Re: hoodies. As a lifelong sailor I noticed long ago that the Coast Guard always stopped the boats that flew the Jolly Roger pirate flag.I know right?
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) July 15, 2013
Now there is so much wrong with this statement that I almost don't know where to begin. Almost.
Perhaps Fox News's answer to Rico Suave should realize that pirate's flew the Jolly Roger in order to terrify the crews on shipping vessels that they were about to board, and that Trayvon Marton was wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, just like teens of all colors do all over this county, too keep the rain off of his head.
The idea that the hoodie is a menacing type of clothing is ridiculous, and in this case racist.
Comparing a hoodie to a pirate flag is like saying that people with tattoos are potential criminals
Or that people who ride motorcycles are gang members.
Trayvon Martin was an innocent kid walking home from a store with a bag of Skittles and a bottle of tea. He could have been wearing a full Nazi uniform and carrying a copy of Mein Kampf it STILL would not have justifed George Zimmerman putting a bullet in his heart.
Asshole!
Yesterday, I cried while listening to a very Conservative talk show host literally GLOATING about the Zimmerman "win for all gun owners". He said the true victim in this case is George Zimmerman. That Zimmerman has "the right" THING WRONG. Poor George.
ReplyDeleteTrayvon did NOTHING wrong. He was walking home. He was armed with Skittles. Maybe after he realized some hispanic man was following him around TRAYVON got scared and used the only SELF DEFENSE he had. I don't care that Trayvon jumped Zimmerman, he was feeling threatened. Zimmerman was just an over-zealous dickhead with a gun who was looking for any excuse to fire it.
Speaking of firing a gun....
There is a woman that got 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot because her husband was threatening her and she was afraid. Of course it was Florida and of course she is black. Where are all these conservatives who support the person's right to defend themselves with a gun? Why aren't they coming to her defense? She didn't even murder anyone...she just fired a warning shot.
Im disgusted. Regardless of "justice being done" , those parents lost their baby. And no one needs to gloat or be happy about this.
I must admit I've been surprised/amazed/shocked at the number of revellers who seem to be celebrating the fact that the kid was killed. I have yet to engage any one of these yet because I figure they're either a troll who is stirring up shit, a bigot with a deep fear of black people that he is unaware of, or someone who relates this to a partisan political issue that is a big "win" for the republicans.
DeleteI know there are some issues that have come out in which I've been pleased, but u hope it is when there is an injustice being corrected or a matter in which everyone will benefit, politics aside. I guess because I consider myself somewhat of a moderate or a centrist, I am regularly opposed to the issues that advance the idealologies of the extreme wings on either end of the political spectrum.
I enjoy an intelligent debate with someone who doesn't wear their ideas as a badge of honor or define themselves on single issues. I learn a lot from these interactions and it does help shape my opinions to challenge them with a valid opposing viewpoint. But it's such a time trap to try to discuss a serious matter "Internet style " which often reminds me of a wild-west approach in an outlaw bar wher you either shoot someone who disagrees with yourself or those sharing the majority opinion work the dissenter over like it's a gang initiation.
So these events of the past few days have been a time for introspection for me, and when I do spend a good bit of time reading comments and looking for nuggets, most of what I see is more like cow chips, only less valuable as fertilizer.
It's got me wondering---did the Internet *cause* all this incivility, or has it just provided a conduit for the hate and anger that has existed between groups of "others" all along, for those who might hardly ever be in a situation to confront ideas other than their own in an interactive situation?
I'm neither a shy, withdrawn, wall-flower type by any means, nor have I been sheltered all my life from dissenting opinions, but all of this incivility has really stunned my senses lately.
Is this just a cyclical phenomenon or is there a trend that it's becoming more prevalent? Or is it a situation that is improving but i have yet to identify a contemporaneous trend because I haven't used the correct benchmarks to measure the gains?
Any insight would be appreciated. I'm just trying to make sense of all of this. Thanks.
5:11 -
DeleteI suspect the internet has not created the hate and vicious behavior we're seeing, but it has allowed people to display it in a public, yet anonymous forum.
Step right up, folks, get your jollies being racist/misogynist/ageist/xenophobic, etc, but you won't be held accountable for your offensive garbage.
I have been shocked the past few days at how many people online have been actually celebrating the death of this young man and claiming he deserved to die because he beat Zimmerman. Of course,they refuse to acknowledge that, if Zimmerman had followed established rules of neighborhood watch groups and stayed in the car as he was specifically instructed to do, none of us would have ever heard the names of Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman.
And Trayvon would have celebrated his 18th birthday.
Because there is no face-to-face confrontation in a comments posting or an email, civility is thrown out the window. When I refute some asshat's comment with a measured, well researched and logical rebuttal, and the asshat responds to me with more virulent logorrhea, the conversation ends on my side and I move on.
DeleteThe real problem, (and I think your hammer is closing in on the nail-head here,) is that the internet provides a fertile ground for rumour-mongering that can lead to a virtual mob-mentality. We're seeing millions of hate-spewers thumping themselves on their virtual chests, getting themselves riled up at their computers or smartphones.
Is this country reaching a critical mass of negativity and outright racism that will spill over into anarchy?
My soothsayer says "yea, verily," in sombre tones.
Will the internet assist with this anarchy?
"You betcha sweet ass!" he says.
So ... what can we do to slow it down?
When a person can essentially stalk another one and remain "anonymous," there is a loss of humanity. This happened to me on this forum. It was an experience that was very difficult for me. I don't think people understand that words can really hurt someone. How smug they must feel to call another person a racist without knowing the other at all.
Deleteit's a shame Trayvon was killed. He was barely 17. The comments in the blogospheres make him a convicted and hardened thug. They've confused Zimmerman's long list of criminal behavior with teenage normalcy.
Delete@ eclecticsandra
DeleteStalk? Why would anyone stalk a miserable, old, prejudiced white woman who spends her time on the internet defending a MURDERER of a young black kid?
Please proceed, RACIST.
You have outed yourself.
Delete@ eclecticsandra
DeleteSo have YOU, RACIST.
Geraldo just trolling for attention and to fit in better over at Fox. He just says outrageous stuff, and then criticizes the blowback from those who counter whatever his latest rant amounts to. He does the same thing on some issues with the more conservative commentators like BillO.
ReplyDeleteHe must feel left out of the club for racist, bigoted losers over there, and this is how he plays along to a different beat. He's harmless to Democracy, and easily ignored.
You're right. For more than 40 years, Geraldo Rivera has poked and prodded, looking for controversies -- or events he can make into controversies -- to keep his name up front.
DeleteHe first said this hoodie thing in March, 2012, and apologized about it when his own son, as well as a good friend, called him on it. I guess now the publicity is worth more than their estimation of him as a person.
And what kind of person is he? First, he was brought up in the Jewish faith by his Jewish mother, and had a bar mitzvah. He ciings to his minority, Puerto Rican heritage, but, in reality, he has very little. He's been married five times and has a variety of children, through marriages and affairs. He lives in a mansion, sails a large boat in yacht races, and is part of the 1% he loves to cozy up to. The perfect Fox commentator to talk about "hoodies."
My blonde daughter and her friends wear hoodies all the time in cold weather. They provide warmth and protection -- as Trayvon Martin's did in the rain. No article of clothing --a hoodie, a yarmulka, a burka, a sari -- or hair -- afro, pigtail, skinhead -- can justify the kind of stereotype River's endorsing, and the implication that a victim is responsible for being attacked.
Sadly, Fox news watchers don't know what a scummy publicity hound Rivers is, and how he'll say or do anything to make himself the center of attention. Nor do they care, since he's just endorsing what they think and what they want to hear.
Rivera wants to make a buck off the death of a black kid. Rivera knows how to keep his name in every news cycle. Rivera has sufficient security around him all times so he has no fear of physical blowback. Verbal blowback is just more money for Rivera when contract renewal rolls around.
DeleteRivera DOES get some kind of pleasure out of this Trayvon story, though. He's always targeting stories where he gets some sort of high from the attention he stirs up.
Rivera is despicable.
@4:54
Delete"...and the implication the victim is responsible for being attacked."
Hey! Isn't that the same attitude a lot of stupid men have about RAPE VICTIMS?
Rivera is a POS!
If wearing a hoodie is like flying a pirate flag,
ReplyDeletethen what is wearing the Confederate Battle Flag like, eh, Jerry Rivers?
Oh, right. That's Heritage, not Hate.
tcw
A rodeo fan?
DeleteWords of wisdom from the former Jerry Rivers, who is an expert on self-embarrassment: Opening Al Capone's tunnel.
ReplyDeletePoor Geraldo: still pining for the days when he was watched because there might be fight or other incident. Has to now throw out incendiary sound bytes to get any attention.
First off, Geraldo loves to sport that 70's porn star mustache, so maybe we should treat him as such.
ReplyDeleteAnd secondly, if Trayvon HAD been wearing a Hitler Youth get up, Zimmerman probably wouldn't have bothered him at all. Would have been more like "hail fellow, well met!"
I'm a 60-year-old white woman and I LOVE my hoodies. I think I have about 8.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you get stopped by the police and wannabe cops all the time.
DeleteYou THUG, you!!!
Deleteyes - everyone wears them. Unfortunately, black people look like criminals to vigilantes when they dress like everyone else.
Delete
ReplyDeleteWhat an ignorant statement from Geraldo. Of course, he has to make them if he wants to stay hired with Fox.
If he were, however, to judge all the blonde bimbos on Fox as bimbos, because they all wear the same blonde hair helmets and sleeveless dresses and because they all spew the same hateful rhetoric, he'd be right.
Oh dear... Sarah Palin wearing a hoodie. Bristol wearing TWO hoddies!
ReplyDeletehttp://cache.blippitt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/sarah-palin-kathleen-gustafson.gif
So Zimmerman is the Coast Guard. They must be so proud.
ReplyDeletePlease, please put up another post. These pictures of Jerry are killing me!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how the Zimmerman worshippers are taking over all the comments on every site. They have absolutely no ounce of remorse for Trayvon's death, and slam his memory by calling him names and bringing up past sins that he may or may not have committed.
ReplyDeleteThey relish that he's dead. I'm a stranger to all these people and am grieving over this whole affair. Grieving for Trayvon and his family, and not just over his murder, but over the fact that CNN and MSNBC allow such cruel remarks being made about a dead teen.
The fact that these hateful comments are allowed, sound discussion or reason can't be made with these fools, they are blinded by their racial hatred which is manifesting itself without shame and it's very disturbing.
Keep in mind that everyone exulting over this bloodshed is also pushing to have the Ten Commandments erected in every public place. You know, the stone tablets that God wrote that condemn murder. This time, the righties' inability to see the irony and hypocrisy of their position is no longer laughable; it is tear-jerking and beyond tragic.
DeleteWell said G. I'm heartbroken over this and so disgusted.
ReplyDeleteZimmerman worshippers hate political-correctness. MSNBC practices political-correctness, but I wonder why MSNBC can't remove the offensive comments made by those who celebrate Trayvon's death - he's legally a minor. A minor, or a juvenile, can't even have their names divulged publicly when they go to court. But, a juvenile can have their memory crushed and beaten, and their reputation slandered, while they're in the grave.
ReplyDeleteIf I were the parents, I'd be considering bringing child abuse charges of a minor's memory in the public forums, where a minor's reputation is being savaged. If Zimmerman had been a minor and shot Trayvon, Zimmerman would have had his legal rights not to even be identified. But the victim, who is a minor, has to have his name and reputation slandered by haters. Negative commentary on Trayvon should be completely halted. He can't defend himself, and he was a minor.
Justice wasn't served in this case, for Trayvon, and injustice is still being waged against him, even in his death. I am appalled.
Me too. My teenaged grandson, who is not African-American, wears hoodies a lot. All teenaged boys do. So do girls in the right circumstances. So do little children in the right circumstances. Are they all criminals? Is someone like George Zimmerman now free to murder all young people with hoodies, especially those who are running away from him?
DeleteI don't think that Zimmerman learned anything from his horrible crime; he's been coddled by his father, by the right-wing media and by the very questionable Florida legal system, and he's made quite a bit of money. For what? For deliberately killing an African-American teenager who was minding his own business until an angry, gun-toting thug came along.
Beaglemom
Geraldo is just trying to get attention. He is as dumb as juror B-37 has proven to be. IShe was so biased and how she ever got on a jury is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteHere's a very interesting article about the instructions regarding 'initial aggression' that were, or more importantly were NOT, given to the jury before deliberations.
ReplyDelete"Even the juror who has been making the rounds to announce that she signed a book deal conceded that Zimmerman was wrong to get out of his vehicle. Moreover, Zimmerman’s lawyers knew it. That’s why they fought so hard to prevent a jury instruction on initial aggression. Had the jury been instructed on that part of the law, it’s more than a little possible that the verdict would have been less favorable to Zimmerman."
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/07/16/case-breibarted-justice.html
This was a better focus than the National Bar Association. Why wasn't the prosecution ready for this?
DeleteGeraldo is such a phony. I wonder if people remember that he was a liberal when he had his own show before joining fox and once he joins fox he becomes this right wing ass hole. I find it sad how many of the right rejoiced in this verdict.
ReplyDeleteYou can always pick these has-beens out who are desperate for attention. They say outrageous things because otherwise they are invisible...as they deserve to be. I'm really sick of them.
ReplyDeleteHear hear, Lynne!
DeleteIs there anyone in the USA that doesn't own a hoodie? My 93 yr old white Dad owns a few, he wears them in the spring and fall(and sometimes summer) in NE Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteBut I sure know a few places Rivera wouldn't walk out of.
But this celebrating an innocent child's death is beyond my comprehension, BTW Trayvon had the right to stand his ground after he was stalked and attacked. The real injustice was not allowing evidence in of Zimmerman violent past. He'll pick on the wrong person someone and then he won't be considered white, but Hispanic.
BTW Zimmermans high class atty was paid for with donations from NRA members.
you forgot to add his playgirl sissy pic of Rivera:
ReplyDeletehttp://cdn2.holytaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Geraldo-Rivera.jpg
This fake tough guy has always been a weasel,what a tool. He ought to go and look for Al Capone's lost treasure or some other worthwhile quest. Somebody ought to give him a fuckin slap.
ReplyDeleteLast night my husband came home from band practice in a foul mood. He says he is going to quit because the guys in the band were saying Zimmerman was right and Trayvon deserved getting shot. I hope he does move on to a new group because I noticed a while ago that these white middle aged wanna be rock stars were a bunch of bigots. He can do way better than these oafs. I stopped socializing with them about a year ago and they wonder why. They know I hold deep liberal views so I'm sure somewhere in the back of their serpentine minds they know why I distance myself.
ReplyDeleteThis is in MA and these people are not religious or gun owners!
One of my friends stopped by for lunch today and I expected his tea party bullshit. He swears that Zimmerman was attacked, then I told him to go outside because I was going to slam his head in the pavement. If he then got up or woke up, whichever it would have been, and all had was the two little scrapes Zimmerman had, he was right and I was wrong. I do not think I will see him for awhile which is OK by me. That stupid ass Jerry Rivers needs to be made the same offer.
ReplyDeleteHere's a hoodie for YOUR crowd, Geraldo:
ReplyDeleteConcealed Carry Hoodie
Geraldo was okay in the seventies, but he has turned into such a tool! I cannot stand him anymore. John Lennon would be spinning in his grave to see what Geraldo has become.
ReplyDeleteGeraldo is just singing to his choir. I doubt the Coast guard would even consider accepting his sorry ass for service.
ReplyDeleteYes, if Tray had a Nazi uniform on, he wouldn't be breaking the law, and I suppose Trayvon would still be alive because George would have walked up to him, said "Hi, I'm George Zimmerman of Community Watch, cool threads! Where'd you get them and do they come in XXL Husky Size?" And this crime would never have happened.
This jury decision has shaken me to the core. My kids (mid to late teens) don't "conform". They wear hoodies, have tattoos and my daughter drives a harley. We're considered "caucasian" and this storm of ignorant racism we've seen unleashed will someday affect "caucasians", since they're no longer the "majority" numberwise, in this country.
That verdict confirms that racism is alive and well today. The Gun Rights Goons are THRILLED at the outcome.
And an innocent teen is dead, his parents are in grief and the killer is being celebrated at their expense. The jury believed Zimmerman's lies, when he admitted exiting the car, pursuing and killing Trayvon.