Was there a racial overtone in President Obama’s use of the word “thugs” to describe the violent looters and rioters in Baltimore, Md., this week? Some high-profile black journalists either aren’t saying or are conflicted on the matter.
Obama called Baltimore rioters “thugs” during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday, shortly after Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake also used the term. The use of the term by prominent African-American politicians surprised some commentators who had devoted considerable effort to arguing that the term is a racial slur directed at blacks.
“The overwhelming majority of the community in Baltimore I think have handled this appropriately, expressing real concern and outrage over the possibility that our laws were not applied evenly in the case of Mr. Gray, and that accountability needs to exist,” Obama said. “And I think we have to give them credit. My understanding is, is you’ve got some of the same organizers now going back into these communities to try to clean up in the aftermath of a handful of criminals and thugs who tore up the place.”
Some Baltimore community leaders and media personalities criticized Obama for using the word. City Councilman Charles Stokes rhetorically said Obama should “just call them n*****s.”
The White House on Wednesday and Thursday maintained that Obama was distinguishing between violent rioters and the community at large, which is mostly black.
“I don’t think the president would in any way revise the remarks that he shared with all of you in the Rose Garden,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.
MSNBC host Touré Neblett, who is black, defended Obama’s use of the word.
“It’s a sensitive conversation because that word thug has become synonymous with the n-word,” Neblett said Wednesday. “It’s been a sort of polite, PC way of saying the n-word.” He went on to say, however, that he had seen violence in Baltimore and, “I don’t really see much other words that you can use beside thug.”
Other well known black journalists have been silent on the matter.
Left-leaning Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson wrote in August last year that “young black men are automatically assumed to be dangerous thugs.”
Liberal New York Times columnist Charles Blow wrote Wednesday, “We can’t rush to label violent protesters as ‘thugs’ while reserving judgment about the violence of police killings until a full investigation has been completed and all the facts are in.”
Robinson and Blow did not return requests for comment from the Washington Examiner. Nor did Urban Radio Network White House Correspondent April Ryan, who has in the past said she will “probably cry” when Obama leaves office.
MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reid reported from Baltimore on Wednesday and said she spoke to a “young man” who was “offended” at hearing people call locals “thugs.”
Though Reid also did not give a comment, Keli Goff, a Daily Beast reporter who has written on race issues, told the Examiner the issue with the word “thugs” is the person who uses it.
“I think the word ‘thug’ is similar to words like ‘lazy’ or ‘cheap,'” she told the Washington Examiner media desk. “It’s not inherently racist or anti-Semitic but like those two words in the mouth of the wrong person, in the wrong context can be problematic. But I have no problem with President Obama applying the word thug to people when it fits.”
According to the generally accepted etymology, the term “thug” itself comes from a Hindi word meaning “steal” or “swindle.” The noun “thugs” was a name originally given to violent criminal gangs who plagued India until the 19th century.
Liberal Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart also declined to comment but said he may address the issue in a written piece at a later time.
