Let's talk about Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, and how unbelievably fucked up this all is

that's fair, that's fair

So George Zimmerman once had a domestic violence complaint in which -- quelle surprise! -- he claimed that it was his ex-fiancee's fault and HE was the real victim.

But don't worry, Geraldo Rivera has gotten to the bottom of things: It's all the hoodie's fault.

Uhhhh...isn't that basically the old "women shouldn't dress like they wanna be raped" saw? BULLSHIT, GERALDO.

Looks like the writer of the original Stand Your Ground legislation is squirming:

As far as I’m concerned, that Neighborhood Watch guy was breaking that law as soon as he started following that kid. He was stalking him. That’s not standing your ground," said Rep. Richard "Rich" Glorioso, R-Plant City, who voted for the bill. "If the law is applied right, it’s a fine law. But we worried about how people would interpret it, and how it would be applied, when we were discussing i

But we worried about how people would interpret it, and how it would be applied, when we were discussing i

But we figured, fuck it, let's pass it anyway and see what happens.

after geraldo says "you can't rehabilitate the hoodie" (judiciously acknowledging that fearing all black dudes in hoodies are here to rob+murder you "may be irrational in some extent", although he doesn't have the statistics right here in front of him) and suggests that this whole thing could have been avoided had martin only dressed a little better (we're trying really hard not to kill you guys but come on you have to meet us halfway!) he suddenly torpedoes his thesis with this exception:

I think unless it's raining out, or you're at a track meet, leave the hoodie home.

but it was raining out, so i guess we're back to this thing being the fault of the guy who shot and killed the unarmed teenager instead of the fault of the guy who was so thoughtless and utopian he thought he could wear a sweatshirt around white people without getting murdered?

anyway huge lol at the final line in the transcript:

HUDDY: Perception is reality.

yes let us talk now about geraldo rivera

yeah a trap obviously but i was caught off guard

Obv that hoodie thing is completely horrible and wrongheaded in any event, but according to his girlfriend he only pulled the hood up when he realised he was being followed anyway.

Sorry everyone, go back to leaving it well alone...

but according to his girlfriend he only pulled the hood up when he realised he was being followed anyway.

What was pulling up the hoodie supposed to achieve, make him invisible?

yeah I've never understood that as an impulse, seems almost like a knee jerk saw-it-in-a-movie thing

Plus: Cuts down on drag/wind resistance/something for someone to grab onto.
Negative: lose peripheral vision, attract attention/look suspicious.

uh

are you saying that wearing a hood up makes people look suspicious in general, or is that only for black people

what do you think Zimmerman is doing all day considering the entire country wants his head on a platter? is he like going to work and getting Wendy's drive-thru and shit? is he hiding in his house?

obama: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/obama-trayvon-martin_n_1375083.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said, underscoring how the issue affected him on a personal, and not just a political or legal, level. "I think [Trayvon's parents] are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."

idk, if i was being watched / followed / pursued by someone i don't know, i would probably instinctively try to conceal myself and evade my pursuer, idk about you xps

yeah Whiney i've been wondering the same thing. where is this guy?

are you saying that wearing a hood up makes people look suspicious in general, or is that only for black people

Nah. I just meant that if I were crazy psycho vigilante guy and I saw someone I already thought was suspicious (because I am crazy), then I saw that person see me and put their hood up ("but according to his girlfriend he only pulled the hood up when he realised he was being followed anyway"), I'd probably only get crazier. But of course, I am not crazy.

Boils down to: wearing a hoodie is not suspicious, hood up or no. Flipping up a hood when you see you're being followed: slightly more suspicious. Though of course in this case, he was already being followed by a psycho racist vigilante, so ...

Oh, and I assume Zimmerman is still on neighborhood patrol, what with the threat of reprisals and stuff. Someone's got to keep the gated community safe!

yeah Whiney i've been wondering the same thing. where is this guy?

at EMP.

noted racist enclave

this is cool

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Trayvon-Martin-Walkouts-at-Miami-Schools-143962536.html

president's comment sure to harden certain hearts even further i'm afraid. this is going to get worse.

he didn't know he was getting followed by someone who thought he was "suspicious"! he had no idea why he was being chased.

Just wondering what he hoped to achieve by putting his hood up is all. Though how his girlfriend would know he only put his hood up when he saw he was being followed is a mystery to me. Was he talking with her on the phone? "By the way, I think some weird dude is following me, so I'm going to put my hood up now."

Just chatting hood etiquette here.

I put my hood up so I don't have to make eye contact with creepy dudes..

^Suspicious. What if creepy dude just wants to be friends?

i'm sure putting his hood up was a premeditated choice with a desired end--rmde

hood up is international sign for me 'leave me alone'. useful on public transportation and airplanes.

motivation for driving after a kid who is running from you, a little more questionable.

^Suspicious. What if creepy dude just wants to be friends?

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, March 23, 2012 4:51 PM (2 minutes ago)

The creepiest dues always want to be friends with me. There's something about me (6'1" with bright red hair? Smiley?) that makes the weirdest people talk to me. It's exhausting. :(

It's so frustrating, seeing all the racist comments in these news stories. All these people unafraid to spew hatred even with their Facebook names linked to their comments. What the hell, world. :(

one of the Huffpo commenters just said that Obama's statement just prejudiced every jury Zimmerman would get. How plausible a concern is this?

I wonder, has there ever been a case, ever, where this Stand Your Ground law was invoked that allowed a black person to get away with killing a white person? My bet is ... no.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vk6j1tEVQd4/SmiEIm5qUpI/AAAAAAAABGA/ga2lC1xqtV4/s1600/Manson.gif

valid point

I somehow missed through all this that Zimmerman is actually on the lam, whereabouts unknown.

Wait, whaaaaaaat?

No shit! Well, guy should probably keep running, hood-up, at this point.

Wait, are his whereabouts unknown, or have they just not been revealed to the press/angry mob?

I just heard that from a coworker who has been level-headed enough to keep with all angles of the story without succumbing to blind rage. Dunno where she read/heard it, though.

i'm sure they know where he is, and i'm sure they have no desire to let the public know

Was he talking with her on the phone? "By the way, I think some weird dude is following

this is exactly what happened btw

miami heat http://campl.us/il4E

but this isn't about suspicious behavior, its about black / hip-hop clothing being interpreted as signifiers of criminality. could have just as well been a 3XL tee and sagging jeans instead of a hoodie, people would still be implying martin's blame for dressing / looking too black

xps

How plausible a concern is this?

First of all, this is utter BS. The Pres made a very boilerplate statement and merely pointed out that an un-armed black man who would look very similar to his son, if he had one, was just shot and the shooter apparently wasn't going to suffer any consequence at the State level due to a law which should, yes, probably be looked at.

Geraldo reviews a hoodie on amazon

more on the Heat: http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7728618/miami-heat-don-hoodies-response-death-teen-trayvon-martin

btw: James told confidants that when Wade's girlfriend, Gabrielle Union fuck now I have to hate Dwayne Wade

M-M-M-M-MEGAFAIL!!!!

http://angryblacklady.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Geraldo-is-a-dipshit.jpg