Asher Huey: We Shouldn't Make Excuses For Racism: Friday morning on Fox and Friends, Geraldo Rivera stated, "I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as George Zimmerman was." The Twitterverse exploded, pointing out the absurdity of the statement, and he doubled down on O'Reilly Factor later that day. He also tweeted several defensive tweets about the statement. And now has offered a non-apology apology which does not go far enough.
The comments are sickening. Rivera's statement is nothing short of victim blaming. Let's be clear, no victim should ever be blamed. His absurd logic implies that if you are black and wear a hoodie, you look suspicious so you should expect to be harassed by overzealous men with guns. That's the same as presuming a women should expect to be raped if her skirt is too short. Or a gay man should expect to be gay bashed if he has a drink in a bar mostly patronized by straight people. Why is it an accepted belief that some victims ask for violence to be brought upon them? On its face, and in every way, this is ridiculous.
