Boys In A Hood

If Geraldo Rivera is right, and I'm asking for a lot from the guy who busted open Al Capone's vault to find "an old stop sign and a couple of empty gin bottles," then I could be in big trouble. Geraldo believes that "the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was."is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was." George Zimmerman shot seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin in what was initially ruled self-defense. Questions about just what a seventeen-year-old who was packing a recently purchased package of Skittles in that hoodie would have done to deserve being killed continue to swirl about Sanford, Florida, a month after the shooting. To that end, Mister Rivera adds that George Zimmerman should be "investigated to the fullest extent of the law" and "prosecuted" if criminally liable, but blamed Martin's parents for letting him go outside wearing a hoodie.
Uh, Geraldo? I go outside every morning with my hoodie on. It keeps my head warm, as I am follically challenged. Am I inviting trouble by going out into the mean streets of Oakland dressed this way? As I sit at my keyboard, I feel compelled to put up the hood on my sweatshirt as a reaction to the cold. And the callous.
I teach school in Oakland, and part of my daily regimen is reminding young men and women to take their hoods off inside. I also have to remind many of these same kids to pull up their pants from time to time. I made this request to a fifth grader with whom I was running laps during PE. "You know, if you pulled up those jeans, you might be able to run a little bit."
To which he replied, "Gangstas don't run."
As impressed as I might have been with his eleven-year-old bravado, I couldn't help but see his fashion choice as a costume, copied from magazines and videos that he had seen, or the big kids in his neighborhood. He had a black hoodie and he preferred to keep the hood up. It made me think of the red windbreaker that James Dean wore in "Rebel Without A Cause." Not a leather jacket. No gang affiliations painted on the back. Just a red windbreaker. It made me think of Nick Cage in "Wild At Heart," going on about his snakeskin jacket: "This snakeskin jacket symbolizes my individuality and belief in personal freedom."
And what kind of parent lets their kid out of the house wearing a hoodie? Most days, me. Sure, my son won't be immediately confused with " a dark skinned kid like my son Cruz," as Geraldo opined, but is that really the point? Since this particular garment has its origins in Medieval Europe, I don't expect they'll be disappearing anytime soon. More likely it will be another bit of clothing that will be connected to potential ne'er do wells: argyle socks, perhaps? In the meantime, I think we can all agree that if we see come guy coming at us wearing one of those great big street sweeper mustaches, especially if he's being trailed by a Faux News camera crew, run away.