Last week on a FOX/FAUX News broadcast, Geraldo Rivera redistributed the blame for an unanswered shooting right back to the victim. 

Implying that his attire identified the victim to be of questionable, if not criminal, character, “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was,” Rivera said. 

Martin wore a sweatshirt with hood at the time of his slaying. 

But if that's the case, Geraldo, maybe you should send a personal message to the many other folks - even well-known stars and public figures - who wear them, too.  These famous figures, some of whom hold status of social role models, may end up shot for being "gangstas" (as Rivera pronounces the word in emphasis on ethnicity) for wearing such clothing. 

Perhaps more importantly, maybe Rivera should stop his "do as I say, not as I do" advice, and remind *himself* not to wear hoodies.  Yup - even though he says he instructs his children not to wear them, he's done so himself, in public venues, even. 

Know that earlier today, Rivera submitted an apology to Politico.  

His message concluded "(my) own family and friends believe I have obscured or diverted attention from the principal fact, which is that an unarmed 17-year old was shot dead by a man who was never seriously investigated by local police. And if that is true, I apologize."
 

Also read: 
'Justice for Trayvon Martin' vigil on March 27
'Justice for Trayvon' vigil moving to larger location
Local 'Justice for Trayvon Martin' events on Tuesday and Wednesday

(distributed by Brandon Fish on facebook)

It was big enough to host the media conference from which John Kerry endorsed Barack Obama in 2008.

It was big enough for Stephen Colbert’s sarcastic Herman Cain rally right before the presidential primary this year, too.

But the College of Charleston’s Cistern Yard isn’t big enough to accommodate the number of people who might show up at this Tuesday’s “Justice for Trayvon Martin” vigil.

Originally planned for Tuesday evening at the Cistern, the vigil will now take place on the six-and-a-half acres of nearby Marion Square.

The event will still take place on the same Tuesday, Mar. 27 date, but the vigil is now slated to begin at 7 p.m. at the new location.

Organizer Matt Rabon updated the event’s Facebook page about the new time and place this evening.

“Due to the increased interest and media exposure, the event is being moved to Marion Square,” he entered.  “We simply need more room.”

Vigils have taken place across the country, and with participation ranging from dozens to hundreds to thousands, with estimates of over 30,000 in Martin’s hometown of Sanford, Fla.  

In an original interview, Rabon said the incident reminded him of the Lowcountry, where he feels racially-motivated tensions still exist.

“I just felt like it was important,” he said.

All in the community are invited to participate in next Tuesday’s vigil, and attendees can RSVP on Facebook.  

The wake of Trayvon Martin’s shooting is not reaching the shores of public sentiment alone.

It’s extending to the State House, too, and with support from organized labor.

Last week state Rep. Bakari Sellers (D-Denmark) introduced a bill to remove the “stand your ground” modification, enacted in 2006, to South Carolina’s “Protection of Persons and Property Act.”

The South Carolina AFL-CIO came out in support of Sellers’ motion, too. "We have long had laws on the books that allowed for legitimate self defense," says Ken Riley, vice president of the organization.

"These new laws are being used by vigilantes to excuse frontier justice against unarmed people,” and “have no place on the books of a society that considers itself civilized," says Riley, who is also president of the ILA Local 1422 in Charleston.

 “The SC AFL-CIO believes these unnecessary laws conflict with its commitment to equal rights and due process for all citizens,” reads a press release from the labor organization. 

Originally a Castle Doctrine that only applied to residences and places of business, the Act’s change extended the right for a South Carolinian to use deadly force to “another place where he has a right to be(.)”

South Carolina’s statute is very similarly worded to Florida’s “stand your ground” law.

The same statute was recently used as basis to not pursue charges against a Spartanburg woman who shot a homeless man inside a vacant property.

Sellers says his bill would restore the law to its original Castle Doctrine format, still allowing  deadly force in self-defense inside the home, car or other owned property.

A shot fired in Florida three weeks ago is still echoing in public disgust, and will resound again next week right here in Charleston.

A candlelight vigil in a theme of “Justice for Trayvon Martin” takes place Mar. 27 at the College of Charleston.

Set to start at sundown, the vigil should begin about 7:30 p.m. at Cistern Yard, which is accessible from 66 George St.

Matt Rabon of Charleston says he’s organizing the event “just as a matter of decency and human empathy.”

Martin, a 17-year-old African American, was fatally shot as he walked through a gated Sanford, Fla. neighborhood on the evening of Feb. 26. Shooter George Zimmerman followed Martin, telling 911 operators on multiple calls he was “suspicious,” and told police that evening his shot was only in self-defense.

Martin was unarmed, however, and the neighborhood was that of his father’s girlfriend, which he’d frequented.

Despite consistent changes in his statements, despite witness statements to the contrary, and despite continuously developing evidence that infers racism on the parts of both him and Sanford police, Zimmerman has never been charged for this slaying.

Sadly, circumstances like this are common here in the Lowcountry, too, says Rabon. “The shooting of Asberry Wylder comes to mind as an example,” he offers.

In November 2003 Wylder – mentally-ill and suspected of shoplifting – was fatally wounded by six North Charleston police officers who drew their weapons when he displayed a knife. He was shot twice, once after the Africa-American was handcuffed, one witness said. Wylder died shortly after.

Wrongful death charges against the officers were dismissed following a case described by local NAACP president Dorothy Scott to indicate “how unjust our justice system is when matters of African Americans are concerned.”

As his distaste for the tragedy deepened to disgust, Rabon thought someone from somewhere in the local community must surely be organizing some type of demonstration. Unable to find any, he knew he’d have to create his own.

“I basically just looked around online to see if anyone was organizing something for people to participate in locally, something to give people a chance to express their sadness and outrage in public,” he says.

“I didn't see anything, so I started doing it myself. I just felt like it was important.”

Rabon hopes many will attend, especially ones who could lend some Lowcountry insight on the topic.  “I bet there are lots of local people who could speak to this issue a lot more knowledgeably than myself.”

All in the community are invited to participate in next Tuesday’s vigil, and attendees can RSVP on Facebook.