Let's put it this way. The way people were using the word to describe Sherman had me thinking the same thing "Are these idiots just racist?" before I saw it being questioned elsewhere. Then I saw all the 'Typical N*****' rants too. It seemed like the way they were using it, they were just using it to replace 'angry black man'. So, I do believe racists use the word often. Does that mean everyone that uses the word 'thug' for a black man is a racist? No. Sometimes, it's used in a correct context, because frankly, it has a real meaning. But yes, racists are using it out of context now, like they were with Sherman. It won't be long before non-racists wipe it from their dictionary now, simply because these idiots are adopting it to try and cover their obvious racism.