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This man is an idiot

Geraldo Rivera said Friday he would “bet money” that Trayvon Martin wouldn’t have been fatally shot if the teenager hadn’t been wearing a hoodie....
“I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies,” Rivera said on “Fox & Friends.” “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”
Wow. You think that you've seen and heard it all and then along comes Geraldo Rivera to blame an innocent teenager's murder on the hoodie he was wearing. I suppose if the young man had been a young woman and that young woman was wearing a short skirt, then Geraldo would expect that she would be raped and it would be all because of the skirt. Just another instance of totally clueless commentary by one of the most utterly clueless so-called pundits on television today.

Now, I wear a hoodie when there is a chill in the air. It doesn't happen too often here in Southeast Texas, but when it does, a hoodie is my outerwear of choice. It's the perfect garment to protect one from a light chill or a light rain, which I believe was the weather on the day that Trayvon Martin was shot.

So the next time I go to Target wearing my hoodie, do I have to be afraid that some jerk will mistake me for a criminal and shoot me in cold blood and then claim self-defense? Well, probably not. In the first place, I'm white. In the second place, the arthritis in my knees and hip make me move slowly and I doubt many people, seeing me move, would  feel threatened by me.

Nevertheless, I feel a solidarity with Trayvon Martin and with all those kids who wear hoodies. One's life should not be placed in jeopardy because of the garment the s/he chooses to wear no matter what Geraldo Rivera blathers on Fox. The man is an idiot.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 23, 2012 at 7:41 PM

    I too wear a hoodie on my walks. So far I have been stopped by the cops twice and had a neighbor report me to my husband when he saw me leaving the porch one morning. I usually walk in the dark. Both times the officers seemed somewhat embarrassed after I turned to face them . I havent been a teen for decades! I'll admit I have thought of running as their car slowly kept pace with me but so far as suppressed the urge! I can't believe what a target that garment makes me. It's so unfair but if I had a son I would think twice before I let him leave in a hoodie because he may not be able to suppress that urge to run! It's not right but I think a cautious parent needs to be aware of the bigotry out
    there. But by saying this please don't think I in anyway excuse this-- I just wish the world didnt require this precaution!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMarch 23, 2012 at 9:25 PM

      It is a crazy world where one has to be afraid of wearing a perfectly utilitarian garment because of others' stereotyping that garment, Anonymous.

      Delete

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