Saturday, March 24, 2012

Geraldo Rivera Doubles Down: ‘Everyone That Ever Stuck Up a Convenience Store’ Wears Hoodies

Geraldo Rivera doubled down Friday night on his controversial comments about the Trayvon Martin killing in which he traced the Florida teen’s death back to the hoodie he was reportedly wearing at the time.

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

The comments immediately touched off a firestorm, with even Rivera’s own son telling him he was “ashamed” of his position. Rivera didn’t back down, however, and during an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor” said hoodies are connected to everything from convenience store hold-ups to airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper and the Unabomber.

I’m telling you, half of it is the way the young men look,” Rivera said. “If a cop looks at three kids on the corner, and they’ve got those hoodies up — and this is where I got in trouble with the Trayvon Martin case — if they’ve got those hoodies up, and they’re hanging out on the corner, the cops look at them and say hmm, hoodies. Who else wheres hoodies? Everyone that ever stuck up a convenience store, D.B. Cooper the guy that hijacked the plane, Ted Kaczynski the Unabomber, who wears these hoodies?

He continued, “Parents, don’t let your kids go out wearing these damn hoodies, because they could attract the attention not only of the cops but of nutjobs apparently like this George Zimmerman. And when they see and respond, it is a stereotype, it is repugnant, it is all the things that offend us, but it is real life. It is reality.”

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