Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., lost his right to speak on the House floor after he violated rules by putting on a hoodie and sunglasses in honor of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen shot last month.Racial profiling by cops is one thing, but you can't legislate against racial profiling by civilians. Congress is not the thought police.
Racial profiling has to stop, Mr. Speaker," Rush said as he took off his suit jacket to reveal a hoodie underneath, and pulled the hood over his head. "Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum."
"The member will suspend," the chair said. "The member is no longer recognized. The chair will ask the sergeant-at-arms to enforce the rules on decorum."
Rush's "donning of the hood" violated clause five of House Rule 15 against wearing hats on the House floor.
You can tell from the photo that Rush's hoodie is brand new - it still has creases from the way it was packaged. Not exactly authentic ghetto chic. He looks more like the Unabomber.
Posts
1 comment:
Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers in 1968 and was made its "defense minister". His son, Huey Rich (raised by a grandmother, and took the surname of his mother), was named after Panther leader Huey Newton.
"We were reacting to police brutality, to the historical relationship between African-Americans and recalcitrant racist whites." -Bobby Rush
In 1999, Rush's son Huey was shot and killed by two holdup men who believed Rich was a runner for a drug dealer.
Post a Comment