London unrest: could it happen in New York?

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by bg7

Joaner, while "thug" in British English is never understood to be related to race (i think it came to be used after the thugee sect in India at the time of the British Raj) in American English its more recent usgae (perhpas the last 20 years) has a different connotation in popular culture and is often race-restricted.

I've been using thug for decades as a generic, non race specific word to describe brutish criminal types. Will I have to watch my usage lest be called racist?

[nybbler]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

I've been using thug for decades as a generic, non race specific word to describe brutish criminal types. Will I have to watch my usage lest be called racist?

Sure. Especially if you use other words -- phrases like "the tar baby of *****rdly thugs" are right out.

(Heh, city-data offensive-word censor doesn't like words that are spelled _similarly_ to actual racial slurs. The word means "stingy", and all of the above are, in the words of urbandictionary.com, "words that will get you fired even though they don't mean anything offensive" )