March 26, 2012 Scaachi Koul

Oh, good, Geraldo Rivera’s still talking

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Any day is a good day when Geraldo Rivera opens his mouth on camera.

Rivera, perhaps best known for revealing how much Al Capone’s vault sucked, gave his take on Fox & Friends last Friday about Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen who was shot and killed by a self-appointed neighbourhood watchdog because he looked “suspicious.”

“I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies,” Rivera said. “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”

You hear that, parents of dark-skinned children? You cut that out, with your ethnic sweatshirts and attached head-coverings. If your kid gets shot, 50 percent of the blame will be on their clothes. Were they wearing dark colours? Gang colours? Baggy jeans? Fanny pack? Makeup? Hijab? Turban? Short skirt? No bra? Six bras? There are consequences, you know.

Rivera continued, “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.”

Martin’s hoodie “allowed” Zimmerman to shoot him. If Rivera has it right, as he so, so often does, Martin’s clothing justifies the shooting, even just a little bit. (Because if he’d been wearing a T-shirt or a suit, the shooting would have truly been a disgusting, inexcusable act of a crazy person. But there was a hoodie, so…you know.)

So, dark-skinned kids, you stop wearing hoodies. And hey, while we’re at it, it would be great if you middle-aged dudes could stop gunning teenagers down in the middle of the street. Team effort, guys.

Lead image via Flickr user markn3tel