Geraldo Rivera Affirms His ‘Hoodie Shaming’ In Crap Apology

Geraldo Rivera managed to piss off about the entire Twittersphere and parents everywhere last week after he made the assertion that if teens of color don’t want to get shot, they shouldn’t wear hoodies. The victim-blaming rhetoric in response to Trayvon Martin‘s death is notably one that we have often heard in response to rape survivors. But the Fox & Friends guest released a statement today in which he both apologizes for his claims and then gives his warped reasoning one more push.

In a statement released to Politico, Geraldo writes:

”I apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my ”˜very practical and potentially life-saving campaign urging black and Hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies.'”…Rivera said that ”by putting responsibility on what kids wear instead of how people react to them I have obscured the main point that someone shot and killed an unarmed teenager,” and that he was offering a ”heartfelt apology” to anyone he may have offended in his ”crusade to warn minority families of the danger to their young sons inherent in gangsta style clothing; like hoodies.”

Although Geraldo hits on something keen with the “putting responsibility on what kids wear” line, he manages to coat his second assertion that this is a “life-saving” campaign with the words “heartfelt apology.” The statement may have been entitled an apology, but his repeated claim that this is a “very practical” bit of advice manages to offend parents and children all over again.

(photo: WENN)