Is "Thug" a Racist Word?

[MMA IAN]

...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.

Dumb shit

Thug is used all around the world as a description for uneducated, violent thugs. Russian thugs, white. Australian thugs, white. I don't think of black people when I hear the word used, I just think of people who can't find 2 brain cells to rub together.

Just so happens America has a lot of thugs of a particular colour.

 

[The Diplomat]

Spoiler

I always like the story Marlon Wayans tells of when he first met 2Pac on the set of Above the Rim. They were in the trailer, smoking weed and getting really high. Tupac just got the "Thug Life" tattoo, and Marlon kept saying how he should get rid of the T and just go around with "HUG LIFE" on his stomach.

 

[LEGS MAHONEY]

...and never towards white people. .

Antifa consists of a lot of white people and they have been routinely characterized as thugs.

Keep your shirt on Martha.

 

[Gutter Chris]

No, but it tends to only refer to one race when it comes up in the media so it might as well be.

Im pretty sure that I have heard thug used to describe putin trump the alt right middle eastern leaders ...... But I also have heard people use thug when I am pretty sure they meant so I do know where you are coming from


I think its kind of a case by case word

Calling these 2 kids thugs seems appropriate and the kids aunt is probably a scumbag crying racism instead of dealing with her nephew being a bully and shitty person

 

[Fawlty]

No word is racist. Thug is used in a lot of ways, and one of those ways is as a right PC dog whistle, and that is racist.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

it shouldn't be, the term 'jackbooted thugs' has been around for awhile and that's not referring to any black people....
it's just like the older term 'goon' referring to a bad guy's henchmen or whatever

it also doesn't help when say rap groups like Bone routinely called themselves 'thuggish ruggish Bone'
they literally had a song THUG Mentality hahaha

 

[Slick_36]

Im pretty sure that I have heard thug used to describe putin trump the alt right middle eastern leaders ...... But I also have heard people use thug when I am pretty sure they meant so I do know where you are coming from


I think its kind of a case by case word

Calling these 2 kids thugs seems appropriate and the kids aunt is probably a scumbag crying racism instead of dealing with her nephew being a bully and shitty person

Like I said, I found articles that used the word for white men. They were referring to white supremacists and a police officer. This wouldn't even be up for debate if it was 100% referring to people of color in every news source. The problem is that it's overwhelmingly used for a certain group, that changes the meaning of the word in the public lexicon. You can blame rap culture for glorifying the word, but that doesn't mean the media has to use the word to refer to them. If anything it's just unprofessional.

 

[jamel]

Some use it covertly some not so much.

Either way the subculture needs a proper noun we can all agree on.

 

[Slick_36]

it shouldn't be, the term 'jackbooted thugs' has been around for awhile and that's not referring to any black people....
it's just like the older term 'goon' referring to a bad guy's henchmen or whatever

it also doesn't help when say rap groups like Bone routinely called themselves 'thuggish ruggish Bone'
they literally had a song THUG Mentality hahaha

And Nas had an album called , does that mean the media should now start using that word to describe black people? It's factually correct, right?

 

[BEER]

I think some people use "thug" as a coded word. Absolutely.

Do I think everyone uses it selectively towards one or two races? No. If I see a video of people jumping someone, they're thugs, regardless of race.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

And Nas had an album called , does that mean the media should now start using that word to describe black people? It's factually correct, right?

not sure what you're implying

but if people routinely call themselves a word as almost a sign of pride, that same word shouldn't be considered automatically racist when used by others

 

[Slick_36]

Some use it covertly some not so much.

Either way the subculture needs a proper noun we can all agree on.

What subculture? Violent criminals? There's a lot of ways to refer to them, thug wouldn't even be an issue if it was used less selectively.

 

[Slick_36]

not sure what you're implying

but if people routinely call themselves a word as almost a sign of pride, that same word shouldn't be considered automatically racist when used by others

So in your opinion the N-word is not racist when referring to all black people because some black people use it as a term of endearment.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

So in your opinion the N-word is not racist when referring to all black people because some black people use it as a term of endearment.

no, b/c that word is ONLY used to describe black people (and maybe like Eminem or something)

thug has zero racial connotation in and of itself

 

[sangreporsangre]

What else was he supposed to call these pieces of shit who cowardly attacked this poor kid? Seriously, what word would describe them better? Textbook definition of thugs. This cunt of an aunt is making it an issue to deflect from the actions of the garbage human being that came from her family. The word thug isn't a racist slur, it was perfectly applicable in this situation and many others.

 

[IDL]

Thug is a universal word

Funny how a story about 2 black kids beating up another disabled black kid can be spun into a story about a white coach being racist for calling the 2 kids thugs. It's no wonder why people keep abusing the race card because of how easy it is to manipulate people.

 

[IDL]

Dumb shit

Thug is used all around the world as a description for uneducated, violent thugs. Russian thugs, white. Australian thugs, white. I don't think of black people when I hear the word used, I just think of people who can't find 2 brain cells to rub together.

Just so happens America has a lot of thugs of a particular colour.

This is true. The only additional variable could be that 'thug lyfe' and whatnot has been marketted to the public through the rap industry glorifying the 'thug lifestyle' that some may now associate with black urban gang culture.

But that doesn't negate the universal nature of the word. It has just been somewhat over marketed by the pop music industry

 

[Gutter Chris]

So in your opinion the N-word is not racist when referring to all black people because some black people use it as a term of endearment.

Context matters

my z came over on sunday ..... more than likely not a racist statement vs A just moved in across the street .... probably a racist comment.

Calling Richard Sherman a thug few years back seemed odd but what other than thug should you calls these boys jumping the special kid ? You wanna bring back hoodlum and ruffian ? Wont we have the same discussion then ?

 

[Slick_36]

no, b/c that word is ONLY used to describe black people (and maybe like Eminem or something)

thug has zero racial connotation in and of itself

So language doesn't evolve?

 

[Slick_36]

Context matters

my z came over on sunday ..... more than likely not a racist statement vs A just moved in across the street .... probably a racist comment.

Calling Richard Sherman a thug few years back seemed odd but what other than thug should you calls these boys jumping the special kid ? You wanna bring back hoodlum and ruffian ? Wont we have the same discussion then ?

These kids are absolutely thugs, I was only addressing the question that was asked in the OP. Context is absolutely everything, but the news should never be using the n-word to describe anyone when we have a better alternative at hand. Thug is referring to one race overwhelmingly in the media and that is redefining the context in which they use it.