It’s ironic that a black man who claimed to have been speaking for the downtrodden has stigmatized his brothers with this word.

He only had a short time on this Earth to contribute, and he did. Not a positive word to describe his people, but a very negative word, and MTV-Hollywood embraced it.

“Yes, Tupac, you and your brothers are all thugs. We want you to be thugs, we expect you to be thugs, and we will promote you as being cool if you continue to be thugs.”

Notice that the downtrodden is not a big theme in the “thug” lifestyle. Uber-hedonists have no time for such things.

Also notice the lack of concern for society at large while promoting “thug-ness” as cool. It doesn’t take a brilliant poet to know that the downtrodden are the ones who are going to feel the brunt of the stigma.

$$$ quote:”But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”

Simple, yet profound, no? Simple fact: by the age of about 14, males are, in just about every case, stronger than females. That this actually needs to be stated as a “fact” shows how far from reality our society has devolved. I had hoped that when the Two Towers went down, a lot of the silliness that had so permeated the American Body Social would vanish. It did but, when we were not atttacked again, the old patterns re-emerged.

I think I am going to rant-Good Lord, please feel free to delete me!

A brief digression on point. When I found myself alone, unattached and middle-aged, I was, briefly, mismatched with a much younger female. This lady had it all-beauty and brains and, well, what she saw in me I did not understand either then or now. Well, I had let myself go and didn’t look, shall we say, like I ever “juiced”(i.e. abused steroids). But Miss Perfect, she worked out, and a lot, and often, and with the mindset of youth. One day, she challenged me to arm wrestle. Now, to start with, there was 30 years of difference, and she was fit, while I was, to be un-PC about it, fat and saggy and agressively chain smoking and drinking myself into the early grave that I so wholeheartedly yearned for in those days. She thought that because she lifted at the gym and ran and what-not, I was easy pickings. Well, someone forgot to tell her some simple truths about the human condition. And the thing of it was, we were both, if I recall it correctly through a booze infested haze, rather taken aback when I “pinned” her in 1 brief, pitiless moment.

Women can do some really important, vital things that men can’t. Essential, in fact, to the survival of our species. All men have is some extra muscle-mass. But to ignore that or make pretend that this basic inequality does not exist is worse than foolhardy-it is very dangerous, especially for bright, strong young women. They actually believe the propaganda and put themselves in harm’s way. It happens every day, and the results can be plain devestating.

I consider myself a feminist-but I will tell you flat out that a society that settles for mere “equality” for women will not long survive. Any idiot can run a Fortune 500 corporation. If you don’t believe me, check out the list of CEO’s. But only a female of a certain age and in special circumstances can reproduce the species. Everything has been, up until very recent times, designed around that simple truth. I am NOT consigning women to be nothing but child making machines. Fact is, without the active involvement of both sexes in economic productivity we can’t begin to compete and why waste all that human material and brainpower? Just do not lose sight of the essentials of the human condition: no babies, no future. I don’t know if having children is a choice or a responsibility or both-but I know a awful lot of women my own age who went the career track, were very successful and hit 50 in pure misery. Maybe my boomer generation had it worst-the breakthrough generation or whatever, but reaching a “certain age”, alone and childless, has made a lot of real flesh and blood people I know very unhappy.

Almost as bad are those-and I seem to know a lot in this group too-who waited too long, “choosing” to have a kid for the first time when past 40. Surprising how many 50ish women I know, single mothers, with youngsters under 10. These kids are worked to death-constant classes and activities, stressed and competitive to the max. I guess the parent(s) need to prove something, but it sure makes for some unhappy mini-adults. I think everyone deserves a childhood. When they are ready for the Senior Prom, these moms will be cashing in their 401(k)s and looking over retirement communities. It seems unfair to say the least, to all involved.

2 days ago, I was coming out of a mid-town elevator and a very attractive young women stopped me. She told me that I was the first man she had ever seen who actually removed his hat in the elevator when she entered. I was too shocked to do anything but mumble like an idiot and she was gone. My mother, may God bless her sweet soul, would have been very proud, and flabbergasted. Maybe the realites of the new century really will make a difference and a better normality will set in, but I will not bet the rent.

Isn’t the whole issue at the trial just what they’ve done?

It never occurred to me to apply the word to one race and it never occurred to me that others might apply it to the members of one race.

My personal experiences and reading of history have taught me that there is (unfortunately), more than enough stupidity and inhumanity to go around and that no ethnic group has a monopoly on vice, just as no group or nationality has the corner on virtue,…,

I tried to look this up on the web and as near as I can tell, the reason is that in 1988 they essentially dropped all measurable physical standards related to strength and endurance. So now women can be cops and so can 5′ 3″ men who have no more business in that profession than most women do.

I’d like to know if anyone can name a job that has exacting physical standards (I mean measured standards like height and number of pushups and pullups you can do) where women don’t have a different and much lower standard. I’d be surprised to find one.

I called Robert Blake a murderous loon. even worse than thug, IMO.

As a white liberal I’ve often been given the heave-ho by people offended by my use of the word “thug” to defend anyone. Why do those who get angry at me automatically think I’m speaking of a black man when I use the term? I have to be pretty ticked off to whip out that word, so I don’t use it too lightly. Nichols is a thug. Plain and simple. Not because he’s black, but because he’s a THUG. I agree with you on that one.

And I also appreciate your not politicizing the whole “PC” issue. I’ve read may conservative and liberal bloggers who assign the “PC” blame to the other party. As a watcher of both, I can say a fair amount of un-PC language eminates from both tribes.

No, Brian Nichols had no business being guarded by one small female, but most men would have had trouble with him as well. He was a big, athletic, martial arts expert, and most of all he was desperate. Desperation gives people strength like you would not believe. Chances are, he would have gotten by whomever was guarding him. There should have been a minimum of two men escorting him. Period. Especially in light of the shanks that were discovered in his shoes just a couple of days earlier. As gypsy mentioned, the guard probably was somewhat complacent, and complacency is what causes more injuries and deaths on this job than anything else.

As far as the cops not searching the entire garage–well we know now that was a mistake. Since I don’t know what else they were doing at that time, I won’t Monday morning quarterback that one. It’s easy to analyze and criticize every mistake after the fact. If there were 2 0r more men guarding him initially, we wouldn’t have anything else to critcize in my opinion.

I don’t know of too many, if any, jobs where people take IQ tests, if you were serious. Police dept’s are just like any other job. There are geniuses, morons, and everything in between, unfortunately. There have been plenty of people I’ve had to work with that made me think, “How in the world did you get on this job?” to myself while they were sitting next to me for 8 hours with a gun.

I work inside now due to a back injury, but for the most part I did as good a job as most of the men I worked with when I was on the street. Even so, I would never take this job now. My co-workers would kill me for saying this, but it is just not a job for women. That’s not to say women can’t do a good job, because some of the female officers I know are better police than some of the men. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.