Old Man Lays the Smackdown.

Thug is not a "black" word or a "white" word the way I use it. I use it the same way that Double J does.

 

If the rules allowed it, I'd definitely advise you to go have sexual intercourse with yourself. Racist.

 

Man, this thing has got some legs.





http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/epic-beard-man

 

How is his take racist? He's saying thugs come in multiple colors. If anything, it's the opposite of racist.

 

he's a thug=racism denier, and therefore racist. (okay, maybe that's a bit of overstatement but i'm really just pissed he seems to think my experience in the term's use is "pile of shit" basically just dismissing it out of hand and that's perfectly okay. Maybe he's not a racist, just a completely mindless tool).

 

It's a pile of crapola.

You are a crybaby and a fomenter.

And you desperately need to grow up.

 

I actually agree with POO in his general point. "Thug" is largely used on white people when they wear saggy jeans, wifebeaters, grills, big diamond earrings, talk with slang, etc.

Very few country-club husbands who rough up their wives or get in fights with their friends would be called "thugs."

Sorry to say, Simon, but outside your view, he's actually right. It's one of those codewords that lets people say what they want without having to be held accountable for their views.

 

Like when a coach of a suburban team says the inner-city school his team is playing is "athletic."

(That's not to say anybody on this thread was using "thug" in that manner. But I agree it's become a code word for a lot of people, especially sports fans.)

 

OK, what a I missing here? I had a hard time hearing the first part of the video, but why in the hell was he asking him to spit shine his shoes, or how much he would charge? I am white, but if I were black and an old white guy asked me to spit shine his shoes, I would take it as a prejudiced slam as well. I may choose to ignore him, and I priobably wouldn't follow the guy to the front of the bus, but I don't see why everyone has a problem with the kid having a problem with the old man in the first place. Again, if I missed something, please set me straight.

 

Or when Joe Biden calls an African-American politician, "articulate".

That this thread became a discussion of racism was the easiest bet in the world. Old mad beats up much younger loud mouth -- after walking away -- in a rout.

But because the younger guy is African-American, you're a racist if you took some glee in it.

"Thug" has been applied to mobsters, gangsters, and other assorted toughs forever. If it's been applied to African-Americans in a disproportionate manner, it's because the term was embraced by some in their quest to look like the, "gangsters," they wanted to emulate.

Anyone remember Tupac's, "Thug for Life"? Who coined that? Not racist whites, but Tupac himself.

African-American rappers and others seeking, "street cred," wanted to be seen as thugs.

Many of the NBA players want to be seen in the same light. The tattoos, the gang symbols, the rap music. They wanted to be seen in the same light as the rappers -- as thugs.

Phil Mushnick must have written 20 articles on the way many of these young athletes pose for pictures -- magazine cover shots even. Do they flash a smile? Maybe a smirk? No. Very often, it's a scowl.

What image are you trying to project when you scowl and try to look like a tough guy in a cover shot?

So someone goes and calls Latrell Sprewell or Allen Iverson a thug and they're a racist?

It's ridiculous.

I'm not sure how often, "thug," is a word that comes out of my mouth. But I don't see any racial connotations to it. A big, intimidating white guy would be a thug in my mind.

To apply the same term -- a term embraced by many African-Americans -- to to a big, intimidating African-American is not racist.

If someone is using thug all the time, as a substitute for African-American, ok, that would be racist.

But to call the guy on the bus a thug? What's wrong with that? He was a loud mouth, who was trying to intimidate the (crazy) old guy. It sounds like a reasonable term to use -- and certainly not out of line.

 

Tremendous.

 

Nice rant, YF. But you're wrong.

One, I'm not saying anybody here is racist. Two, in my experience (and others), there are code words and "thug" is one of them.

For example, I've not seen many people calling Roethlisberger a thug due to his legal troubles. Yet Shawne Merriman got that tag, from some, for his. I've seen the same thing with State U. Black kid gets arrested, the fans call him a thug. White kid commits worse crime and he doesn't.

For many people, right or wrong, "thug" now means "black man."