"thug" life

Over the past few years when there's a "unlawful" killing of a young black male, I've noticed a trend, the opposition gravity towards the "victims" character and the word "thug". The definition of a thug is a criminal or violent person. Trayvon Martin because he took pictures with gold teeth holding a gun and the fact he was walking with a hoodie made him a thug. Jordan Davis was labeled a thug because him and his friends were listening to loud rap music and Mike Brown because of his sheer size was labeled a thug. Being labeled a thug or criminal justifies the shooter's fear and the thugs don't have ANY rights, even if they are handcuffed and face down, it makes it easier to convince people that "he acted as if he had a gun", "he was charging me" and the worst excuse of all "I confused my 9mm for my tazer". The scary thing is my past. When I was that age I got caught stealing at Montgomery wards, I was trying to steal some phone cards for the stolen cell phone I had, at 17 I could have easily been labeled a thug by mainstream thinking steers you to believe what a thug is. At Montgomery Wards only reason I didn't run when the security guard came my way was I had too far to run! I wasn't a thug though I was a 17 yr old from the ghetto, Flint, MI,  living in the suburbs, Richfield, MN, trying to be a bad ass cause I knew it wasn't any REAL thugs around. Now, I'm a 33 year old successful Black American with a degree and all the student loan debt that comes along with it! I pay taxes, I have voted in every presidential election since 2000 and I didn't deserve to be shot over calling cards, did I? I'm not vouching for Mike's character because I didn't know him personally but I get upset with myself for getting upset with the lack of worth our cultural holds for the life of a young Black American male.  You never know what any of those young men could have been.