Is Geraldo Rivera right about hoodies?

Fox News contributo Geraldo Rivera attracted attention by claiming that Trayvon Martin's shooting was related to the youth wearing a hoodie. He said on Fox&Friends “that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn't have responded in that violent and aggressive way” if Martin wouldn't have been wearing a hoodie. On Fox News Latino, he wrote: "If you dress like a hoodlum eventually some schmuck is going to take you at your word." and advised that parents do not let their children wear hoodies.

Rivera's son, 32-year old Gabriel, told his dad that he is ashamed of his position. According to Gabirle, his dad has “gone viral for all the wrong reasons.”

We have another actor in this drama: George Zimmerman's father's send a letter to the Orlando Sentinel to defend his son. He explains his son is not a racist and that he grew up in a multi-racial family. He also claims that his son did not follow Martin and did not confront him. Have we been told everything about this shooting? Zimmerman's father seems to know more than the media do. Hopefully, these new details will be made public soon and we will get a better idea of what happened.

This case seems to be going in two different directions. There is an investigation about the shooting which is not going anywhere because the police still lacks evidence against Zimmerman's claim that he shoot Martin in self-defense. On the other hand, we have a heated debate on the internet around hoodies and the fact that Zimmerman is still free.

No matter how much we complain and expose the unfairness of this case, Zimmerman is still not going to jail without evidence. We are left with the 'hoodie issue': perhaps this could be an occasion to address stereotypes. The stereotype of the youth wearing a hoodie to conceal his or her face or carry a hidden weapon under a large hoodie is something we have all been exposed to – just watch an episode of C.O.P.S. We are having issues because an entire generation is identifying with the bad guys and want to look like them. As a society, we have to choose between considering every youth to be a threat or to abandon our stereotype and become unable to identify youth with criminal intents. This stereotype is wrong but it is based on a defense mechanism. It is also hard to ask youth to stop wearing these clothes because they have become a way of identifying themselves and a youth dressing differently would probably not be accepted by others: this is a defense mechanism allowing them to blend in their environment and be accepted by their peers.