It’s human nature. When we know certain ideas or feelings are socially frowned upon or considered politically incorrect, we find concealed ways to communicate them. In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin case, those who shared George Zimmerman’s belief when he said to the radio dispatcher “They (black people) always get away” need a word that doesn’t define Trayvon Martin as a “boy” or “black person.” Something that deflects focus on him as a respectable human being. Otherwise, reminding people the Martin/Zimmerman events happened in context of a 17-year-old unarmed boy comes off as insensitive and mean spirited at minimum. As a messaging expert, I can tell you, first hand, how you define something is half the battle to winning an argument. Enter conservative media. Masters of defining things.
As the distribution point of new policy and political language, conservative pundits and media responded by giving that belief about Travyon Martin and black people a comfortable language zone.
“Thug”
Yes, there are rap music “gangstas” that used the word. The 2Pac album “Thug Life” comes to mind. It applied to describe a subculture in black music. But the new version of “Thug” expands coverage so broad it’s unfair. One reason for the expansion is, like most lies, they work best when there is a germ of truth in it. There are people who are or who have called themselves “thugs” in the black community. But that’s like saying because some Italians have called themselves mobsters, every Italian is likely in the mob. That’s what’s happening to “thug.”
Within that word hides the need of some to say, these people are below us, different than us. Which is what racism is essentially all about. The word thug has been co-opted into an idea suitcase that allows some to pack all the stereotypes of black people inside. A short form to say that black people like Trayvon Martin are:
Violent. Lazy. Angry. Animalistic. Criminal (And therefore deserved what he got).
Armed with new language, pundits like Bill O’Reilly use it in place of black or the N word. Like O’Reilly calling Martin’s hoodie “thug wear.” Or cable news sidekick Geraldo Rivera saying any one wearing a hoodies is a “wanna be thug.” Such a strong statement. What you wear makes you criminal. Statements that are blatantly hypocritical as pictures show O’Reilly wearing hoodies. Same with Geraldo.” But each would be offended if you called them thugs.
That’s when it’s time to call B.S. on an idea: ” Oh, when I said that I meant “them,” not me.”
Like the TEA party that “hates socialism” but wants to keep Medicare, by all definitions a clearly socialist program. In a normal world of true principles, that’s a level of cognitive dissonance that would drive them crazy. But it doesn’t, because there is no true idea conflict. They don’t really hate what they say they’re against. The phrase is merely valued as weaponized language for attacking others outside a group and making others afraid of them.
Speaking of openly, the raw thought behind “thug” is nicely expressed in a forum I found on Yahoo that asks, “Conservatives, do you think being black is one of the criteria of being a thug?”
One of the responders says,
“When 13% of the population commits 50% of the crime [blacks] it fairly likely that any black person you come across is a thug/criminal.”
Since African Americans are 13% of the population, for his statistic to be right, every black person would have to be committing crime. So either we put Denzel Washington, Bill Cosby an Urkel in jail (’cause they’re all guilty) or accept that that commenter is projecting their hatred or fear of black people under concern for crime.
“Thug” may be a new dog whistle word to say “blacks.” What’s always funny about dog whistle words is the people who they refer to in the stealth messaging clearly hear them the loudest. Whether it’s “Thug” for black people or “Illegals” for Hispanics, the meaning isn’t lost. Why people like O’Reilly and some conservative media are only making race relations worse is that, for targeted minorities, this approach is more like making fun of you, in front of you, without calling out your name specifically. And then watching other people in the room laugh as if they’re in on the joke about you. We know at some level, the new race hustlers are conscious of the hurtfulness of their ideas, yet they insult our intelligence by feigning ignorance, and sometimes flaunting a double standard on a supposed bedrock principle. It’s not principle. It’s just a coward’s way to hate.
