[stylist] Hoods, Hoodlums and Hoody's

[Robert Leslie Newman]

"Those hoodlum's need to be caught and ... well, punished. What is this
world coming too!" 

"Mom," I had to respond to this one. The family was sitting around the
kitchen table, the remnants of dinner not yet cleared away. The small flat
screened TV on the countertop was on, a local Anchor was pushing the usual
crime crap into the homes of the community, as if there wasn't anything else
of news worthy in the city. We had just been told that the newest robber
garment of choice was the "Hoody;" its front pocket or pockets were
convenient for the carrying of a concealed weapon and the attached hood was
great for covering up much of the wood-be robber's identifying features.
"Nobody uses that old term anymore. It's 'Gang-banger.'"

"Son," interjected my father, "in our day, these types were commonly called
'Hoods or Hoodlum's' just like your mother said and I don't think anyone
today would not understand the meaning of the word."

"Well dad..." and I prepared myself to watch my tone, because I knew I was
going to be taking a chance that my next words might be seen as
disrespectful, "that might depend upon which Hood the person you were
speaking to, was from."
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 1:09 AM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Hoods and Hoodlums- writing exercise?

Hey,

Hoodlum, or hood, does not denote race, ethnicity, nationality or even
gender.  For anyone to attach this word to a particular group is
perpetuating stereotypes.

Anyhow, to utilize this tangent, perhaps we can try writing a short scene
using this word (or concept) as the impetus.  It would be interesting to see
what we can come up with.

Bridgit P


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