To (say) Thug or to not (say) Thug, that is my ?

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

I love how I presented irrefutable evidence to the contrary of the notion that 'thug' is reserved for black people and people not only chose to ignore it... they persist with their argument.

In the event some are talking more than they are listening: Mayor Gregor Robertson publically denounced the large, predominantly white contingency of rioters in Vancouver as thugs.

He did so because that is what these 'individuals-persisting-with-non-legal-activities' (would that satisfy some?) were- thugs.

I don't think Vancouver is a great example at all. Canada simply doesn't have the same racial tensions that we do. If you find an example from the US please post it, I am not sure it hasn't happened, but you can bet your bottom dollar Fox News doesn't call any white people thugs.

Even if they do occasionally, some of you are seriously blind if you don't see that there are people out there who are using thug as a new racist epithet. It happens, get over it. Thug is not a racist term, but it gets used as one, and that is plain truth, if you can't see that your eyes are closed.

rgambs said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

I love how I presented irrefutable evidence to the contrary of the notion that 'thug' is reserved for black people and people not only chose to ignore it... they persist with their argument.

In the event some are talking more than they are listening: Mayor Gregor Robertson publically denounced the large, predominantly white contingency of rioters in Vancouver as thugs.

He did so because that is what these 'individuals-persisting-with-non-legal-activities' (would that satisfy some?) were- thugs.

I don't think Vancouver is a great example at all. Canada simply doesn't have the same racial tensions that we do. If you find an example from the US please post it, I am not sure it hasn't happened, but you can bet your bottom dollar Fox News doesn't call any white people thugs.

Even if they do occasionally, some of you are seriously blind if you don't see that there are people out there who are using thug as a new racist epithet. It happens, get over it. Thug is not a racist term, but it gets used as one, and that is plain truth, if you can't see that your eyes are closed.

If Vancouver isn't a good example then neither is Fox News. Fox speaks to a certain audience only and that audience does not include you or I. Much like Richard Sherman, Fox doesn't get to decide what words mean, or define how they are used across society.

I'm off to see the Avengers but I'm sure I'll check in later.

JimmyV said:

rgambs said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

I love how I presented irrefutable evidence to the contrary of the notion that 'thug' is reserved for black people and people not only chose to ignore it... they persist with their argument.

In the event some are talking more than they are listening: Mayor Gregor Robertson publically denounced the large, predominantly white contingency of rioters in Vancouver as thugs.

He did so because that is what these 'individuals-persisting-with-non-legal-activities' (would that satisfy some?) were- thugs.

I don't think Vancouver is a great example at all. Canada simply doesn't have the same racial tensions that we do. If you find an example from the US please post it, I am not sure it hasn't happened, but you can bet your bottom dollar Fox News doesn't call any white people thugs.

Even if they do occasionally, some of you are seriously blind if you don't see that there are people out there who are using thug as a new racist epithet. It happens, get over it. Thug is not a racist term, but it gets used as one, and that is plain truth, if you can't see that your eyes are closed.

If Vancouver isn't a good example then neither is Fox News. Fox speaks to a certain audience only and that audience does not include you or I. Much like Richard Sherman, Fox doesn't get to decide what words mean, or define how they are used across society.

I'm off to see the Avengers but I'm sure I'll check in later.

I disagree entirely. Fox News is American, it is the most watched news network, and it the network of choice for white racists...seems like a good example of the fact that some words, like thug and terroris(m/t), are used selectively in a racist way.

oftenreading said:

JimmyV said:

rgambs said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

I love how I presented irrefutable evidence to the contrary of the notion that 'thug' is reserved for black people and people not only chose to ignore it... they persist with their argument.

In the event some are talking more than they are listening: Mayor Gregor Robertson publically denounced the large, predominantly white contingency of rioters in Vancouver as thugs.

He did so because that is what these 'individuals-persisting-with-non-legal-activities' (would that satisfy some?) were- thugs.

I don't think Vancouver is a great example at all. Canada simply doesn't have the same racial tensions that we do. If you find an example from the US please post it, I am not sure it hasn't happened, but you can bet your bottom dollar Fox News doesn't call any white people thugs.

Even if they do occasionally, some of you are seriously blind if you don't see that there are people out there who are using thug as a new racist epithet. It happens, get over it. Thug is not a racist term, but it gets used as one, and that is plain truth, if you can't see that your eyes are closed.

If Vancouver isn't a good example then neither is Fox News. Fox speaks to a certain audience only and that audience does not include you or I. Much like Richard Sherman, Fox doesn't get to decide what words mean, or define how they are used across society.

I'm off to see the Avengers but I'm sure I'll check in later.

The other part to this being that the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots happened in 2011 and we're talking about word usage in 2015. If we are talking about evolving usage, that's plenty of time for it.

Plenty of time? Are you serious?

4 years... and a common word is plucked from everyday vernacular and converted to succinctly depicting a group based on their race when engaged in the behaviors typically eliciting the descriptive term?

What's the new term for 'white' thugs?

No. No way.

oftenreading said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

oftenreading said:

JimmyV said:

rgambs said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

I love how I presented irrefutable evidence to the contrary of the notion that 'thug' is reserved for black people and people not only chose to ignore it... they persist with their argument.

In the event some are talking more than they are listening: Mayor Gregor Robertson publically denounced the large, predominantly white contingency of rioters in Vancouver as thugs.

He did so because that is what these 'individuals-persisting-with-non-legal-activities' (would that satisfy some?) were- thugs.

I don't think Vancouver is a great example at all. Canada simply doesn't have the same racial tensions that we do. If you find an example from the US please post it, I am not sure it hasn't happened, but you can bet your bottom dollar Fox News doesn't call any white people thugs.

Even if they do occasionally, some of you are seriously blind if you don't see that there are people out there who are using thug as a new racist epithet. It happens, get over it. Thug is not a racist term, but it gets used as one, and that is plain truth, if you can't see that your eyes are closed.

If Vancouver isn't a good example then neither is Fox News. Fox speaks to a certain audience only and that audience does not include you or I. Much like Richard Sherman, Fox doesn't get to decide what words mean, or define how they are used across society.

I'm off to see the Avengers but I'm sure I'll check in later.

The other part to this being that the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots happened in 2011 and we're talking about word usage in 2015. If we are talking about evolving usage, that's plenty of time for it.

Plenty of time? Are you serious?

4 years... and a common word is plucked from everyday vernacular and converted to succinctly depicting a group based on their race when engaged in the behaviors typically eliciting the descriptive term?

What's the new term for 'white' thugs?

No. No way.

I"m not arguing for or against the validity of this usage, Thirty, I'm just saying that word meanings can change very quickly. How quickly did the word "tweet" come to commonly mean a post on twitter instead of the sound of a bird? Or go listen to any teenagers talk.

New meaning doesnt negate old either.

rr165892 said:

josevolution said:

Why can't you guys just be honest about it the term " thug " is describing a black man it certainly is not describing a white male ...

It's not.And your off base.This whole overly PC thing is ridiculous.I mean Cmon is a punk just a white kid with a Mohawk?
It's no wonder this country has gotten so soft.Everone walking on eggshells.Fuck that.Im no rascist.Not even a little,but those criminals who were slicing fire hoses and burning down buisnesses were Thugs plain and simple.You guys crack me up.

Yes they were thugs black teens not white teens , I'm not afraid to call them thugs I'm not walking on egg shells I work side by side with black men & women ... Thug = black men

rgambs said:

JimmyV said:

rgambs said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

I love how I presented irrefutable evidence to the contrary of the notion that 'thug' is reserved for black people and people not only chose to ignore it... they persist with their argument.

In the event some are talking more than they are listening: Mayor Gregor Robertson publically denounced the large, predominantly white contingency of rioters in Vancouver as thugs.

He did so because that is what these 'individuals-persisting-with-non-legal-activities' (would that satisfy some?) were- thugs.

I don't think Vancouver is a great example at all. Canada simply doesn't have the same racial tensions that we do. If you find an example from the US please post it, I am not sure it hasn't happened, but you can bet your bottom dollar Fox News doesn't call any white people thugs.

Even if they do occasionally, some of you are seriously blind if you don't see that there are people out there who are using thug as a new racist epithet. It happens, get over it. Thug is not a racist term, but it gets used as one, and that is plain truth, if you can't see that your eyes are closed.

If Vancouver isn't a good example then neither is Fox News. Fox speaks to a certain audience only and that audience does not include you or I. Much like Richard Sherman, Fox doesn't get to decide what words mean, or define how they are used across society.

I'm off to see the Avengers but I'm sure I'll check in later.

I disagree entirely. Fox News is American, it is the most watched news network, and it the network of choice for white racists...seems like a good example of the fact that some words, like thug and terroris(m/t), are used selectively in a racist way.

Wow!! Everyone that watches Fox that does not agree with you I suppose are racist?

What do you call the people that did this?

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/dundalk-man-recovering-after-beating/32610412

Punks? Thugs? Assholes? Or all of the above?

DUNDALK, Md. —A Dundalk community is on edge after a large group, mostly made up of juveniles from a nearby school, viciously beat a man almost to death.

It happened just before 1 p.m. Wednesday in the 500 block of 45th Street in the Harbor View area. So far, police have made two arrests in the case -- both juveniles. One will be tried as a juvenile, the other an adult.

Residents said there has been an ongoing problem with students leaving nearby Baltimore Community High School, and that something needs to be done.

Police, friends and family said two girls, who witnesses describe as students from the nearby Baltimore Community High School, were fighting near a green pickup truck that belongs to 61-year-old Richard Fletcher.

Police said Fletcher tried to break up the fight but was then attacked by other juveniles and adults, some of them students at the school, who were watching the fight.

Fletcher spent several days in a coma.

"You wouldn't believe it. Everybody goes in the house and shuts their door. You have to live like a prisoner. But when I came down and seen that man, it made you totally sick," a resident said.

Residents who asked not to be identified said they are now fearful for their lives and property, saying it can be utter chaos when the school lets out for the day.

A business owner who has surveillance video of the attack said he has received death threats from students and their friends.

On Monday, there was a noticeable police presence, both from the city and the county, in the neighborhood.

WBAL-TV 11 News contacted Baltimore City school officials but they declined to comment.

According to the school's website, Baltimore Community High School is a second-chance school serving students who are between the ages of 14 to 21.

Attempts to reach Fletcher were unsuccessful. Friends and family said he is too scared to even answer the door to his home.

The Harbor View Community Association is planning a public forum Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the school to discuss the problems.

Friends and family have started a fundraising page online to cover Fletcher's medical bills.

Police say more arrests are pending.

Thug
noun
1. a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) one of a former group of professional robbers and murderers in India who strangled their victims.

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

This is how 'thug' became synonymous with black gangstas:



Any word used derogatorily as a racial slur is offensive. If it's not used as a racial descriptor, no, it's not offensive. Pretty simple to me. But I'm not black, so it's not really up to me.