I've lived many places throughout my life, and this one, situated in the South, happens to be one of the worst.  And I say this because, on the right side of me and on the left, I'm neighbored by a racist and a redneck (respectively).  The latter parks his trucks on the grass and plays his Luke Bryan late into the evening and enjoys getting into fights with his girlfriend – who could very possibly be his sister.

The racist, on the other hand, presents a different kind of problem.  He hates everything to do with any race except his own, which is unfortunate for me, because I'm a half-bred Hispanic.  He believes that everyone other than his own race is against him: the Asians have taken his child's place at college because they study harder, the Mexicans have taken his job because they've outclassed him in price and work habit.  And lastly, perhaps worst of all, he believes that whenever something bad happens between black people and white people in the national news, the black people are innocent, and the white people, whose minds he cannot read, are racists.

Oh – I've forgotten to mention something.  This racist neighbor is black.

Fortunately for me, everything in this story, except for my being half-Hispanic, is fabricated.  I'm fortunate enough to have mostly great neighbors, both black and white.  The point of the matter is that when I said one neighbor was a racist, nearly everyone is quick to assume that he's white – which wouldn't have been a point worth proving unless I'd seen an article on The Daily Kos trying to prove that the word thug is wrong to use because we always assume that the thug is black.  If this is the case, The Daily Kos might prove their interest in equality by getting rid of the term racist, too. 

In truth, the fact that thug exists and it overwhelmingly means a black man of criminal behavior means nothing more than that some black men can be criminals.  Its existence might be insulting if no black man was ever a criminal.  It might be as insulting as redneck, if no white man was ever extremely country or an ignoramus.  It might be as insulting as douchebag is to whites and Italians, if neither of us had an unfortunate trend in being spiky-haired, sideways-hatted meatheads.  It might even be as insulting as slut is, had no woman ever promised to be true forever, and then been caught with an entire football team or Leonardo DiCaprio (whichever looks worse, at this moment).

I heard it once said that if you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps the loudest is the one you hit.  I don't know if the phrase fits so well here, because a lot of well-dressed white people are yelping about an perceived insult to all black people.  But certainly we can agree that if the shoe fits (or maybe we should say, the ridiculously expensive stolen sneaker), the last person who should be complaining about it is the actual thug.  The first complaint should be about his existence. 

A nasty term signifies a nasty, existent thing – which is the only reason why nasty words are so nasty.  The healthiest thing any of us can do, instead of pretending that we can get rid of a term and be rid of the thing itself, is to say that if a thug or a douchebag or a slut exists, that we refuse to either be one or raise our children to be one.  The heart of all equality and anti-racism is the belief that all of us, whatever our color, have a common moral potential, that all of us have a choice in everything we do; and that if we would only all wish at the bottom of our hearts to be good men, that everyone could be good --- and then we would all get along.

Recognizing that certain trends really do run in races (in this case, a horrible black crime rate and a style to go with it) isn't the cause of racism, but the first step toward removing it.  We can never fix a problem we refuse to admit exists, like we will never put on deodorant unless we think we could stink.  Jesus Himself said that blessed are those who hunger, for they shall be filled.  Some poor theologians think this means Jesus only loves people without money or good looks or power.  The smarter Christians know that what Jesus means is that you can't get to the Kingdom of Heaven (or anywhere else) unless you're uneasy being where you are.  We can become truly educated only if we first admit our ignorance.  We can go on a diet only if we first admit our fatness.  We can become good fathers, neighbors, employees, and citizens only when we're sick of being thugs.

That thug may be misattributed to the undeserving (like any other pejorative) is a testament to the fact that some white people aren't smart or moral enough to use it correctly, not a rightful assault upon the fundamental basis of the term's existence.  For the term, however you look at it, is a sign of fear – and until people are ever completely unafraid of being raped, robbed, murdered, or conned, we will always have an idea about the criminals we believe are most likely to rape, rob, murder, or con us.  And the best among us (whether black or white) will know that it is not only impossible to completely disregard our loves and fears, but in speech a fundamental human right to express them – especially justly.

If we get rid of one ugly word, there will be another for it, and if there is no "offensive" word, there will be innocent words strung together to make an offensive idea.  The challenge to blacks is to fight every thug like their lives depend upon it – and their lives do, because the definition of a bad neighborhood is a place where not bad, but good people suffer, whether from skittish police or criminal neighbors.  The challenge to whites is to refrain from using such an ugly, offensive term unless they've encountered ugly, offensive people.

People love to complain about police brutality, especially toward blacks.  But nobody with any common sense suggests that the police should be as unarmed and defenseless as the rest of us.  We simply want them to use their guns the right way.  We should think the same way about our words.

Jeremy Egerer is the editor of the philosophical websites Letters to Hannah and American Clarity. American Clarity welcomes friend requests on Facebook.