Lalitha Joseph
Assistant Professor, St. John’s College Anchal, affiliated to the University of Kerala, email id: lalithajoseph@stjohns.ac.in, ORCID:0000-0002-2937-2233
Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s2n4
Abstract
The use of the word “thugs”, has always precipitated the crisis that has existed longue durée in the history of America. The word carries diverse meanings in different spaces, histories, communities, and countries. When used as a stigmatizing label, it can define, classify, restrict and fix boundaries within a society. Through an assessment of political rhetoric, tweets, and media reports, this article evaluates the hegemonic power embedded in the word and its strategic use by the world leaders for nefarious purposes in the post-truth era. It also explores the racial underpinnings of the word and the covert intentions behind its usage. This paper critically interrogates the social circumstances in which the word is used to suppress dissent. The role of post-truth media as the intermediaries and purveyors of the real and the fake is analyzed. Labelling theory is applied to demonstrate how policy makers, mark out a group in order to rationalize the discourse of state violence. The methods and the outcomes of stigmatizing labelling is illustrated, paying special attention to the role it plays in triggering social unrest. The essay argues that the polemics around the word “thug” enables the administrators to shift focus from the real issues, and thereby deny racial minorities their right to challenge the government policies and actions.
Keywords: Labelling theory, Thug, Dissenting voices, Racialdiscrimination, Post-truth era, Race-coded language.