaved before the starting of this country and didn’t get full rights until about 50 years ago, and wonder why the results aren’t the same?
Those bikers in TX who shot each other up are being described as thugs and they’re white and Hispanic, I believe. Although I think thug is probably too weak a word to describe them, as they’re hardcore criminals.
To me, the word “thug” means habitual violent criminal, and would include (for example) highway robbers, muggers, gang bangers, car jackers, lower level mobsters, and, maybe most especially, criminals for hire. So I would disagree with those who think the connotation is petty criminals. Violent bikers are squarely within the definition and connotation of the word in my mind.