For those who might not know him, the man pictured at left is television host Geraldo Rivera. Over the years he has hosted talk shows and what, very, very loosely, might be called "news shows". Apparently aging (he's 68) hasn't helped him because he has again stuck his foot in his mouth saying that "his (Trayvon Martin's) hoodie jacket killed him". I had been kind of following this case over the last few days -- especially after several protests have been held here in Atlanta as a result of the killing.
The more that I read, the more I'm sure that Trayvon Martin was the innocent victim of a man who fancied himself as "the savior of his neighborhood" and attempted to prove that by following a young man - actually a child since he was only 17 - and then shooting him at point-blank range even though the only thing Trayvon was "armed" with was a bag of Skittles and a glass of ice tea. Consider these facts that have just come to light since Friday: 1) initial news reports has stated the perpetrator was the captain of his Neighborhood Watch. Turns out he wasn't . . .he had named himself "captain"; and 2) He had been in contact with 911 on his cell phone and been told "Do not chase this person". Because of that "savior" mentality I mentioned, he disregarded what constituted a lawful order and did chase the young man, knocking him to the ground, and shooting him at point-blank range.
I can only hope that Geraldo - and others - who think "his hoodie killed him", will take note of the quote from Pastor Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta who stated "As the church of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the church of non-violent struggle on behalf of justice, we thought it important for us to say that a hoodie is not weapon." Amen!
Until next time . . .
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