I'll just touch on this part, because I'm running out the door to work...
That was my point. I didn't say it made someone racist or a bad person. I just said it says more about them than the person talking.
In your case, the words gangbanger and thug bring up images of Mexicans, based on your personal history. In my case, I immediately think "Latin Kings" - because that is the gang I see every day of my life. When I hear "gangster," I think Russian - again, based on MY OWN experiences. Others apparently hear those words and think "black." My point is - gangbanger and thug are not exactly racial terms. They mean something different to everyone (usually based on where you are or are from) - and I think like
@Cheermom1969 said it's much more of someone downing a lifestyle than a race.
I'm sorry - I don't care one whit if people want to make fun of gangs. If you're in a gang, I think you're a loser, plain and simple. So I'm not really interested in protecting the rights of gangbangers.
My thoughts: if someone saw that picture and thought, "they're making fun of black people!" - well, like I said, why did you (general you, not you
@AlwaysLearning ) immediately think "black people" when you saw that? Your own beliefs about race, that's why. Because I saw the picture and thought Latino and white (I haven't seen a black gangbanger in God knows how long... But I see white ones and Latino ones every single day),
@AlwaysLearning sees the picture and thinks Mexican. All of that tells me way more about the people on the receiving end, than the girls in the picture. Doesn't necessarily tell me anything bad, just different. Because for real, I opened this thread and was like, "Wait... What? What does this picture have to do with black people?" And was legitimately confused for 3 pages.
If the theme was "Mexican Day" and they all dressed like they were in a gang, that would be offensive - because they'd be saying "Mexican people are all in gangs." If the theme was "African American Day" and they all dressed like gangbangers, same - you get the idea.
All black people are not gangbangers, and (this is the key part) all gangbangers ARE NOT black. So, when I hear someone say that the words are offensive to them because they're making fun of black people, I ask why they immediately associate all gangs with being black - because I sure don't.
I am sure this is confusing, sorry.