What You Wear

Trey Smith

One of the big controversies last week was when Geraldo Rivera (of Fox News) suggested that, to lessen the possibility of being shot, black and Latino youth should quit wearing hoodies. Not surprisingly, Rivera had the gall to say that his suggestion wasn't in any way racist!

As many other people have remarked, this statement sounds a lot like one leveled against women who are raped: "If you didn't want a guy to take 'advantage of you,' maybe you shouldn't have dressed so provocatively."

I simply don't understand this preoccupation with clothes. As far as I am concerned, no form of apparel is an invitation to be attacked, violated or killed.

The purpose of clothing is to cover the body per social convention and protection from the elements. To be certain, some people like to adorn themselves in such a way as to make a fashion statement, but I know of few, if any, such statements that say that others have a right to abuse the wearer.

Maybe you do not like what some people choose to wear. You are entitled to your own opinion, but that opinion does not include being able to pummel someone. Maybe you're really in to what some people choose to wear, but being "in to it" does not grant you the license to grope or mess with them.

Even people who choose to wear what generally would be called offensive apparel (e.g., a t-shirt with a racist or sexist message) are not granting others outright permission to beat them up. Yes, they are delivering an in-your-face message, but that's within the bounds of free speech and free expression.

When you attack, rape, injure or kill someone based on little more than what that person is wearing, the clothing angle is just an excuse. What it proves to me is that you think that clothing is more important than life itself. That doesn't say anything bad about the wearer; it says something really sad about you.