By Kevin Rogers
Staff Writer
The shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin continues to dominate the news cycle. Despite this, conflicting reports and sensationalism are clouding the truth surrounding the circumstances of the shooting.
We may have logged hours of coverage, but we’re no closer to the truth than we were last month.
On February 26, the Orlando Sentinel reported George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot Martin, said Martin first punched him in the face and began beating him. Martin’s parents’ lawyer, Ben Crump, rejected this claim. For the time being, the details of what truly happened remain murky.
As the story developed, one overzealous commentator presented his own account of the shooting.
Enter Geraldo Rivera, the man who led us into Al Capone’s empty vault in 1986 and was ordered by the Pentagon to leave Iraq after reporting details of military positions and plans in 2003.
This time around, the mustachioed journalist had a few choice words about the Martin shooting. On the March 23 edition of the talk show “Fox and Friends,” Rivera blamed the shooting on Martin’s wardrobe choice.
“I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was,” Rivera said. “I’ll bet you money, if he didn’t have that hoodie on, that nutty neighborhood-watch guy wouldn’t have responded in that violent and aggressive way.”
After a backlash on Twitter, Rivera tweeted, “It’s not blaming the victim It’s common sense-look like a gangsta&some armed schmuck will take you at your word.”
Rivera later apologized for his comments on March 27, according to an article on MSNBC.com.
“I deeply apologize for any hurt I caused — that is not my goal or intent,” Rivera wrote on his Facebook page.
The major issue with Rivera’s comments is that he relies solely on assumptions. He implies Martin was trying to emulate “gangsta” culture without any real facts. On the other hand, he makes the assumption Zimmerman acted on account of Martin’s hoodie. Both of these arguments are unsubstantiated.
Despite the seeming inanity of his hoodie comments, Rivera demonstrated how some can take a major news story and twist it to meet their agenda. Rivera wanted to make a commentary about gang culture’s influence on young black and Hispanic males. He chose an inappropriate time and place to do so.
Rivera’s use of the violent death of a teenager to promote an agenda is reprehensible. If Martin had been a teenage gang member gunned down by a rival gang and the hoodie was some sort of symbol of the affair, Rivera might have a point. He could have presented a special on how the hoodie is the blight of young black and Hispanic males. However, these are not the circumstances surrounding Martin’s death. A hoodie is just a hoodie.
The truth is only Zimmerman and rumored witnesses know what happened the night of Martin’s shooting. If evidence shows Zimmerman targeted Martin because of his wardrobe, I’ll be the first to apologize to Rivera. That said, I doubt that day will come.
Until we have credible evidence to support any claims made, Rivera and other members of the media should stop speculating and editorializing as to why Martin was shot and focus on reporting the facts that are given.
Co-opting the death of a young man to promote an agenda is no way to go about being a journalist.
rogerskd10@bonaventure.edu.
