Mayor Rawlings-Blake clarifies use of word 'thug'

By ISABELLE CHAPMAN

When rioters took to the streets of Baltimore to set fires and destroy property after the death of Freddie Gray, politicians did not call participants "protesters," instead they called them "thugs."

Indeed, even President Obama called those who destroyed a cop car on live television by the word that Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes told CNN's Erin Burnett is akin to calling someone a "n------."

"Just call them n-----s," Stokes told the evening news anchor Tuesday night.

Despite the fact that according to Merriam-Webster it's defined as "a violent criminal."

He's not the only one to draw this conclusion. In the past, NFL star Richard Sherman has also been quoted as saying that "thug" is accepted way of replace calling someone the "n" word.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who has had several missteps with the media, took to Twitter Wednesday morning to clarify her use of the word "thug" in a press conference.

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