No Hoodies In the Hood?

Let's think for a moment about what the uber-loose-lipped and amazingly predictable hoof-in-mouth-at-almost-all-times Geraldo Rivera, thinks was the real reason for the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin - his HOODIE! Yes, that's correct. Geraldo blames Trayvon's use of his hoodie as causing the clearly unbalanced George Zimmerman to find the child to be a suspicious subject of interest for a neighborhood watch "captain" on the lookout for "bad people." You know, the $#^%$!! ones that "always get away..."

Sure, Geraldo has a point with regard to the overall perception that any male person of colour in a "hoodie" means trouble based on images he does mention in the following article - This One, yet from Trayvon's girlfriend's account, the young man did not pull his hoodie over his head until after he discovered he was being followed by Zimmerman.

Even so, so what? He placed a practical addition to his sweatshirt/jacket over his head. Does that mean it's open season on anyone who chooses to actually use their "hoodie" for its purpose of covering one's head? Are we now going to squelch the freedom of how to wear clothing for those of a certain race and age? What next? No baseball hats? Isn't it true that bank robbers love those things? Or, what about tennis shoes? How about shades/sunglasses? Gosh, we could go on and on with "thug" clothing choices, eh?

Hey Geraldo, what about taking-on guys who drive around - alone - in SUV's packing a loaded handgun? Should we begin a movement on Solo SUV Drivers, cuz, you know, lotsa gangsta-types drive those, too. Maybe had good ole' "clean record" (my arse) George not been driving around the neighborhood looking for trouble he wouldn't have found/created it. Maybe he should have been on a bicycle because that kind of transportation is less intimidating and may not lend the rider a sense of omnipotence that one feels when high-up in a big SUV.

Yeah, that's the solution. No SUV's cuz' that could cause young kids of colour to want to pull up their hoodies and start running when followed by the machine with it's occupant harassing them for walking in a nice neighborhood.

I have an even better idea. How about not allowing "neighborhood watch" people to carry guns while "on duty" - they aren't Real Police or Real Security Guards or anything. They are citizens who often have itchy trigger fingers.

Or, in this particular case, allows closet racists to "Stand Their Ground" against unarmed teens who just want to get back to the home where they planned to watch a basketball game on TV. Oh, whoops, basketball watching should also be suspect, don't you think? We all know how many peoples of colour play that game, thus attracting other people of colour who, gasp, might want to have a few friends over to root for their team while sipping ice tea and downing a few Skittles.

Which reminds me, Geraldo, did you consider the Skittles factor into your logic? Those things are damn dangerous! The very thought of a kid with Skittles wearing a hoodie makes me want to jump out of a powerful SUV and shoot them to death. I swear that the colourful bits of candy will try to break out of its wrapper and fly all over my face and I'll just have to defend myself with a bullet.