Discussion for article #235778
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means…
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In other news, movement conservatives are ecstatic when Obama uses words with 5 letters or less and fewer than two syllables.
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The right wing stupidity is truly ceaseless. It’s not the use of the term thug or thugs in general. It’s when you use it repeatedly to describe everything from an Ivy league educated football player raising his voice, to an unarmed teenager murdered by a thuggish neighborhood watchman, to the president of the USA, to violent rioters, and when it’s used exclusively to describe black men whose behavior or mere words you dislike.
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They just don’t get that Obama knows WHEN to use the word. In this case, the rioters are indeed thugs. But if a kid is wearing a hoodie or listening to rap music, he is not a thug.
I’m not sure how that got tied to race anyway. The Mob has thugs. They might wear nice suits, but they are still thugs.
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There’s something very wrong with today’s conservative movement when the President using the word “thug” to describe actual thugs gives them an orgasm …
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Using the word “thug” in itself is not bad. It’s just that it seems the only time the wingers use it is when they are referring to Black people.
In watching the president over the past several years, how thoughtful and the way he looks at the entire picture, I don’t think he used it in the racist way many on the right do, nor do I think the person was knee-jerk describing them as that way because of their skin color.
That said, I really wish he had used different words in this case, because the racist right will continue to use it using him as justification
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Good for them. If they feel better and look at the world in a sunnier way, that’s good, right? If it feels good, it is good. Plus, it may keep them off the streets.
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But for those of us not of the RWNJ persuasion, “thug”, is a word derived from the sanskrit and Hindi which originally meant to cover or conceal and later thief. It is the same root as the name given to the predatory secret fraternities in India–the Thuggees. The Brits adopted it and transformed its meaning to describe particularly intimidating criminals and ruffians in general. When you are not a right wing bigot, you can often fail to think beyond the denotation of such dog-whistle words.
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They’re just happy because they think this is their opportunity to use it now as you describe without impunity.
“Well, THE PRESIDENT said it!! Why can’t I say it?!!??”
These mouthbreathers are nothing if not consistent.
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What is it about the President’s words " a handful of…" do they not understand or choose not to acknowledge?
Which is why EVERY person of color in a leadership position must think twice about using this word, regardless of context. Every wingnut in the world will use the President’s remarks as license to call every Black male as a thug, regardless of context! Those of us who understand the “dog whistle” meaning of “Thug” should know that every racist uses that word to equate “Thug” with N****r. The sooner it drops out of the public’s lexicon, the better.
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“Vandal” is a more accurate term for what the President said, given the context in which it was used. Call me a “language cop” if it makes you feel better, but it doesn’t belie the fact that the far too many people i the USA use “Thug” because they can’t use “N****r” any more. The sooner the use of “Thug” drops out of general usage, the better, IMHO.
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Democrats are more conscious of messaging and the code behind words than we used to be, but obviously there’s a long way to go. Obama and the mayor, what the F were they thinking? They completely undercut the pushback against the current preferred racist codeword.
Vandal is usually used for property damage. There were violent physical assaults going on, so it’s not sufficient.
Trying to ban words is pointless. People will find news words to mean the same thing. Words are arbitrary sounds that represent ideas, not the ideas themselves. See: “euphemism treadmill”.
People invent new “polite” words to refer to emotionally laden or
distasteful things, but the euphemism becomes tainted by association and
the new one that must be found acquires its own negative connotations.
thug: a violent criminal. turning a perfectly good word into something it does not mean makes no sense.
usage: the south carolina cops that beat walter scott were acting like a bunch of thugs.
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Totally disagree. You are gauging what you will say based on what some trashy idiots who watch FOX think. That’s as dumb as not eating watermelon or fried chicken because some ignorant a-holes tell black jokes about it. Don’t let trash dictate your language. A thug is a thug. Color has no relevance. To call these punks “thugs” actually separates them from the REAL protesters.
It’s a proper word to use. Just like some of these Eastern European mobs that have become so prevalent here. They have no regard for anything and bully people and get violent, etc. They are thugs too. And yes, black people should call those white mobsters thugs too. It’s the proper word.
Please, not another PC term. What now, they are “behavior challenged protesters”?? No, they are thugs.
EDIT: Also, you are implying that those “wingnuts” would not use the word to describe blacks if Obama did not use that word to describe the rioters? I ain’t buying that, they have been doing it all along, why would they stop now. Who gives a shit what they say anyway?
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“thugs” == “racially loaded”
Perhaps, in the fart-huffing fantasy bubble of the conservasphere histrionics factories. When it is convenient to do so.
In the rest of the world, not so much. Once again, Republicans cannot into context or appropriate usage of the English language. News at 11.
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No. No, it is not. You’re English language skills need work.
Just, please, stop being retarded. It’s embarrassing to be on the same Internets as you.
EDIT to add:
Bullshit.
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A concept a lot of people are missing. Why the hell would I let those a-holes affect my usage of English, especially when most of them are illiterate.