[Ads-l] thug

[Beth Young]

http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/29/baltimores-mayor-apologizes-for-using-the-t-word/


Though Rawlins-Blake did not herself use the phrase "the t-word."

Beth

On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 11:07 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: thug
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The point seems to be that "thugs" implies that they are incorrigible and
> unregenerate. It misses the point that some were indeed "kids,"
> thoughtlessly joining a mob on impulse.
>
> "Kids" suggests youthful irresponsibility and moral innocence - they just
> didn't know any better [!]. It also allows for the argument that conditions
> and the system are the real culprits.
>
> But those points are irrespective of race. The idea that "thug" is or ever
> was a "code-word" for the "n-word," or that white "kids" doing the same
> things would not have been called thugs, strikes me as ridiculous. The
> claim that the word has been effectively "racialized" as an ethnic slur
> seems absurd.
>
> My impression is that  "thug" became especially attached to '90s gangsta
> rap - performed by some (usu. African-American) who reveled in the
> designation. And there, perhaps, is the source of the perceived semantic
> difficulty.
>
> E.g.: "Young Thug takes the stage at the 2014 Hip Hop Awards."
>
> JL
>
> On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 10:33 AM, David Barnhart <dbarnhart at highlands.com>
> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       David Barnhart <dbarnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: thug
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Another case of indecipherability.  Please repost.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> > Of
> > Michael Newman
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 8:48 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: thug
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Michael Newman <Michael.Newman at QC.CUNY.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: thug
> >
> >
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> > ---
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