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Representative Kicked Off the House Floor for Wearing a Hoodie
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Dem kicked off House floor for ?hoodie? in Trayvon Martin protest
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) on Wednesday morning was asked to leave the House floor after removing his suit jacket to reveal a ?hoodie,? then putting the hood on his head to protest the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida.
The Illinois Democrat quoted the Bible while presiding officer Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) repeatedly interrupted him, then asked the Sergeant at Arms to enforce the House prohibition on hats in the chamber.
"The chair must remind members that clause 5 of rule 17 prohibits the wearing of hats in the chamber when the House is in session," Harper said after Rush left. "The chair finds that the donning of a hood is not consistent with this rule. Members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor."
Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus have taken to the House floor for the last week to call for the arrest of George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Neighborhood Watchman who allegedly shot Martin in Florida in April. While these calls have escalated, Florida police have said some witnesses saw Martin beat Zimmerman before the shooting, and Zimmerman's lawyers have said he acted in self-defense.
Zimmerman says he shot Martin after the teen punched him in the nose and smashed his head into the pavement ? an account corroborated by witnesses, according to reports citing local authorities.
Zimmerman?s gun was confiscated, but he was not arrested. Florida?s ?Stand Your Ground? law permits deadly force in some cases of self-defense.
"You don't get to be all puke-face about your kid shooting your undead baby daddy when all you had to do was KEEP HIM IN THE FLUCKING HOUSE, LORI!" - doctorwho
Re: Representative Kicked Off the House Floor for Wearing a Hoodie
my read shelf:
Yes. It's all making me uncomfortable. And I'm beginning to think this story is not as black and white as originally portrayed.
YOU LIE!
This, tritto, sits with Sibil and NB, etc.
@DrSeuss You are being lax as a lorax. #WhatRhymesWithHoodie
Hoodie, Orange, Purple, yeah.
Don't forget etceterah.
It's interesting that you bring up left vs. right. I read yesterday that Zimmerman is a registered Democrat--hadn't seen that come up before. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/320318/20120327/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-democrat-hispanic-shooting.htm
Find me here instead!
I'm good for you, whether you like it or not.
I wasn't there when Zimmerman shot Trayvon. I don't know what happened. However, I do think it's about time that, as a country, we revisit the topic of racism. We like to pretend like it doesn't exist, that blacks (along with many others) aren't profiled and that white people don't have an advantage living in this country.
If the guy decided to wear a hood to bring awareness to this topic, than so be it.
Yes, and I would bet he expected to be asked to leave, and was looking for the publicity it would bring.
I don't see what the political party of either Zimmerman or Martin has to do with anything, I have to be honest.
we all fall down sometimes
brass and ballet flats
Because somewhere along the way, human rights, women's rights and environmentalism became a "left" issue and "guns and religion" became a "right" issue. Of course, I"m being very stereotypical here, but that's sure what it feels like sometimes! Due to the fact that this is a "human rights" issue, people automatically assume that it's a "left" issue. And, of course, democrats aren't racist, right?
we all fall down sometimes
brass and ballet flats
And I don't mean left by caring about what Zimmerman's party affiliation is. I think I mean more how it's morphing into a gun issue and how people are trying to remove race from it.
As for black/white, I mean when it's black representatives and athletes and students speaking out and wearing hoodies, that makes it a black person thing which it shouldn't be. It's an every person thing. That's not the fault of those speaking out, but of people who don't join them. But the longer that isolation continues, the more this will be perceived as a black issue which will effectively make it lose.
I'm not gonna lie. I kinda wished Rev. Al and Jesse didn't get involved in this. The minute they got involved, it became this effort to diminish the importance of addressing the issues. My right-wing nutso FB friend has been non-stop posting all the new Memes and pull out the race-baiting card with Jesse and Rev. All attached to it.
I wish people would recognize this is a problem. Race is important here as well as the obvious way this case was mishandled by police.
Yes. We need to have an honest conversation about race and racism. And bigotry. And it needs to be a conversation that comports with the realities of America in 2012 which includes the fact that a growing number states would demand a man like Zimmerman show his papers.
And I kind of get why whites aren't as fired up, because it just doesn't affect us as much. H and I may have engaged in a passionate conversation at brunch over the weekend about how mad this makes us, but we can't feel that empathic anger. So, we probably won't be taking to the streets or calling our representatives.
I think some of my reaction, though, is due to my isolation. Just like our occupy Honolulu protest had 30 people chilling in a park, we're not likely to get any protests around here. It's hard for me to put a face to much of this.
I'm pretty sure Rush did this for the publicity, but his son Huey (named for Huey Newton because Rush is a former Black Panther) was shot and killed in the street in 1999. This situation might have hit a personal note for him.
ETA: to fix some stuff. i shouldn't have alcohol at lunch
"?Racial profiling has to stop,? Rush said. ?Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum.? Rush also put on sunglasses."
The hoodie crap is getting silly. No one but Geraldo Rivera ever said that Trayvon Martin was targeted because he wore a hoodie.
Does anyone really take Geraldo Rivera seriously? Of all things to focus on in this case, people are picking the hoodie? Really?
You're right! Your post gave me the chills.
Really? The hoodie is important because it was not the skittles or iced tea that made him look like he was up to something. It was the hoodie, being black and Zimmerman's belief that he has the right to request ID because he volunteered for watch captain.