Geraldo's Point (Thomas Sowell)

Creators Syndicate ^ | March 27, 2012 | Thomas Sowell

[jazusamo]

It is not often that I agree with Geraldo Rivera, but recently he said something very practical and potentially life-saving, when he urged black and Hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies. 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. 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. While I had a right to walk through that tough neighborhood dressed in a Brooks Brothers suit, if I wanted to — and if I could have afforded one, which I couldn't — it made no sense for me to court needless dangers. The man who shot the black teenager in Florida may be as guilty as sin, for all I know — or he may be innocent, for all I know. We pay taxes so that there can be judges and jurors who sort out the facts. 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? If the facts show that a teenager who was no threat to anyone was shot and killed, it will be time to call for the death penalty. But if the facts show that the shooter was innocent, then it will be time to call for people in the media and in politics to keep their big mouths shut until they know what they are talking about. Playing with racial polarization is playing with fire. 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. You know that someone was unarmed only after it is all over. If he attacks, you have to shoot, if only to keep the attacker from getting your gun. It so happened that the man I pointed a gun at was white. But he could have been any color of the rainbow, and it would not have made the slightest difference. Let the specific facts come out in the Florida case. That is why we have courts. 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? Race hustlers who hype paranoia and belligerence are doing no favor to minority youngsters. There is no way to know how many of these youngsters' confrontations with the police or others in authority have been needlessly aggravated by the steady drumbeat of racial hype they have been bombarded with by race hustlers.

[mountn man]

Unfortunately, no. We mock our son with graphic vocabulary and pointing-and-laughing, but he is impervious. His friends ask him for fashion advice.

Take your son and do a Google image search of:
prison bitch pants

And see how many pictures like this come back.

urbandictionary.com-sagging

sagging
wearing ones pants around the hips so that they sag down and bunch up around the ankles. Originally, this was a prison thing that signified that you were another prisoner's property, ie bitch. Punks were forced to wear their pants this way so it would be easier for their masters to pull their pants down and butt-f__k them. Somehow this became a 1990's fashion trend. I learned this from watching a TV special on prison life. The inmate who related the story was an elderly black gentleman who had been sentenced to life in prison and had been there for over fifty years. He marveled how such a mark of shame became a fashion statement. He said that younger inmates don't believe him when he tells them but swears it's the truth. I believed him. I also think they should let him out already, he's like 80 and I don't think he represents a threat to society.

urbandictionary.com-Prison Bitch Syndrome

Prison Bitch Syndrome
Prison Bitch Syndrome (or P.B.S) originated in prison and was done when a prison bitch would pull down his pants half way to expose his boxers (low riding). This told other guys that he was avaliable.

Next, check out this link
urbandictionary.com-prison-bitch

This will give you MANY definitions of urban slang that deal with being a Prison Bitch.But be forwarned, this is an URBAN dictionary, and the language IS VERY RAW.

Lastly, do a Google search of:
Prison Bitch
Both search and image. The image search will have some EXTREMELY graphic images.

One more thing. Urban Dictionary has some merchandise that you can buy.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/products.php?term=prison%20bitch&defid=455209

Maybe a nice refridgerator magnet

A little mocking might go a long way.

[Darren McCarty]

That's what I heard 'ghetto pants' originated. Prison bitches. I first heard that from my 2nd cousin who lived and owned a bar in a bad part of the City of Detroit.

Being straight, I never got into that, especially after hearing its origins.

[SaraJohnson]

They have successfully prosecuted Klanmen who inspired their members to kill where the connection was made between the inciter and the perp’s actions.

They can do it with the panthers and leftist social studies teachers, too. The left defines the meaning of race and sex hate and violence, though. Violence is words they don’t like. Racism is only white.

[Tax-chick]

His older sister studied criminal justice before she went into the military. He knows. But it’s the fashion ... and he and his friends are decent, church-going boys. They just dress like dopes. It’s hard to get a boy to change his style if girls think he looks good!

[Ditto]

Wise advice from a vey wise man.

[Ditto]

“We do not need Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton or the President of the United States spouting off before the trial has even begun.

Is there anyone else here old enough to remember this?

[Gator113]

I am old enough, but I don’t remember it. Uncle Sam had me preoccupied.

[Irenic]

This man has serenity. He is always so calm, thoughtful and well-reasoned. He is as wise as he is brilliant. There are too few like him, he is a true leader.

[kearnyirish2]

Dave Chappelle used to have a segment on his show called, “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong.”

I think whites could have learned a lot from his show, especially his “Ask a black guy” segment where whites on the street would ask questions everyone wanted to know (but were too timid to ask) and people like Paul Mooney would explain the answers.

Funniest show in a long time, especially when the ghetto version of the Sesame Street characters explain STDs to children.

[BradyLS]

Supposedly, it was raining the night Martin was out.

But I’ve seen lawn crews here in Austin, Texas, wearing those things in sweltering heat. My _guess_ is that it’s to avoid contact with poison ivy as they trim hedges and trees. If that’s the case, they probably shed them and clean them as soon as possible after work.

[Eldon Tyrell]

You know you are getting old -
When you would rather clone Thomas Sowell than Jennifer Biels

[Publius6961]

Bookmark

[marktwain]

Ping for you. I told you about Thomas Sowell. Here is a column by him.

[mc5cents]

I would never wear a hoodie, although not so much because of the hoodlum angle, but rather to avoid looking like Mother Theresa.

Mother Theresa wore a hoodie? Who knew?

Seriously though, you have probably never lived in the northern latitudes since when the temps hit about 10 degrees and the wind chill is running in the -30 range you would wear a hoodie, I guarantee it.

[I cannot think of a name]

I don’t think we are talking about the same things. You are talking about a jacket with a hood, which is a functional piece of protective gear.

What is being called a ‘hoodie’ is really just a pointless decorative item (well, I guess some nuns wear them for a purpose). I will admit have seen them on a few women where they did make the woman look mysterious and interesting.

On men, to me they either say fruit or weirdo. I’ve seen people walking around this city in get-ups that look exactly like the picture this link takes you to. And it was about 80 degrees at the time, so I doubt they were cold!

http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Emperor_Palpatine

[gaijin]

http://i40.tinypic.com/v7z8mh.jpg

[El Gato]

why would anyone wear a hoodie IN THE FL HEAT?

Never been in Orlando area in February? It's not that warm, especially at night. Plus it was raining, probably more of a drizzle based on personal experience there at that time of year.

But the whole "hoodie" thing, as well as the Black thing, is a red herring. Zimmerman described Miller as being black and wearing a hoodie, but he also said he was "acting weird". It was the acting thing that he put emphasis on, the description was just that, a description for the police. I mean he certainly wasn't going to describe him as white or dressed in a raincoat since that would not have been accurate. He was black, and he was wearing a hoodie.

[El Gato]

Not all thugs wear hoodies. Here in central Texas, Tuesday night, we a had one guy, still at large, who robbed 2 "stop and robs" and a restaurant using a handgun, Black guy, no hoodie...Bulls cap. One of those places was at the other end of the street that terminates at my driveway, 1.3 miles according to Google, but it seems closer. Dude fled on foot, lucky he didn't come up my way...for him, the 1911 is always loaded, but I think I'll go load the AR and/or the M1 Carbine. Another store was about 4 miles away and the restaurant was about 7 miles. He posed nicely for the camera at one or more locations.

On the 24th two AWOL soldiers robbed a convenience store. No hoodies reported, but they were wearing the same color, dark blue, t-shirts. One inbred looking guy named Hemphill, and the other with last name Cordova. Dumb asses were caught within a very short time, and only a couple of miles away, at most. They were driving a Mustang with a distinctive wide stripe on the upper surfaces. Didn't think about the surveillance video and the distinctive wheels. I hope their first shirt literally tears them each a new one after the make bail on the civil charges.. if they make bail that is. Currently they are in the same jail as that Jihadi bastard who killed 14 here a couple of years ago. He's in there because the Army doesn't have the facilities in the stockade to care for his paralyzed ash.

[Maverick68]

Not all guns are loaded, but it is best to treat them as if they were...

[ExTxMarine]

SO? I never said they did. However, I guess they are “profiling,” but their thefts have gone down - that is probably coincidence.