San Francisco neighbor says don't call thieves 'criminals' Debate called 'extreme political correctness'

In a lively discussion on NextDoor, San Francisco residents debate whether referring to someone who commits petty theft (such as ripping parts off a bicycle) as a criminal is offensive. In a lively discussion on NextDoor, San Francisco residents debate whether referring to someone who commits petty theft (such as ripping parts off a bicycle) as a criminal is offensive. Photo: Ty Milford, Getty Photo: Ty Milford, Getty Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close San Francisco neighbor says don't call thieves 'criminals' 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Is it wrong to call someone who steals a "criminal"?

In a recent thread on NextDoor, a group of neighbors living in the Noe Valley-Glen Park area were engaged in a discussion around the city's crime and debated whether labeling a person who commits petty theft as a "criminal" is offensive.

In the site's Crime and Safety area, where residents share strategies for fighting crime, Malkia Cyril of S.F. suggests that her neighbors stop using the label because it shows lack of empathy and understanding.

Cyril pointed out that instead of calling the thief who took the bicycle from your garage a criminal, you could be more respectful and call him or her "the person who stole my bicycle."

"I [suggest] that people who commit property crimes are human and deserved to be referred to in terms that acknowledge that," Cyril, who's the executive director of the Center for Media Justice in Oakland, writes in the thread.

"I think we should think twice before speaking in disparaging terms about 'those criminals,'" she adds later in the thread.

Cyril started the thread because she wanted to shift the NextDoor conversations about security cameras, alarms and the police to more thoughtful discussions about strategies for addressing the cause of crime. In her posts, she blames our societal problems — gentrification, economic inequality, lack of affordable housing, the defunding of public schools — for pushing people into lives of crime.

"Police can't stop what desperation will drive folk to," Cyril wrote. "Imagine risking your freedom to steal a few thousand dollars worth of goods. A cell phone. Most folk here don't know that life.

"But perhaps, if you took a moment to look around and see what this city has become, you'll understand."

In a world of extreme political correctness, washing away words that have been deemed inappropriate is becoming commonplace. Many of these words are blatantly inappropriate, but with others, such as "criminal," the offensive implication is subtle. These less obvious insults are often referred to as microggressions, which a recent article in the Atlantic Monthly explains are "small actions or word choices that seem on their face to have no malicious intent but that are thought of as a kind of violence nonetheless."

Is referring to a person who steals as a "criminal" an example of a microaggression?

That question was hashed out in the debate sparked by Cyril's NextDoor thread, which resulted in 85 comments and sparked a lively discourse among people living in San Francisco's Mission, Noe Valley, Glen Park and Castro neighborhoods.

While several agreed with Cyril (61 NextDoor members gave her virtual thanks for her thoughtful and compassionate viewpoint), many took an opposite view.

A sample of the comments on the thread:

Photo: NextDoor

Another agreed with Cyril...

Photo: NextDoor

And another praised her.

Photo: NextDoor

Some were baffled by the suggestion to stop calling people who've committed crimes criminals.

Photo: NextDoor

Some struggled to understand the word criminal's offensive connotation.

When Cyril reiterated her frustration with the word...

Photo: NextDoor Restricted one-time use

One man named Peter asked how he was supposed to identify the man who recently stole his bicycle and also pointed out that he has faced his own personal struggles.

Photo: NextDoor

Cyril answered...

Photo: NextDoor

And then Cyril argued.

Another person brought up with sarcasm that his gym bag was recently stolen and says that he feels the city isn't tough enough on the thieves who commit these petty crimes.

Photo: NextDoor

Cyril pointed out that the man's loss of his gym bag is a small inconvenience for someone of privilege.

Photo: NextDoor

Near the end of the thread, Cyril addresses those who disagreed with her: "You have every right to be appalled at my desire for the dignity of every human being as I am at your refusal to grant it. Good night."

SFGate reached out to Cyril about the thread and she responded in an email: "I implored those on the Next Door platform to see low-income neighbors as neighbors, and not suspicious people, I reminded them that dominating wealth and privilege, while pushing ppl out of their homes is a sure fire recipe for increased crime and violence."