Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Things That Tick Me Off

Haughty Couture: Geraldo Rivera Blames Hoodie For Trayvon Martin Slaying

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

With leaders from all sides of the political spectrum coming together and calling for a Grand Jury investigation into the senseless slaying of teenager Trayvon Martin, surely there has to be one wacky voice. And who better than Fox & Friends contributor, Geraldo Rivera. On the show, Rivera recently blamed Martin’s hoodie as the culprit for the fatal attack:

I believe that George Zimmerman, the overzealous neighborhood watch captain, should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law, and if he is criminally liable he should be prosecuted. But I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.

Rivera had opened the bidding with an equally inane column styled,  “Trayvon Martin Would Be Alive but for His Hoodie.”  There, after deriding low slung pants, he admonishes parents to take the hoodies off their kids too, imploring them, “don’t let your child go out into the hard cruel world wearing a costume that is really a sign that says ‘shoot me.’” Fleece as fomenter? Really?

That stupidity brought immediate comment from the saner and hipper side of the planet. “i didn’t even know geraldo still did stuff ppl listened to. damned if i listen to him now. but #BEATEMDOWNhoodies ARE on sale for $25,” media personality Bomani Jones tweeted. “Dear Geraldo Rivera: I’ll use small words so you can follow me, okay? Hoodies don’t kill people. Paranoid racists with guns kill people,” tweeted Wil Wheatonof Los Angeles. “That’s like saying Martin should not have left the house while being Black. As the Million Hoodie marches emphasize, there is nothing inherently devious about hoodies. It’s our culture’s racist stereotype for “suspicion” that makes hoodies worn by people of color — not soccer moms or Anderson Cooper —  an act that could be met with violence,” journalist Kristen Gwynne wrote on AlterNet.

With President Obama saying that if he had a son he’d look a lot like Trayvon Martin, and Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum both calling for a Grand Jury inquiry into the matter, and calling the case a “tragedy”  and a “horrible case,” respectively, Rivera looks like an old gum-shoe newsman looking for a story and some notoriety.

Clothing manufacturers must have thought the same thing. American Apparel, who makes the popular outerwear, noted its product is bought by “every type of person you can imagine—pink hoodies to toddlers, black and navy hoodies to businessmen and successful entrepreneurs, as well as plenty of college students of all backgrounds and everyone else in between. We even sell hoodies for dogs.” Creative Director Marsha Brady (no, not that Marsha Brady) added, “To say that this classic garment implies that its owner is a dangerous criminal to be ‘feared’ is absolutely ridiculous. We’re incredibly sorry about the young man who was shot while wearing one, and feel very strongly that oversimplifying the discussion by criticizing the victim’s clothing does the country, Trayvon Martin, and all those who support the end of crimes such as this one a massive and dangerous disservice.”

So it seems the journalist who brought us the underwhelming mystery of Al Capone’s vault on live TV, and who regaled us with wild claims about a million Satanists lurking among us and raping children during secret rituals, now finds himself saddled with another self-inflicted wound.

Blaming a hoodie for a shooting?  If that’s true, innocent African-American kids and other hoodie affectionadoes like New England Patriots football coach, Bill Belichick, had better look out.

Source:  msnbc

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

119 thoughts on “Haughty Couture: Geraldo Rivera Blames Hoodie For Trayvon Martin Slaying”

  1. shano:

    In a non-stand your ground state, they might be right. However, as I just mentioned on the other thread, it was Martin not Zimmerman who was entitled to invoke the law. Hell, even Jeb Bush who signed the law said Zimmerman could not claim it if he followed Martin. There’s standing and and then there’s chasing. Wacky wingnuts!

  2. Bdaman 1, March 24, 2012 at 10:08 am

    Dredd

    Whether or not there is a valid defense to that shooting is not a determination to be made by police — particularly when based solely on the word of the shooter.

    Here’s new info I haven’t seen and why Zimmerman probably wasn’t arrested. According to a witness and police.
    ===================================
    The problem with that tact is that “self defense” is an affirmative defense:

    A person claiming self-defense must prove at trial that the self-defense was justified.

    (Legal Definitions). There was no trial, no judge, no jury.

    What this case involved was a wannabe vigilante and wannabe police acting out the part of court, judge, and jury.

    If Zimmerman has a valid affirmative defense the jury will so find, and then justice will have been properly served.

  3. Pingback: Karen Finney – If Only Rush Limbaugh Wasn’t So “Racist”, Trayvon Would Still Be Alive? « The Neosecularist

  7. Bdman:

    “Here’s new info I haven’t seen and why Zimmerman probably wasn’t arrested. According to a witness and police.

    The witness reports that George Zimmerman was on the ground and Trayvon is on top of him punching him.

    The witness says that George Zimmerman was screaming and yelling for help.

    Police arrive and find Zimmerman bleeding on his face and the back of his head. He also has had grass stains on his back. All this confirms the story told by Zimmerman and the witness.

    Police play the 911 tape for Trayvon Martin’s father, who tells police that the voice screaming is not the voice of his son.
    ***************************

    The irony is that if all this is true and we believe Zimmerman when he says he was armed with a deadly weapon, following Martin against police instruction, and that Martin is running, it is Martin who is entitled to stop and “stand his ground” and physically resist the armed man. That would make Zimmerman the aggressor and would convict him of no less than manslaughter by his own words.

  11. Deaths Nearly Triple Since “Stand Your Ground” Enacted
    March 20, 2012
    http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/03/20/deaths-nearly-triple-since-stand-your-ground-enacted/

    Excerpt:
    According to state crime stats, Florida averaged 12 “justifiable homicide” deaths a year from 2000-2004. After “Stand your Ground” was passed in 2005, the number of “justifiable” deaths has almost tripled to an average of 35 a year, an increase of 283% from 2005-2010.

    “The Legislature needs to take a look at Stand Your Ground,” Florida Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens told CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald, “This is a perfect case of where it goes awry. This could only be the beginning of more problems down the road. It has unintended consequences.”

    “When the Legislature passed this in 2005, I don’t think they planned for people who would go out and become vigilantes or be like some weird Batman who would go out and kill little kids like Trayvon.”

    Gov. Rick Scott, speaking with reporters following a Cabinet meeting, agreed, though without committing to supporting any particular legislation. “When you see any violence it’s always positive to … go back and look at existing law and see the impact and the consequences of it,” Scott said.

    “If there’s something that we need to adjust I’m hopeful that the Legislature would be interested in taking that up.”

  12. Bdaman,

    Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin. Martin wasn’t following Zimmerman.
    Zimmerman had a gun. Martin had Skittles and a can of iced tea.
    A police dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow Martin. Martin chose to disregard her. It seems to me that Zimmerman decided to take the law into his own hands. This is what comes of “Stand Your Ground” laws like the one in Florida.

    *****

    Opponents Of Florida’s 2005 ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law Predicted ‘Racially Motivated Killings’
    By Judd Legum on Mar 21, 2012
    http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/03/21/449667/opponents-of-floridas-2005-stand-your-ground-law-predicted-racially-motivated-killings/

    Excerpt;
    SANFORD, FL — Nearly one month after shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman remains a free man. The Sanford Police maintain that Zimmerman’s conduct was legally justified under Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” legislation, enacted in 2005. The law eliminated the duty to avoid a confrontation and authorized the use of deadly force if there is a “reasonable belief” it is necessary to “prevent death or great bodily harm.”

    Since the shooting on February 26, facts have emerged that suggest there may have been a racial element to Zimmerman’s violent conduct against a 17-year-old African-American. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin’s “suspicious” behavior, which he described as “just walking around looking about.” Zimmerman was a very frequent caller to 911, almost always reporting young black men.

    Seven years ago, opponents of the “Stand Your Ground” legislation predicted it could lead to racially motivated killings. From Reuters, April 2005:

    “For a House that talks about the culture of life it’s ironic that we would be devaluing life in this bill,” said Democratic state Rep. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.” […]

    Critics say the measure could lead to racially motivated killings and promote deadly escalations of arguments.

    “All this bill will do is sell more guns and possibly turn Florida into the OK Corral,” said Democratic state Rep. Irv Slosberg of Boca Raton.
    These objections, apparently, did not persuade Rep. Dennis Baxley, the bill’s chief sponsor and someone who hasn’t show a great deal of empathy for racial sensitivities in the past.

    Baxley is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and has advocated for the production of a Florida license plate honoring “Confederate Heritage.” He also argued against removing a racial slur from the Florida state song.

  15. Dude on your nect vacation you got to go to American Beach. Off the chain wit da ladies. You know what the ironic thing is. Use google maps and find it, then look around North and South and tell me what you see.

  16. What do the pictures of Trayvon or his height have to do with his being killed by Zimmerman?

    I don’t know what does weight have to do with his killing.

    Elaine M. 1, March 24, 2012 at 10:04 am

    Bdaman,

    I do think it looks like a “racial incident.” I doubt Zimmerman would have been as suspicious of a white teenager.

    Zimmerman is 28 years old–not 23–and outweighed Martin by approximately one hundred pounds.

  19. Bdaman,

    What do the pictures of Trayvon or his height have to do with his being killed by Zimmerman? Zimmerman chose to follow Trayvon–even though the police dispatcher told him not to do so. If I were being followed by someone while I walked alone on a street, I’d be frightened.

    *****

    “and there you have it. NUff said.”

    It shows that Zimmerman may have thought that he DID have “police powers.” He may also have thought that he’d be protected by the “Stand Your Ground” law if he DID use his gun.

  20. ALEC, NRA, Corporate America, Republicans and we still call ourselves a democracy!

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