zlacker

Well of course it isn't "more thuggish." The use of "thug" was done on purpose. It is a known racist dog whistle. Trump's racist followers know exactly what he means when he says "These THUGS are..." They replace that with the n word. It's just as a society we don't allow them to say the n word any more, so they've replaced it with a myriad of dog whistles.

What I'm saying is that, in their minds, every single person in that mob is a "thug," and everything they're doing is (in your words) "thuggish."

But the mob of white folks in Charlottesville? Nothing thuggish there. That's just white folks protesting against being oppressed by minorities.

>>Ashley+(OP)
I would call any group of people who burns down a police station, or breaks into a Target and starts stealing stuff, thuggish. The mob of white folks in Charlottesville did not, as far as I know, do these things.

>>Ashley+(OP)
The previous president used “thug” to describe Baltimore rioters. Would you consider that racially charged?

https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/full-text-ob...

I didn’t vote for Trump, but it’s clear he’s referring to individuals and groups that are destroying areas of Minneapolis.

>>jonhoh+g6
Yes. Yes I would. I wouldn't be surprised if that speech was written by a white person who doesn't understand the meaning behind it. I guarantee Obama fully understands how that term is an epithet.

https://www.google.com/search?q=history+of+thug+as+a+race+wh...

>>SpicyL+W
Yeah, they only murdered a black person. That's not nearly as bad as burning a building.

/s for those who can't see that I'm responding to someone who has been trolling this thread hard

>>Ashley+ea
So then he would have recanted when called out and the Whitehouse wouldn't have stood by the language - https://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2015/04/29/obama-whit.... Either he thought the word was appropriate or wasn't able to control his staff writers and spokespeople.

>>Ashley+pa
I think this person is actually not a troll, just has some ideas that are maybe not fully thought through. I see evidence of an open mind by the poster elsewhere on the thread. Let's try to have patience with other people.

>>jonhoh+8N1
I'd say he likely used it as an appeal to people who view things like this through a racial lens. He was trying to draw a line between most black people and those who would physically attack police officers.

You bring up an interesting point with Obama's usage of the word, and I would agree that he knew what he was doing when he used it. As does Trump.