Wow.
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.”
And if Trayvon had been wearing a short skirt, Zimmerman presumably would have raped him.
Hello, police? There's been a lot of bad punditry on TV lately, and there's this real suspicious guy on there now. He looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's a morning show, and he's just sitting there, looking about and talking.
There really is a way to say this, I think, without stepping in it the way Geraldo did. And I'm sure that with the benefit of hindsight, he'll come around to claiming that that was what he meant all along.
But in the meantime, we're left with the impression that Geraldo thinks the burqa people may be onto something, after all. (And not for nothing, but the Amish say it was Trayvon's zippers and buttons that did it.)
Now, there are a lot of questionable fashion choices that I think are just as suspicious as hoodies, like the modern day wearing of tri-cornered hats. And it's equally true that Geraldo's mustache would justifiably make one fear that he was plotting to tie you to the railroad tracks. And there have been a number of vault break-ins in my neighborhood, lately. But it's just not something normal people shoot one another over, no matter what the law purports to say you can do. There's a reason reversing the traditional duty to retreat required new legislation, and it's because when normal people think about authorizing the use of deadly force, they see the unintended consequences and are rightly concerned. Not so with the yahooism that's found a willing partner in the NRA and ALEC in reversing the law.
No, the way Geraldo spat this out, there's no way to separate the sad-but-useful message ("think about the dangers racist assholes pose to you") from the dog whistle. He won't even let facts get in the way. Consider this statement made later in the appearance:
I'm not suggesting that Trayvon Martin had any kind of weapon or anything, but he wore an outfit that allowed someone to respond in this irrational, overzealous way and if he had been dressed more appropriately, I think unless it's raining out, or you're at a track meet, leave the hoodie home.
I mean, it's beside the point, Geraldo, but
wasn't it raining?