A Thug by Any Other Name

For most Americans, including President Barack Obama, the term “thug” seemed an appropriate appellation for the rioters who destroyed businesses, homes and other property in Baltimore this week.

Now liberals are crying foul. The Baltimore Sun has editorialized, “Having city leaders apply it to the high school students and others who rioted throughout Baltimore tells the offenders that they weren’t just wrong in what they did, but that they’re also worthless because of it — something too many people already believe.”

Baltimore’s mayor, after initially using the term, apologized on Twitter: “That night we saw misguided young people who need to be held accountable, but who also need support. And my comments then didn’t convey that.” Several commentators have likened the use of the term to the N-word.

But a thug by any other name remains just that. What does one call the people running into a Baltimore CVS and stripping its contents before setting it afire? Somehow “misguided young people” doesn’t quite convey the behavior or the participants.

The world watched while parts of Baltimore burned. Not just stores owned by big corporations who can rebuild — though most likely somewhere else — but mom and pop storefronts blazed throughout the night, as did a brand-new senior housing center and modest row houses that had been owned by some families for generations. To try to understand the perpetrators' motivation or to excuse their actions is a great disservice to the victims of the violence.

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