Since the Seattle Seahawks' 23-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, there has been more talk about Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman's post-game comments than about the coming Super Bowl between his team and the Denver Broncos.
After Sherman made his comments, the Twittersphere went bonkers - with many people referring to the Seattle cornerback as a "thug." When Sherman responded to that very label, he said this:
"The only reason it bothers me is because it seems like it's the accepted way of calling somebody the N-word nowadays. It's like everyone else said the N-word and they said 'Thug' and they're like, 'Ah, that's fine.' That's where it kind of takes me aback and it's kind of disappointing. ... What's the definition of a thug really? Maybe I'm talking loudly and doing something I'm not supposed to. But I'm not ... there was a hockey game where they didn't even play hockey. They just threw the puck aside and started fighting. I saw that and said, 'Oh, man. I'm the thug? What's going on here?' ... I know some 'thugs,' and they know I'm the furthest thing from a thug. I've fought that my whole life, just coming from where I'm coming from. Just because you hear Compton, you hear Watts, you hear cities like that, you just think 'thug, he's a gangster, he's this, that, and the other,' and then you hear Stanford, and they're like, 'oh man, that doesn't even make sense, that's an oxymoron.' You fight it for so long, and to have it come back up and people start to use it again, it's really frustrating."
Sadly, he's right. Think back to the last time you heard someone refer to another as a "thug." Of what race was the person speaking and of what race was the person to which he or she was referring? I've never personally referred to another as a thug, but have heard several others whom have. Every single person I heard utter that word was white and every single person they were talking about was black. Of course, that's an imperfect study. However, I'd also be remiss in saying there wasn't a trend (some significance) with those limited findings.
"Ghetto" is another such term. Whenever I've heard someone refer to another as "ghetto," the speaker has always been white and the person he or she was labeling has always been black. Terms like "thug" and "ghetto," among others, have become the largely socially acceptable ways for people to refer to African-Americans as the N-word.
The next time I hear someone label an African-American as a "thug" or "ghetto," I'm going to ask him or her to define that term. Here's how that conversation will likely unfold:
Lance Douchealot: "Richard Sherman is such a thug!"
Me: "'Thug?' What do you mean exactly? Define 'thug' for me."
Lance: ::long pause, looks around, starts looking uncomfortable:: "Uh, well, you know..."
Me: "No, not exactly. That's why I'm asking. What's a 'thug?'"
Lance: ::another long pause:: "Uh, well, anyway, how's this game going?"
Uh-huh...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/22/richard-sherman-thug-n-word-press-conference_n_4646871.html
After Sherman made his comments, the Twittersphere went bonkers - with many people referring to the Seattle cornerback as a "thug." When Sherman responded to that very label, he said this:
"The only reason it bothers me is because it seems like it's the accepted way of calling somebody the N-word nowadays. It's like everyone else said the N-word and they said 'Thug' and they're like, 'Ah, that's fine.' That's where it kind of takes me aback and it's kind of disappointing. ... What's the definition of a thug really? Maybe I'm talking loudly and doing something I'm not supposed to. But I'm not ... there was a hockey game where they didn't even play hockey. They just threw the puck aside and started fighting. I saw that and said, 'Oh, man. I'm the thug? What's going on here?' ... I know some 'thugs,' and they know I'm the furthest thing from a thug. I've fought that my whole life, just coming from where I'm coming from. Just because you hear Compton, you hear Watts, you hear cities like that, you just think 'thug, he's a gangster, he's this, that, and the other,' and then you hear Stanford, and they're like, 'oh man, that doesn't even make sense, that's an oxymoron.' You fight it for so long, and to have it come back up and people start to use it again, it's really frustrating."
Sadly, he's right. Think back to the last time you heard someone refer to another as a "thug." Of what race was the person speaking and of what race was the person to which he or she was referring? I've never personally referred to another as a thug, but have heard several others whom have. Every single person I heard utter that word was white and every single person they were talking about was black. Of course, that's an imperfect study. However, I'd also be remiss in saying there wasn't a trend (some significance) with those limited findings.
"Ghetto" is another such term. Whenever I've heard someone refer to another as "ghetto," the speaker has always been white and the person he or she was labeling has always been black. Terms like "thug" and "ghetto," among others, have become the largely socially acceptable ways for people to refer to African-Americans as the N-word.
The next time I hear someone label an African-American as a "thug" or "ghetto," I'm going to ask him or her to define that term. Here's how that conversation will likely unfold:
Lance Douchealot: "Richard Sherman is such a thug!"
Me: "'Thug?' What do you mean exactly? Define 'thug' for me."
Lance: ::long pause, looks around, starts looking uncomfortable:: "Uh, well, you know..."
Me: "No, not exactly. That's why I'm asking. What's a 'thug?'"
Lance: ::another long pause:: "Uh, well, anyway, how's this game going?"
Uh-huh...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/22/richard-sherman-thug-n-word-press-conference_n_4646871.html
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