Race baiting media at it again...

Originally posted by MF DELPH
That's actually not the case. Thug is generally used for people engaging in criminal or gang related behavior, typically violence or drug traffic. If you are referring to the "distinctions" made when, say, sporting event rioters engage in property damage versus looters from a protest only you might have somewhat of a point, but other people who engage in activities like turf wars, drug dealing, and gang violence do get referred to as thugs even if their ethnicity was not black. For example, Italian members of organized crime or other criminal elements as well as Latino and Asian Gang Members. Hell, Police have been referred to as "Jack Booted Thugs" and "Thugs with Badges". The view that "Thug" is primarily used for Black Activity is a bit of confirmation bias overlooking the other instances where the term is used.

I disagree somewhat. A Latino may be referred to a thug, but for an Italian or an Asian gang member to be referred to as thug by people is much less likely.

You are right that the juxtaposition of police as thugs does exists.

While I agree that there is a usage of thug outside of the racially charged one, to refer to antisocial behaviour generally, it's still extremely linked to black people and much more commonly used in relation to them, not only in the case of riots as you state, but anything related to crime in general.

Here in the Bay Area a sitting State Senator from San Francisco named Leland Yee was brought up on charges of corruption, gun running, racketeering, as well as being involved with Triads. He and his associates were referred to as "gangland criminals" and "thugs".

Also, that correlation could have something to do with the disproportion of newsworthy incidents involving black people engaging in either criminal or violent activity that gets international media coverage. If you only have that sampling to base your opinion on I don't believe you're getting the full picture of the usage of the term.

I hope you didn't mean it that way, but I find the insinuation that I am not qualified to speak about this because I currently do not live in the US a bit inappropriate. I get my US News from National and Regional US publications and blogs, lived in the US, and converse predominantly with US citizens on the Internet. At any rate I'm not the only person that views "thug" to have a racist connotation:

http://reverbpress.com/features/thug-evolution-racist-code-word/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/baltimore-pol-tells-cnn-word-thug-racially-charged-article-1.2202859
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/don-lemon-asks-is-thug-a-racist-term/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judy-muller/a-thug-by-any-other-name_b_155708.html
http://politicalblindspot.com/the-racist-origins-of-the-term-thug-and-how-it-relates-to-the-trayvon-martin-shooting/

I'm also not denying that the word thug is in some instances used for people who aren't black, that usage exists. What I'm saying is that there is also a bias to call black people thugs and to think of thugs as black people, this may be entirely subconscious on most people's parts, but it still affects public opinions and discourse. Additionally, thug is also a go to word for racists who don't want to reveal themselves, because the other, non racist usage, gives them cover.

Our brains aren't very good at remembering the frequency of incidents. So your counter examples of where it was used for non-black people aren't really a very good indication of whether most people use it for black people or if they are more likely to think of a black person as a thug.

I'm not saying you're not qualified, I'm saying that if the basis of you thinking that the term "Thug" is only used in reference to incidents where black people are involved is based solely on the verbiage used by some "mainstream media" outlets (Fox, MSNBC, CNN, HUffPo, their affiliates) and that sampling is only of stories which pertain to Black people, you're not getting the full picture of the usage of the term. I'm a black man living here in the U.S. watching these same news outlets as well as local stations (here in the SF Bay Area) regularly and can attest to you that "Thug" is used for a wide variety of ethnicities who engage in criminal or violent activity, not simply black people. The use of the term in the media and the preconceived notions of the general public when it comes to my people are different matters, though there is some level of correlation. The general public does more times than not assume that a person of my demographic would have criminal tendencies, but that perception existed prior to the 24 hour news cycle and founding of Fox News. I myself have been profiled and had women clutch there purses or lock their car doors as I approached. Regardless, "Thug Life" is not synonymous with "Black", nor is "Thug" synonymous with "Black". There are, however, Black Thugs, and it's ok to call people who engage in thuggish behavior "Thugs" regardless of their ethnicity. Cops can be Jack Booted Thugs. New Jersey Mobsters can be Grease Headed Thugs. Hong Kong Triads can be Human Trafficking Thugs.

Originally posted by MF DELPH
I'm not saying you're not qualified, I'm saying that if the basis of you thinking that the term "Thug" is only used in reference to incidents where black people are involved is based solely on the verbiage used by some "mainstream media" outlets (Fox, MSNBC, CNN, HUffPo, their affiliates) and that sampling is only of stories which pertain to Black people, you're not getting the full picture of the usage of the term. I'm a black man living here in the U.S. watching these same news outlets as well as local stations (here in the SF Bay Area) regularly and can attest to you that "Thug" is used for a wide variety of ethnicities who engage in criminal or violent activity, not simply black people. The use of the term in the media and the preconceived notions of the general public when it comes to my people are different matters, though there is some level of correlation. The general public does more times than not assume that a person of my demographic would have criminal tendencies, but that perception existed prior to the 24 hour news cycle and founding of Fox News. I myself have been profiled and had women clutch there purses or lock their car doors as I approached. Regardless, "Thug Life" is not synonymous with "Black", nor is "Thug" synonymous with "Black". There are, however, Black Thugs, and it's ok to call people who engage in thuggish behavior "Thugs" regardless of their ethnicity. Cops can be Jack Booted Thugs. New Jersey Mobsters can be Grease Headed Thugs. Hong Kong Triads can be Human Trafficking Thugs.

Tbh I think we mostly agree. I'm not arguing for whether it should be okay to use thug or not, just that there is the tendency to use it more for black people (which you seem to agree in regards to the mainstream media) and because people are more likely to assume that black people have criminal tendencies (which you also agree, but perhaps not think makes it more likely that the word thug would be used, which I find a bit odd).