I’m offended by that! “Thug” is a perfectly good word with no racial implications, or at least it was until five minutes ago.
And not going through the exercise of trying to make something that is not racist, racist-like is even easier.
I’ve noticed that people tend to be behind the times on any slurs that don’t apply to their groups – black people notice when something becomes/became a racial slur against black people long before others; Jews notice when something becomes an anti-Jewish slur long before others; and similar.
I just call 'em like I see 'em. And I know that we often see 'em differently.
But that implies that there is someone out there who IS at the right paygrade. Whatever, you clarified.
I disagree. I don’t think language is equally influenced by every one of the billion of us.
So how does language change in the first place if everyone follows and nobody leads?
But the groups to whom those slurs don’t apply are the ones using them, so how can that be? For instance, if thug is a slur, it means whites are using it as a slur. I guess some whites who don’t use it might not be aware though. They are the ones who get in trouble for using it, ironically, since they are the non-racists. The racists know not to say it out loud, or else they don’t care.
Try not contorting them along the way. Just think of all the energy you’ll save and be able to post on other topics you will no doubt be wrong about. 
I don’t think I am.
I meant respectful to mean not demeaning. Disco party is a good example.
(Am I allowed to say what I mean when I use a word? Not sure any more. 
)
In New Orleans, the people who broke in to the shoe stores to steal shoes( those in flooded areas) were “thugs”, those who broke in to supermarkets to steal water(those whose water and electricity were out) were “resorceful”.
Almost any black person killed by the cops or protesting said murder is a thug on Fox news. They control the framing amongst their viewers and other racists to the point that the word “Thug” has evolved.
So we should blindly follow the language that FOX news uses? FOX should decide how we talk about race? I don’t think so.
And here’s the thing - when FOX says someone shot by the cops is a thug, they’re just saying they think the shooting was justified by the victim’s behavior. That’s not a racist statement - just the opposite, it means they think the cop wasn’t acting on race. I’m not saying I would agree with that assessment in any particular case, or that simply “being a thug” justifies being shot. And it could still be that someone on Fox sees a black face and thinks “he must be a thug” which is of course racist. But simply calling someone who is black a thug isn’t automatically racist. Perhaps he is one.
Fox viewers, however, may have taken “thug” and run with it to use it as a new racist term, of course.
When “thug” is overwhelmingly applied in a negative manner to people of one race – especially a race that has been historically discriminated against with the justification that they are more violent and less intelligent – then it’s reasonable to start to suspect that the word might have something to do with these historical forms of discrimination and oppression and these forms of justification that such treatment was earned due to a claimed greater capacity or likelihood for violence and lawlessness.
Well, sure, if you hear the word thug applied mostly to blacks, you’re going to think maybe it’s a slur, but is that happening? Have people stopped calling whites “thugs?”
In general, mostly yes, at least in my experience and reading.
I don’t really think it’s all that different from a black kid wearing it. I mean, I guess considering that anything could be offensive, someone might be upset, but Lil Jon exists as a person in the world. It’s not like going as a generic black person.
But Lil Jon’s face is black.
The history of blackface may make it racist, but using makeup as part of a costume isn’t implicitly racist. At some point, maybe the history will fade and blackface will just be a skin color. I know, it won’t be any time soon.
I’d say it’s hard for one person to observe that trend alone.
Probably so. As far as slurs against black people, I mostly take my cues from the black people among my family and friends.
But they aren’t objective observers. You can’t know whether white people have stopped calling other white people “thug” by what black people hear.
As for that part, I go for my own experience as a white person, and those of my white friends and family, as well as what I read for both.