The meaning of THUG - Note: 14 PDF

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The meaning of THUG basierend auf 2Pac und The Hate U Give von Angie Thomas....

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The meaning of ‘THUG’ “These THUGS are dishonouring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. […]”1 tweeted Donald Trump May 29 2020. The Afro-American citizen George Floyd died as a result of police brutality on 25 May 2020. This lead to nationwide protests against police brutality and racism which were soon followed by international support. However, the protest did not remain entirely peaceful. With “THUGS” President Trump refers to those protesting (violently) for equality and an end to racism in policing. But what has this to do with the bestselling novel “ The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas?

A “THUG” is “a violent person, especially a criminal” 2. Therefore, “THUG LIFE” is often misinterpreted as someone who lives a criminal life 3. In reality the term “THUG LIFE” is a term used with pride. The famous Rapper Tupac defines the real meaning behind it. “THUG LIFE” is an acronym for “The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody”. In other words, by filling the minds of children with hate and at the same time telling them to accept racism, police brutality and the oppression of the people of colour, eventually leads into the destruction of everybody’s lives in form of anger and riots 4. Somebody living a “THUG LIFE” worked their way up “by any means necessary” 5. Tupac justifies African-American criminality with existing inequality. Black people are trapped in a system designed against them. They need good education in order for them to receive a proper job. Though, a lot of money is needed to afford good education. Without highly paid jobs one cannot afford proper education. Especially African-American’s are stuck in this cycle of little money and poor education. The only way out is criminality.

Angie Thomas herself admits that her novel is largely inspired by Tupac’s activism and especially his “THUG LIFE” tattoo 6. The Black Lives Matter Movement also played a role when writing her Novel 7. The first reference made, was naming her book “The Hate U Give”. Later on “THUG” and “THUG LIFE” will play an important role in the book. Also naming the main character “Starr” Carter is a reference to Tupac. All though he never had a daughter, he told the public that he would name her Starr8. Furthermore, Starr’s father Maverick Carter, known as “Big M” follows the Black Panther Movement (p. 262, ll. 13 – 15) which also partly influenced Tupac’s definition of “THUG LIFE”.

In the first chapter, Starr meets her black childhood best friend and first crush Khalil Harris again who she has not seen in ages (p. 18, l.4). When she asks him what he has been up to he replies “I been busy” (p. 18, l. 14). His expensive clothing and his statement imply that he is selling drugs (p.23, l. 17). Later on Khalil explains Starr what “THUG LIFE” really stands for while listening to Tupac in the car (p.23, l. 6). When Starr tries to tell him that her family would help him to pay his bills in a legal way, he replies “I don’t need help from nobody” (p. 23, ll. 23 – 24). Even further he justifies selling drugs by saying “I got tired of choosing between lights and food” (p. 23, ll. 24 – 27). Clearly Thomas makes a reference to Tupac’s “THUG LIFE”. Khalil is poor with little or no chances in life. He tries to work his way up, be able to pay his bills and somehow a good life one or the other way. Hence, he is living a “THUG LIFE”.

Starr and Khalil are in the car when the police stop them. This reminds Starr of ‘The Talk’ 9 she received like any other child of colour when she was twelve (p. 26). They are rules to get home safely if stopped by the police. The fact that coloured people have to receive ‘the talk’ underlines the police brutality and racism in the United States. When Khalil asks Starr if she is alright, the while police officer shoots him and soon after he dies due to his injuries. This again is “The Hate You Give Little Infants”.

Additionally, Khalil’s grandmother is worried that “people [will end] up thinking he was a thug and never care” (p.62, ll. 2 – 3). With this statement Thomas want to show that society only cares about criminal activities to somehow advocate the fact that he was killed by a police officer as an act of racism. Again by calling him “thug” Thomas references to Tupac.

Equally important, Maverick gives Starr his interpretation of Tupac’s “THUG LIVE” (p. 144, l. 24 – p. 145, l. 2). He explains that poor black neighbourhoods are trapped in a cycle of poverty and violence. Because Khalil’s mother is addicted to drugs Khalil grew up with a lack of opportunities and in poverty leading him into selling drugs. Yet, he was convicted by the system for selling drugs and for having a lack of opportunities (p. 90, l. 21 – p. 91 l. 7).

Furthermore, Starr “really unterstand[s the definition of THUG LIFE] now”, when she watched a clip of Tupac explaining THUG LIFE the way Khalil did (p.172, ll. 21 – 28). She knows now why Tupac spells

our ‘Fucks’ because he has a child on his lap looking him “dead in his face”. These infants are growing up with hate and racism, making them expressionless.

Lastly, after the grand jury decided not to indict the officer who killed Khalil, Starr says “They gave me the hate, and now I wanna fuck everybody […]” (p. 314, l. 29). This references to “The Hate” and “Fucks Everybody” in Tupac’s definition. Starr has enough of the inequality, racism and the whole system oppressing the people of colour. Because speaking the truth out loud is not enough. As a result she protests (p. 331, ll. 18 - 24).

All in all, Tupac’s definition of “THUG LIFE” play an important role in Angie Thomas’ novel “The Hate U Give”. It is heavily discussed during the novel. One can also see that “The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody” comes to the truth.

1 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266231100780744704, 13/06/2020 2 https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/thug, 12/06/2020 3 https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/thug-life/, 12/06/2020 4 https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/thug-life/, 12/06/2020 5 https://longreads.com/2013/12/04/tupac-shakur-and-the-origins-of-thug-life/, 12/06/2020 6 https://www.epicreads.com/blog/tupac-thug-life-hate-u-give/, 12/06/2020 7 https://www.epicreads.com/blog/tupac-thug-life-hate-u-give/, 12/06/2020 8 https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/forty-facts-you-didnt-know-about-tupac/6/, 13/06/2020 9 https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/connect/talk-back/10_rules_of_survival_if_stopped_by_police/, 13/06/2020...