[rjsimmon]

The use of the terms “thug” and “street cred” were started by the black, hip-hop and rap culture. Same with “gansta”.

So, Sir Charles, look to your own kind for your accusations.

[MrEdd]

Thug comes from the Thuggee cult that was a brutal off shoot (involving strangulation) of Hinduism.
It originated in India.

[SaxxonWoods]

Don’t even stoop to making excuses for using words they don’t like.

They don’t like certain words, too bad!

[11th Commandment]

So now we have the “T-word” and the “C-word”... wait we already had that one...

[Durus]

The term "thug" was British slang coined in the early 1800's from the Hindi term "Thugee" which described their organized criminal element during British colonialism. By the middle 1800's it came to mean criminals in general.

It sure wasn't started by hip-hop/rap "cultures".

I have boots smarter that Charles Barkley, who cares about what he "thinks"?

[RossA]

Exactly what qualifies this thug to replace the OED?

MSNBC?

[grania]

Words are supposed to evolve. Civilized intelligent people should not be "word police" about what we can and cannot say. Even though they can use those words. The "n***** word" would have lost all of its bite if had been allowed to be overused.

Yeah, I'll agree with Barclay. When I say thug it implies black. If it's otherwise I'll say "white thug" or "hispanic thug" or whatever. So what. Around here, saying "east sider" is becoming a euphanism for you know who.

I'm fed up with it. The black community should stop trying to control our speech, and we should stop letting them do that. If they want to clean up their image, they should do something about the actions of the worst elements of their population and stop defending them.

If they'd stop this BS and stop supporting their rotten excuse for a culture, that's dominating ours, maybe we could all put our heads together and discuss the real problems facing the black and other underclass communities.

Before we become Venezuala or the Ukraine.

grrrr....end of this rant

[Cyber Liberty]

The use of the terms “thug” and “street cred” were started by the black, hip-hop and rap culture. Same with “gansta”.

Yer dissin him, bro....