Geraldo Rivera stated yesterday that "His hoodie killed Trayvon Martin as surely as George Zimmerman." As well as "Its not blaming the victim Its common sense-look like a gangsta &some armed schmuck will take you at your word."
A hoodie killed Trayvon? Is that right? Blaming the victims clothing is just about the most ignorant thing I've heard about this case. So Trayvon's clothing and not the overzealous idiot with a gun killed him? I cannot wrap my mind around people who fail to see reality for what it is. There is no grey area in this case. It is cut and dry, black and white. I'm sure that Trayvon could've been wearing any article of clothing and his killer Zimmerman would have found issue with it.
We are talking about a man who repeatedly called 911 to report any and every young Black man as suspicious. He even called the police on a 7 year old Black kid. The man had an issue with young Black men. That makes him a racist. Killing an unarmed Trayvon makes him a murderer. I don't know anyone who doesn't wear hoodies. They are warm and practical. Who doesn't own one or four? In the words of journalist Charles M. Blow, "there are no come shoot me clothes."
Furthermore, Black people have feared white people in hoods for decades. That doesn't give us the right to kill them. A hoodie did not nor could not kill Trayvon Martin. There is only one person responsible for that: George Zimmerman. Just as an Arizona tea and a bag of Skittles aren't a weapon or cause for suspicion. Murderers belong in jail. You can't arrest a hoodie. That is the reality. Trayvon was suspicious for one reason only: he was Black in a community that wasn't. That was his only crime, which isn't even one. I'm still upset about this. Excuse me while I pull my hoodie on.
