What Does a Thug Look Like?

[RDKirk]

"Thug" is a label to describe behavior,there is however a costume promoted by popular culture but thug=criminal=can look like anybody.

I have to agree with both those points.

Let's not pretend we don't know there is a marketing of a "thug life" style, including distinctive dress and mannerisms.

 

[Always in His Presence]

According to Bing - this is what a thug looks like:

And Google shows a thug like this:

Hope that helps

 

[SummerMadness]

According to Bing - this is what a thug looks like:
View attachment 188065
And Google shows a thug like this:

View attachment 188066

Hope that helps

Those search results are of two or three rappers and people that are dressing like or parodying those rappers.

Admittedly, there is one person that looks like a thug there, which is demonstrated by the gun in his hand (another is man holding a spiked baseball bat).

 

[Archie the Preacher]

From what I've been told, you can tell a "thug" just by their physical traits.

Who told you such a thing? Oh, wait. Are you talking about the Thugs of India? They probably look sub-continental Indian and travel in a group.

Or are you talking about the U. S. slang term for habitual criminals?

I was a federal lawman for twenty-eight years and no criminal is revealed by how they appear.

There are a number of indicators, some in how one dresses and others in how one acts, reacts, moves and positions themself. I'll give you one example, as it is fairly widely known and I'm not giving away any secrets.

Bank robbers - at least for a time - almost always entered a bank wearing a windbreaker, zipped up, a hat of some sort pulled fairly low and sunglasses. That didn't mean a person dressed like that a bank robber without fail or exception, but such a person warranted watching without further information.

 

[Archie the Preacher]

Lol. Yeah those early 1930s gangster movies. Like James Cagney.

They'd talk very fast and say things like..

"This is a hold up, see... dump this money in the bag see, and no one gets hurt.."

That last quotation sounded more like Edward G. Robinson than James Cagney.

 

[MehGuy]

That last quotation sounded more like Edward G. Robinson than James Cagney.

You're probably right, lol.

 

[rambot]

"Thug" is a label to describe behavior,there is however a costume promoted by popular culture but thug=criminal=can look like anybody.

So it's a costume that can look like anyone?

 

[Tull]

So it's a costume that can look like anyone?

No its a costume anyone can choose to wear

 

[RDKirk]

Those search results are of two or three rappers and people that are dressing like or parodying those rappers.

I think the salient point is that someone can say, "Dress up like a thug" and we can predict a quite limited set of appearances.

 

[redleghunter]

The word "thug" is defined as a violent criminal, yet I am told that you can tell that someone is a thug just by looking at them.

Forgive my ignorance, I don't know how that works. What are the physical characteristics of a "thug"?

If I murder someone, did I look like a "thug" before I committed the violent act?

No need to be politically correct here.

Anyway, based on these physical characteristics, which of these men is a "thug"?

Bachelor A

Bachelor B

Bachelor C

None of the above. The Three examples may be categorized by Hollywood as "dorks" or "nerds."

Now this fits the definition of thug:

 

[Archie the Preacher]

I think the salient point is that someone can say, "Dress up like a thug" and we can predict a quite limited set of appearances.

Apparently I've missed something. "Rappers" are now wearing a certain type of clothing and calling themselves 'thugs', I gather. This may be a misapprehension on my part. If so, then one can recognize a 'thug' - in that meaning - on sight.

I don't follow 'rap' music. Now that I think about it, I don't follow 'country' music anymore either. In fact, since the Rat Pack died off, I'm not that interested in 'popular music' whatever that may have been. Woolgathering, forgive me.

 

[bhsmte]

I think the salient point is that someone can say, "Dress up like a thug" and we can predict a quite limited set of appearances.

Agree. Just as we could say, dress as a frat boy, dress as an executive, dress as tech geek and on and on and on.

 

[RDKirk]

Agree. Just as we could say, dress as a frat boy, dress as an executive, dress as tech geek and on and on and on.

And that point on which I had very rare agreement with Tull is that it's a "costume" that anyone can wear.

There is a scene in Walter Mosley's "Always Outnumbered--Always Outgunned" in which a young thug brags to the ex-convict-who-is-trying-to-build-an-honest-life Socrates Fortlow of his shtick of dressing in a nice suit to cause whites to lower their guard--and then robbing them.

This greatly angers Fortlow, who recognizes the importance of costume and the consequences of reducing its impact for people who need every bit of credit they can get.

 

[bhsmte]

And that point on which I had very rare agreement with Tull is that it's a "costume" that anyone can wear.

There is a scene in Walter Mosley's "Always Outnumbered--Always Outgunned" in which a young thug brags to the ex-convict-who-is-trying-to-build-an-honest-life Socrates Fortlow of his shtick of dressing in a nice suit to cause whites to lower their guard--and then robbing them.

This greatly angers Fortlow, who recognizes the importance of costume and the consequences of reducing its impact for people who need every bit of credit they can get.

Sure, anyone can wear any type of clothing. Typically there are patterns though.

 

[rambot]

Sorry, have we seen wha these kids are wearing? Ive only seen faces

 

[SummerMadness]

Sorry, have we seen wha these kids are wearing? Ive only seen faces

We haven't seen clothes, yet people claim to be experts on what "looks like a thug" means from a headshot. Even when one tries to argue that people can tell a criminal from a picture, they still cannot tell if someone is a thug (i.e., violent).

 

[RDKirk]

We haven't seen clothes, yet people claim to be experts on what "looks like a thug" means from a headshot. Even when one tries to argue that people can tell a criminal from a picture, they still cannot tell if someone is a thug (i.e., violent).

I don't think anyone is disputing that a person can act like a thug while not dressed in the costume that is currently popularly marketed as "thug."

 

[SummerMadness]

I don't think anyone is disputing that a person can act like a thug while not dressed in the costume that is currently popularly marketed as "thug."

But they're claiming a thug look without seeing a costume. It's one thing to say someone is a thug based on their behavior, it's another thing to say they look like one just based on their face.

 

[roamer_1]

If I murder someone, did I look like a "thug" before I committed the violent act?

None of the above.
A 'thug' is a ruffian, living a violent life, often attributed to gangs. The word comes from india, to denote a gang of assassins.

More along the lines of pirates, gangsters, outlaws, or bikers perhaps... That sort of flavor, in the modern sense of the word. They live by mayhem... a brutal nature...

That one may be a murderer or assassin does not necessarily make one a thug.

 

[camille70]

But they're claiming a thug look without seeing a costume. It's one thing to say someone is a thug based on their behavior, it's another thing to say they look like one just based on their face.

You forgot they had locs. Nothing says thug more than non-conforming by choosing not to wear a neat, clean fade. I agree that you can get visual cues from people just by looking at their face. You can often tell if someone has lived a hard life, has been in constant physical pain, is ill or a heavy drinker, etc. It's often "etched" in their faces, so to speak. Normally mannerisms and behavior contribute to that as well. I don't think the premise in the other thread could be determined by the pictures though and although I don't wish to unfairly judge motives and intent, I have doubts as to whether or not the stated premise of said thread was true.