Thomas Sowell stands up for Geraldo re hoodies

[alp227]

As Berkeley linguistics professor George Lakoff described the strict father model of conservatism:

"In addition to support and protection, the father's primary duty is tell his children what is right and wrong, punish them when they do wrong, and to bring them up to be self-disciplined and self-reliant...In this way, he teaches his children to be self-disciplined, industrious, polite, trustworthy, and respectful of authority...Once his children are grown -- once they have become self-disciplined and self-reliant -- they are on their own and must succeed or fail by themselves..."

Thomas Sowell played the strict father in his latest column, "Geraldo's Point", in which he defended Geraldo Rivera's controversial comment that blamed Trayvon Martin's hoodie for the shooting death of the Florida teenager:

There is no point in dressing like a hoodlum when you are not a hoodlum, even though that has become a fashion for some minority youths, including the teenager who was shot and killed in a confrontation in Florida. I don't know the whole story of that tragedy, any more than those who are making loud noises in the media do, but that is something that we have trials for.

People have a right to dress any way they want to, but exercising that right is something that requires common sense, and common sense is something that parents should have, even if their children don't always have it.

I guess Sowell prefers umbrellas and earmuffs, since any clothing not formal enough for his old-fashioned sensibilities = HOODLUMS. In the meantime, he related a personal anecdote of how he would dress as an undergrad years at Harvard (which would be during the late '50s):

Many years ago, when I was a student at Harvard, there was a warning to all the students to avoid a nearby tough Irish neighborhood, where Harvard students had been attacked. It so happened that there was a black neighborhood on the other side of the Irish neighborhood that I had to pass through when I went to get my hair cut.

I never went through that Irish neighborhood dressed in the style of most Harvard students back then. I walked through that Irish neighborhood dressed like a black working man would be dressed — and I never had the slightest trouble the whole three years that I was at Harvard.

Now here's the part where I'm on the fence. It seems that Sowell was doing just like most other people would do: not display valuables unnecessarily to avoid inviting trouble. For example, most people would hide electronics, money, or jewelry in the glove box of their cars to avoid attracting thieves. However, I find Sowell endorsing Rivera's view the same as saying that women shouldn't wear tight clothing to avoid being raped (a view that has become more taboo in recent years).

Sowell also told another story about pointing a gun at someone:

Much has been made of the fact that the teenager was unarmed. The only time I have ever pointed a loaded gun at a human being, I had no idea whether he was armed or not. All I knew was that I could hear his footsteps sneaking up behind me at night.

Fortunately for both of us, he froze in his tracks when I pointed a gun at him. If he had made a false move, I would have shot him. And if it had turned out later that he was unarmed, I would not have lost a moment's sleep over it.

No one ever wants to be creeped on. I remember the controversy over Rebecca Watson getting a sexual advance in an elevator late at night. But I have a hard time being convinced this scenario is comparable with what allegedly happened between Martin and Zimmerman.

Those personal anecdotes about clothing and self defense aside, he also attacked the public reaction to the shooting:

We do not need Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton or the President of the United States spouting off before the trial has even begun. Have we forgotten the media's rush to judgment in the Duke University "rape" case that blew up completely when the facts came out?

Uhh, again another stupid comparison. Did Sowell not know about the police intimidating witnesses into changing stories or Zimmerman possibly lying about his injuries? And yes, innocent-until-proven-guilty is an undeniable value of American justice, but isn't the most decent instinct of people to react with much sympathy to the victim whenever crimes like this are reported?

Sowell closes by asserting that those who now think Zimmerman is guilty are racist:

Have we forgotten the Jim Crow era, with courts making decisions based on the race of the defendants, rather than the facts of the case? That is part of the past that we need to leave in the past, not resurrect it under new racial management.

Who is really showing concern for the well-being of minority youngsters, Geraldo Rivera who is trying to save some lives, or Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others who are hyping this tragic episode for their own benefit?

"the past"???? Well, in this post-racial justice system, why are blacks far more likely to be arrested for drugs than whites, even though drug use rates are hardly different between the races? Or how racial composition of juries affects convictions of suspects depending on suspect's race?

[DesertFlower]

1. i live in phoenix where there are very few

black people. i see lots of hoodies on young people. are they dressing like hoodlums? i've been thinking about getting one for myself for those cold rainy days we get here. am i a hoodlum? i'm a 70 year old woman.

geraldo is an ass.

[TorchTheWitch]

3. I also live in a mostly white area

I see loads of hoodies on males and females of various ages though primarily on the younger generation and all the faces except for my neighbor are white. I have a lovely black family that lives next door. Both the son and daughter very occasionally wear hoodies but not usually. Off the top of my head I think the only times I've seen any of them wearing a hoodie with the hood up is when it was raining. Interesting that their white friends far more often do wear them and usually with the hood up.

I, my lily white self, wear a jacket with the hood up when I have to walk the dog in the rain. Never before did it ever occur to me that wearing a hood whether on a sweatshirt or jacket especially when I had to be out in the rain would be considered detrimental to my safety. Wearing apparrel with a hood and having the hood on the head when out in the rain is very obvious good sense - people dislike being rained on - that's why umbrellas were invented. Hoodies are an obvious fashion trend particularly with the younger generation, are worn by all ages in all weathers by both genders. Anyone that believes that someone wearing a hoodie especially in the rain is a hoodlem hasn't gotten out of the house in the last ten years.

Interestingly, when I was younger hooded pullover sweatshirts were all the rage - it was considered the "jock" look. I had quite a number of them in many colors. I also had a zipper front one in navy blue and another in basic gray that had a liner of longjohn material so it was very warm. I wore them almost every single day for several years. Back then they were considered fashionable in my preppy neighborhood to be worn with a turtleneck shirt underneath in cooler weather, which I adopted (especially the silly turtleneck shirts that had a pattern of dopey cartoon characters on them like turtles, birds, hearts, rainbows, ribbons, kangaroos, turkeys... I'm mentally going through my old wardrobe circa early '80's as I had all of these (oh, almost forgot the one with the decorated Christmas trees as I had that one as well).

What's even more interesting is that I didn't like hoodies and particularly didn't like turtlenecks... I don't feel comfortable with clothing that feels like it closes around my neck, and hoodies always tangled my long hair into hideous knots. Those were my insecure years when I felt like I had to wear what was fashionable even when I didn't really like the fashion.

[tclambert]

5. "Cold rainy days" in Phoenix. Good one.

You mean when it gets down to like 60? When my relatives from Chandler come up to visit Michigan they wear sweaters in July.

[DesertFlower]

9. yes. 60 degrees and i'm

freezing my ass off. anything under 70 is too cold for me. i'm a former new yorker, but have been here 22 years. guess my blood has really thinned. lol.

[pinboy3niner]

2. Aside from his ridiculous defense of Geraldo, people 'spouting off' and demanding justice...

...is the only reason the case is being pursued after it was dropped by authorities.

[Loudmxr]

4. He is right! I have to get rid of my pin striped suits.

Else I would be confused with a Mafia Don.

I wasn't going to go here but it is a local joke.

Black young people can walk around naked. It would be a physical resume for out little film industry niche in the San Fernando Valley.



I am so ashamed of myself.. but I expect Sowell will LIKE IT.

[rurallib]

6. Maybe Republicans can run on an anti-hoodie platform this fall

This sounds like something Mitt Money could really back.

[pinboy3niner]

7. "No dogs on hoodies--they go on topsies!1!!"

[spanone]

8. a crock of shite

[gratuitous]

10. Absolutely

And here's the proof in the pudding, as Mr. Sowell bravely relates the time he bravely pointed a gun at another human being: "If he had made a false move, I would have shot him. And if it had turned out later that he was unarmed, I would not have lost a moment's sleep over it."

Either Sowell is full of shit, or he's a psychopath. In either case, I feel like he can be safely ignored on this point, as on just about any other point on which he declaims.

[alp227]

13. You know what is really surprising? He's a libertarian!

And we all know the narcissism inherent in that ideology. See also Ayn Rand lionizing William Edward Hickman. Also, Sowell served in the Marines, so I speculate he was recalling a moment from his military service. I doubt he would have done so as a civilian.

[Blue_Tires]

11. Sowell is just doing what he's paid to do, no matter if it passes the smell test

[Spazito]

12. Wow, who knew this granny (me) has had a long hidden desire...

to emulate a "hoodlum" given I often wear hoodies and will continue to do so. I love them. They are warm and perfect for spring and fall weather instead of cumbersome jackets.

This granny thinks Mr. Sowell is full of shit.