Twitter once again is unfair to Trump – in his favor, as usual

He once again violated their terms of service, and they once again refused to ban him or block his Tweet. Instead they posted:

“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible”

Twitter users are not taking it well that Trump’s personal account gets this preferential treatment, and are calling for him to be banned.

Note that Trump had previously referred to the heavily armed (white) Michigan protesters as “very good people,” while he referred to these unarmed people as “thugs.” He does love to drag out the racist dog whistles. Why doesn’t he just call them the n-word and be done with it.

Meanwhile, get ready for his meltdown when he wakes up!

////

Related:

While Trump is batshit crazy to threaten to go full Kent State on the protesters, he also seems to be correct that the situation in Minneapolis is out of control. George Floyd protesters set a Minneapolis police station afire, and protesters set fire to several buildings in the Lake Street corridor, many of them housing small businesses with minority owners. The Minnesota National Guard mobilized more than 500 soldiers to Minneapolis and St. Paul.

52 thoughts on “Twitter once again is unfair to Trump – in his favor, as usual

  1. I admit I don’t think of the term thug as automatically racist. I think of Trump and his crew as thugs. (The kind that wear suits.) But then again, I did not know that the phrase “let’s watch Netflix and chill” was a euphemism for sex, kind of like “come up and see my etchings”, until it was explained to me in about 2016.

    I have heard of something called “thug life”, and I associate that with rap, which I still associate with young black people. Sometimes you have to be young or in touch with a wide variety of ethnic groups to understand what words mean to different people.

  2. Steverini said: “Coded language is such nonsense. Words mean what they mean. All of a sudden some snowflake gets offended by a word…”

    I picture you as a happy guy, Steverini, basically very cheerful, so I think that when you say the above, you say it gaily. Very gaily. Like a happy warrior, who LOVES his brother warriors. Do you think so?

    Also, what happened to Steverino? Are you a new guy, with a new backstory, or are you still a hotshot New Yorker who is better than most other people (IIRC)?

    1. You know, I regret making this post. I should have just said that what Steverini says about coded language is what people who used coded language always say – there is no such thing as coded language. (Of course, they would not be using that specific language if it were NOT coded, but they will never admit that.)

      1. Steverini was a typo. I am most definitely Steverino. And I don’t give a shit what words offend people because words are incapable of offending people. Society continuously changes its vernacular to cater to the feelings of the minority. We will forever change vernacular because people will forever be offended. I will always look at all people the same. I will never play identity politics. And I will never judge an individual by the level of their tan. Race is not my issue. It’s yours.

          1. I don’t cater to people because of their skin tone. I don’t hate people because of their skin tone. And I certainly don’t take political positions based on skin tone. If that makes me a “prick” in your eyes, so be it.

        1. So basically, you don’t care who you offend with words. As I’ve said about Trump, why don’t you stop hiding your feelings and just use the n-word? You know you want to. And apparently Trump used it very liberally (so to speak) during the prep meetings for The Apprentice.

          Most people think that sensitivity to other people’s beliefs and feelings is essential to the community of man. Certainly conservatives think that people should be sensitive to their feelings. They don’t like to be called racists all the time, for example, and the conservative fundies of every religion think we have to alter laws and practices based on their private beliefs.

          You see, the deal with society is that you have to show respect for other people’s feelings if you want them to respect yours. That’s not me preaching. That’s just me noting how it works out in reality. If you don’t call black people thugs, others will undoubtedly stop calling you a racist, and everyone will get along better.

          1. This is precisely what I was saying in my “connotation” argument that led to your commentary that I didn’t understand the use of the word. I do not care if the word bothers you or not. Your “feelings” resulting from a word are your problem not mine. I’m not supportive of changing our dictionary every time some crybaby has their feelings hurt. Words have no emotional feelings. People do. These “protesters” are thugs and criminals. They are “protesting” by breaking into Nike stores and stealing sneakers. They are thugs.

          2. Yes, you have affirmed what I suspected. Since you don’t care what emotional reactions people have to words, you, like Trump, see nothing wrong with the n-word. If people are offended by that, it’s their problem, right? Good for you for owning up to it. Most people won’t own up to the fact that they don’t care whom they offend.

          3. Scoop, I don’t know what the “n-word” means. Just like i don’t know what the “f-word” means or the “c-word”. I can’t see a scenario in which I would use it. I’m not going to use a word simply to offend people, which is the only purpose of those words. However, I’m also not going to be PC shamed for calling people who are hurting others and stealing from small businesses as “thugs” because that’s what they are.

            Definition of thug
            : a brutal ruffian or assassin : GANGSTER, TOUGH

          4. First of all, all words change their meanings over time – even their literal meanings. Languages are completely fluid. Look at the language of Chaucer, then Shakespeare, then Hunter Thompson. You need to be an expert in linguistics to know that Chaucer and Dr. Thompson are speaking the same language.

            Second of all, you don’t grasp the concept of connotation, which involves the underlying concept of words beyond the literal meaning. While denotations rarely change faster than per generation (see “anxious” or “cracker” or “gay” as examples), connotations change rapidly.

            Here is what John McWhorter, foremost professor of linguistics, has to say:
            “Thug today is a nominally polite way of using the N-word. Many people suspect it, and they are correct. When somebody talks about thugs ruining a place, it is almost impossible today that they are referring to somebody with blond hair. It is a sly way of saying there go those black people ruining things again. And so anybody who wonders whether thug is becoming the new N-word doesn’t need to. It most certainly is.

            One of the things that Americans have a whole lot of trouble with – actually, that people in developed societies with written languages have trouble with – is that words never keep their meanings over time. A word is a thing on the move. A word is a process. And that’s what’s so confusing about the N-word. And that’s what’s so confusing now about this word, thug. Any discussion where we pretend that it only means one thing is just going to lead to dissension and confusion.”

            So you can continue to use the word all you like, but just realize that the underlying meaning of the word immediately brands you a racist, the same as if you refer to a black person as “articulate.” In both cases, the connotations of the words are very different from their literal meanings, and the ability to understand such nuances is the mark of intelligence.

          5. Scoop, great. So in order to be intelligent you have to accept that language changes. In other words, I have to accept your position. And you are going to use grammar and spelling checks to show the superiority of your position. I like your blog. I like your insight. But you are completely close minded on this issue. I will not continually change my vernacular. I will not simply agree with the masses and the media on the offensiveness of certain words that have defined meaning. If a word triggers you, then that’s your problem. There is no word that can trigger me. I’m a lifelong libertarian and will always respect my fellow man but will never cater to my fellow man. All men and women are equal. That’s the best you’ll ever get from me.

          6. “So in order to be intelligent you have to accept that language changes.”

            Yes. That is correct. It has nothing to do with agreeing with me. If I say Texas is a nicer place to live than Florida, you can agree or disagree because it is an opinion. If I say that 3×7=21, it is not an opinion, and disagreeing would be a sign of ignorance. When I say “language changes,” it is not an opinion. It is an obviously verifiable fact. The inability to see that would absolutely indicate a lack of intelligence.

            This is one reason why I, although not a liberal (I’m a flat-out redneck about illegal immigration, for example), have a problem with conservatives. You are entitled to your own set of opinions, but not to your own set of facts. “Language changes” is a fact. Dictionaries also change, but it takes lexicographers time to catch up to the changes in the language. If you don’t agree, go up to one of those laughing brutes with the automatic weapons and praise them for being so gay. Pretty sure they won’t take it as a compliment. It doesn’t mean what it did around 1950, when totally straight Americans said “I love gay Paree” and meant “I love Paris. It symbolizes joy and festive glamour.”

            Just as “gay” has changed, so has “thug.” It took dictionaries years to catch up to gay, and it will also take some time with thug, although professional linguists already understand the metamorphosis of the word, as cited in an earlier comment. But again, if you just want universal recognition as a racist, and simply don’t care what people think (as you claim), well … do your thing!

            It’s wise to choose your audience when you do that thing. It’ll go over fine at CPAC, or on Fox News, but I wouldn’t expect it to be a big hit with the Urban League.

          7. So now I’m being censored because I disagreed with you and the individuals who agree with you. That’s very progressive of you

  3. Why don’t you idiots go join the riot? See how it works out for middle age white guys. Thug is thug is thug.

  4. The whole armed white people, voluntarily patrolling, to stop looting (from largely an African-American population) may be legal, but it is a horrible idea, and serves in no way to help defuse the situation.

    This nation is going to the shitter.

    1. Thanks, Mattflix. That is an excellent contrast. Also, somehow, I had not heard what the original crime was that got the cops after George Floyd. Passing a bad $20? I’m surprised they didn’t call in an air strike.

      1. Sorry, Murlocman, this was meant to be a reply to Mattflix’s post. I don’t know how I goofed to get it here.

  5. Just two things. One, this is a FANTASTIC read from the Ferguson days about WHY people loot. Don’t ignore it based solely on the bombastic title:

    Second, To put it all in perspective, here is the arrest of Dylan Roof.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5hQYy9Q-Wk

    Police are after him because he has gunned down 9 African American parishioners as part of a Neo-Nazi hate crime. He’s not manhandled as he is escorted from his car (Floyd was roughly pulled from his car). He’s lightly patted down. There is no excessive force. It’s all very casual. That’s how you approach someone who allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill at a shop. But Roof is white and Floyd is black. Even other police have come forward to say the knee to the neck is NOT a police procedure that they have been trained to use. These men need to be held accountable.

  6. “A riot is the language of the unheard.”

    — Martin Luther King, 1966

    It was true then, and it’s true today. Perhaps if African Americans weren’t so consistently denied justice when they are brutalized and murdered by police, they wouldn’t feel the need to make their voices heard by rioting. How long to you expect people to stand by and accept brutality? Why *shouldn’t* they riot at this point? How has abiding by the system worked for them in any way? Quite frankly, I can hardly blame them; what would be your response, were you in their shoes?

    It’s easy to judge them with racist dogwhistles like “thug” when you haven’t walked a foot in their shoes, much less a mile.

  7. Greatest document of all time… It may have been when those that wrote it and believed in it, but not now…

    It is corrupted and misrepresented beyond all recognition. Death by a thousand cuts,been used and abused by countless representative to be bent to the will of corrupt people.

    No more so than now, it is being rogered by a government with a gun to its head being held by a bully and no good men to hold them to account.

    For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing… However, in this case they are actively assisting in the evil.

    Good luck getting everything back in order, but this is what happens when the people in power actively pursue a course of discrimination…

    Anarchy

    1. No, there are a lot of evil men doing evil in the US…the good men on the other hand, are doing nothing. The Constitution fails at that point and becomes a pointless piece of parchment.

  8. The Michigan protestors were exercising their 1st and 2nd amendment rights and didn’t resort to violence.

    The protestors in Minneapolis are breaking the law, harming person and property. They are thugs. The color of their skin is irrelevant. You acknowledge this at the end of your post stating that the “the situation….. is out of control”. Why is that racist?

    1. Sure, Steve, spin it all you like

      Here’s why it’s racist.

      (1) “Thug” is the official racist code for the n-word, because people get all kind of upset when you say the real thing.

      (2) If gangs of black people had shown up heavily armed with automatic weapons for a “peaceful” protest and started screaming directly into the face of police, how do you think the police would react? Minorities do not get the option that the white Michigan crazies got.

      (3) The fact that a protest is out of control does not mean you start shooting the protesters. Crowd control is about peaceful resolution.

      (4) Protesters in Michigan flew confederate flags (and worse – people reported swastikas and nooses). Even you might notice that is utterly racist, yet Trump called them very good people.

      The American Constitution, the greatest and most influential secular document ever composed, gives anyone the right to be a very bad person without interference from the government. You can say any ugly racist shit you like, and wave military weapons around while carrying symbols of slavery. You may have the absolute right to do that, but doing so does not make you a very good person. In fact, the opposite is true. You are merely exercising your constitutional right to be a very bad person.

      1. He’s just butthurt it’s not the Trump cult nutjobs creating the fear and panic with loaded cuts carrying Nazi flags at state capitals for a change.

        Fun fact: no one died last night. Am I supposed to care the corprocracy has to rebuild one of their hundreds of monopolistic chains? Am I supposed to care about the property of the police when they’ve ignored 18 complaints about him, and three officers either were complicit or apathetic a guy is lying on the ground being suffocated to death right next to them?

        If I were one of the ‘good cops’ and ran into that guy, I would have said get the fuck off that guy or I’m going to MAKE you get off. His complaint sheet looks more like a rap sheet, and that’s from just the ones that were open and readable.

        It’s unfortunate any small businesses that were damaged, but lets be honest here, someone who is a Libertarian or Republican gives no fucks about that. They’re fine when the crooks inside private equity firms or corporate empires puts them out of business, but since they didn’t do it with a suit on, they suddenly have concern.

      2. Scoop, you took my comment completely out of context. I was not defending the Michigan protestors nor was I defending Trumps comment about “very good people”, nor do I believe that shooting the protestors is a sane option.

        All I was saying is that one group is breaking the law while the other was not. And to me, people who burn down buildings, hurt people, and pillage stores are “thugs”. And I don’t care what color their skin is. We have laws in this country that all people are expected to follow.

        1. To repeat once again, you don’t use the term “thugs” to refer to black people. It is coded language. You can use it safely to refer to white guys because it is purely descriptive in that context.

          1. When I hear the term “thug” it doesn’t make me picture a black person. But I’ve never received a copy of the racist code book so I am completely out of touch when it comes to these things. That makes wonder, if the term is a racist dog whistle, what is the appropriate term to refer to African-Americans whose behaviors would legitimately label them as thugs if they were white? That is a sincere question.

            To the best of my knowledge no one has ever called me a thug, but I have been called the “N word.” As you might suspect, I was called that by one of my students back when I was teaching high school in the South Bronx. One of my coworkers heard it and said to me “Mike, I didn’t know you were Black Irish.” But the really surprising thing is the kid that called me that wasn’t black. He was an Arab-American. I did once call one of my students a thug (in a conversation with other teachers). That kid was black, but he was also a member of the Bloods, had threatened to have another student murdered (a threat that student believed was true), and had been caught in my class with a knife with a 10″ blade.

          2. The emotional weight of words changes with time. Using “thug” as a substitute for the n-word is quite recent.

            Words denoting race are the ones whose connotations change most rapidly. The denotation of these words are all the same: “colored persons”; “the coloreds”; “persons of color”; “negroes”; “afros” (That was the preferred term in my university time and place. “Larry is the spokesman for the afros.)”; “African-Americans”; “black men”; “black guys”; “n-words”. Although they all mean the same, they have different connotations, and carry vastly different emotional weight, requiring people to navigate a minefield in speech and writing.

            Similarly, certain phrases are different when applied to different races. If you say “John Kennedy was very articulate,” it’s completely different from saying “Barack Obama was very articulate.” “Very articulate,” when applied to Obama, implies that “he’s one of the few good ones” or “he’s assimilated” or to some people “he’s an Uncle Tom.” Calling a gang of white guys “thugs” implies that they are presumed violent for some reason. Calling a gang of black guys “thugs” is simply the way racists say “n-words” because society won’t let them used the full-strength version.

            None of us like navigating through this minefield. I don’t even know if I’m giving offense above by using the terms “white guys” and “black guys” in parallel. I have a hint that they may have a different emotional weight even though in denotational theory they are precisely opposite. I’m not sure. We never are. I just try to walk gingerly through the minefield and not give any offense except when I mean to, but I often fuck up just because I write so many goddamn words in a day, and it’s difficult to keep up with the nuances of contemporary speech when one is an old fart who lives in a basement. The street doesn’t speak as I do, and I can’t always keep up.

          3. Coded language is such nonsense. Words mean what they mean. All of a sudden some snowflake gets offended by a word and we create a new word and then later someone gets offended by that word. Even children know that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.

          4. Words are more than their definitions. They have both denotation and connotation. Vagina and cunt mean exactly the same thing – identical denotation, but their connotations are very different. Similarly, if a black man says to his friend “My n-word,” it is very different from when you say it to the same guy. The term “thug,” when used by white people to describe black people, is the n-word because they are not allowed to say the real thing out loud.

          5. The “Sticks and Stones” aphorism is really aspirational, not descriptive. We tell that to kids in hopes that they will internalize it and be somewhat armored against the hurtful language kids throw around so easily. But there is no question that words can be hurtful. I don’t recall hearing the term thug was a racist dog whistle before the riots in MN. I doubt that most of the people using the term to describe rioters really mean it as a “N Word” substitute. But when it comes to issues like this, it isn’t just a question of how you intend the word, but how you believe the word will be understood. Let me use the Confederate flag as an analogy. I have no doubt that there were many people in South Carolina that saw that flag as an emblem of Southern pride without intending it to convey a racist message. But once it had been taken up as a symbol of racism by racist groups in general, and Dyllan Roof in particular displaying the flag couldn’t be anything but a hurtful act. So if you know that the word thug is considered the equivalent of the N Word by a significant percentage of the African-American community, the decent thing to do is to find another word to describe African-Americans who engage in thug like behavior.

          6. What a load of total bullshit.

            “Words denoting race are the ones whose connotations change most rapidly.“

            Connotations don’t change. We cater to the minority who draw a conclusion that the meaning of the word is somehow offensive. We consistently change our language to stay ahead of and cater to those who are offended by each new connotation. We do this either because of political correctness or liability or both.

            I say thug is a person who ignores the law, steals from private business, and hurts other individuals. I don’t give a crap what cnn says is a dog whistle or the word of the day that is offensive to some category of American. Grow up. We have laws. Follow them or face the consequences. Period. If you break the laws you are at best a thug or a scumbag.

          7. Steve-o, you seem to be totally lost in this conversation if you say “connotations don’t change.” The whole discussion seems to be over your head, and you clearly don’t understand what a connotation is. Connotations change BY DEFINITION. That is in fact the very thing that makes them connotations. If they did not change, they would be denotations, or literal meanings.

            A connotation is an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. Ideas and feelings change over time, often dramatically.

      3. CNN had two reporters covering the scene. The black one got arrested, on camera, despite clearly identifying himself as media. The white one was allowed to go about his business.

        Steve, are you related to Minneapolis cops?

        1. Have whatever make believe fight you want to have. I never defended the police.

          1. No, you just ignore everything they did and only pipe up when the “thugs” get uppity.

        2. fwald, the cop was arrested and charged with manslaughter. All cops involved were fired. If people want to peacefully protest, then they absolutely have the right to do so. I get “uppity” when people break the law and are not held accountable for their actions.

          1. Maybe you should ask the white nationalist Nazis why they’re coming in as false flags to instigate the situation?

            The mayor of Minneapolis and governor of Minnesota came out and said all arrested last night were from our of state, being coordinated with white nationalist groups.

            Pretty typical actions out of the neo-Nazi playbook. Become a false flag protestor, cause damage, have the idiot base call African-Americans ‘thugs’ for protesting and blame ‘both sides’ again just like in South Carolina.

            Why don’t you shut the fuck up next time and stop being manipulated. 99.9% of protestors out there are peaceful, the other 0.01% are people out there to start shit, and plenty of them Trump supporting neo-Nazis.

    2. So a bunch of dimwitted thugs walking around in pseudo-military paraphernalia, armed to the teeth, waving Confederate flags and intimidating legislators doesn’t bother you? You’re hopeless.

      1. I don’t care if they are dim witted, thugs, or armed to the teeth. If they are following the law, there is nothing to discuss. Whether or not I agree with their position is a completely different discussion. But they have the right to do what they did and unlike the thugs in Minnesota, they didn’t break the law.

        1. My view is that the US is doomed with people like Steverino…fortunately I don’t have to live in the US.

          1. Freedom of thought is your enemy. Sorry you feel that way. I don’t need to agree with others but I expect them to follow the law.

    3. Look man, I’m sitting here in (suburban) Minneapolis right now and all anyone can talk about is why aren’t these four murdering shitbirds behind bars. And just restricting it to here, over the past few years we’ve had Jamar Clark, Philando, that Justine Diamond lady and now this. Every new chief promises reform (which is badly needed) but no one can deliver. If this isn’t racism – and a side order of incompetence – it will do til the racism gets here. About the only shitty thing missing from the usual drill is that the head of the police union hasn’t come out to defend these guys. I agree that “destroying the fucking neighborhood where you fucking live” is not an appropriate response, it seems like “doing nothing” would be no better.

      1. It’s amazing how they have to ‘build a case’ where if this were a simple case of domestic violence with the same exact circumstances caught on video, there would be an immediate murder charge.

        There’s a video circulating of a cop fired and his partner suspended for an incident that luckily didn’t end in another murder. Cop stops a black man when he was pulling out of a parking lot for no cause other than being in the lot while another arrest was going on, points a gun at him and tells him to turn off the vehicle. Just as soon as he moves his hand to the wheel to turn it off, the cop yells ‘GUN! HES GOT A GUN!’ and the black man IMMEDIATELY puts his hands out the window smartly and says he doesn’t have a gun and refuses to make any movement with a gun pointed at him.

        This shit is so systemic, its ridiculous. Its ingrained in police departments around the country to escalate the situation to the point of no return, and with zero accountability, they can create a false situation to murder someone in cold blood because they got their ego hurt.

        I would wonder the results if there was a random survey of officers around the country and how many show psychopathic tendencies. The profession has become a feedback loop that only the worst of the worst get involved – even if you did want to make a difference, how could you anymore?

        Forget hiding behind the badge, you have many individuals working in this profession handling a gun who you can see a ‘snap point’ set off by someone being rude to them, not committing a crime, but just being there and not letting them abuse their power – and they flat out try to concoct a reason to try to murder them on the spot. How many of these individuals are basically Ted Bundy with a gun?

      2. Apparently the accused cops are not in jail because the prosecutor has more evidence. He can’t tell us what it is yet. He can’t tell us why he can’t tell us, except to say that he can’t. I realize that getting all the facts is necessary to do justice, and that it can take time. It can also take time to fake up a story. Law enforcement has not really earned itself the benefit of the doubt in this situation.

Comments are closed.