<p>Please explain to me why, given the Martin situation and current social and racial realities, African-American parents would allow their young boys to wear sweat jackets with the hoods over their heads to go to school when the weather is very warm? (Dad knew what his son was wearing because the dad dropped the son off at our suburban school.) I keep seeing this. Regardless of whether it’s right or wrong that hoodies suggest anything about a person’s character or intentions, the fact is we’ve seen that many people associate hoodies with thugs and gang members. So why stir the pot and risk a problem?</p>
<p>Many people ? Then we are in real trouble.</p>
<p>Saw this in recent posts - i hardly think hoodies are associated with anything anymore. Gang bangers don’ really even wear their gang colors at school anymore. Lots of people, white and black, wear hoodies with shorts in the summer for reasons i couldn’t tell you. Maybe in that case their classes are cold, which is a legitimate reason. You could catch me sometimes early/late in the summer with a hoodie and im far from a thug. </p>
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<p>My DS, who is not of color, wears hoodies to school regardless of the temperature, including 90F weather (though the hood is up only when the weather is bad). It doesn’t make sense to me, but I am hardly in a position to force him to do otherwise–he’s 6 inches taller than I. But OP, I am not sure I follow your point. Racist violence is seldom held in abeyance by sartorial choices.</p>
<p>Well, if the weather is warm and yet a person choses to hide his head and shadow his face with a hood (not religious garb), why is it racist to question the motive? For years in our culture, covering the head and face with dark fabric has been associated with thieves, smugglers, spies, and general sneakhy behavior. This has been a staple in movies and cartoons, and years ago the crooks were always white.</p>
<p>PS–I’d tell my kids similar things about other choices, like tattoos. The difference is that a tattoo less likely to jeopardize their safety.</p>
<p>For years in our culture, wearing a hoody has also been associated with being a teenager.</p>
<p>I can’t bear to see S1 in his decrepit college hoody! Goes to a nice restaurant, with a polo shirt on, throws the nasty hoody on top. I hope he isn’t wearing it over a suit to job interviews! Hey, maybe that’s why he hasn’t been hired. Beginning to think it has taken the place of the blankie he used to drag around as baby. Or that he is too much like his 75 year old grandma who is always nagging “it’s cold in the restaurant, take a sweater”.</p>
<p>Sorry, but we’re talking about the hoodie with the hood up in hot weather. You’d think even teenagers don’t like sweaty heads. Yes, teenagers do want to wear things that we adults don’t think are appropriate and sometimes our reasons make no sense to them or even to us, but we understand the reputational ramifications. So we say “Honey, if you wear that ________ people will think you’re a _________. You know you’re not, but people will think that so you’d better change.” In my opinion, it’s a sign of maturity and respect to drop the rebellious atttitude of “I want to wear what I want and I don’t care if people think I’m a slut/thug/whatever.”</p>
<p>People in Seattle don’t carry umbrellas, so we have to wear hoods. Yes, even in the summer. Ever been here in July?</p>
<p>I can’t imagine telling my son that; "don’t wear that hoodie; hoodies are for thugs. " I don’t know about hoods up in June, but my kids wear hoodies.</p>
<p>I do think it’s odd when people wear hats in warm weather though. </p>
<p>Oh, and I HAVE always told my son DONT RUN. Everybody seems to know THAT one. His friends tease him about it.</p>
<p>Well, today is the first of June and it is a hoodie day here for sure. Ditto EK - no rainjackets or umbrellas for most NW kids it’s hoodies up!</p>
<p>DS is a ginger and summer is when he DOES break out the hats for UV protection</p>
<p>I am not in Seattle, and it’s not raining. </p>
<p>It shows respect for others to conform in ways that don’t undermine your deep morals and values. For example, if at your grandmother’s church the ladies all wear dress clothes on Sunday morning, then when you go to church with Grandmom you should wear something nice. You might prefer to wear your comfortable jeans and those jeans are perfectly acceptable at your own church and you like that, but out of respect for your grandmother and her church you don’t wear them that day.</p>
<p>What I think is interesting is that I saw a news reports where several urban moms were interviewed about the hoodie thing. They said that they always tell their sons to keep their hands out of their pockets, their heads up, hoods down, and to look people in the eye. All of that might impinge on their freedom and comfort, but these moms wanted their boys to look respectable. Their opinion does not seem to be shared here.</p>
<p>That doesn’t seem the same to me. One is saying wear something out of respect, the other seems to be saying “kids who look like us can’t wear that” out of fear. Of course, I am just thinking hoodies, and you seem to be thinking covered heads and faces.</p>
<p>PS I am in the airport in Atlanta. I see some covered heads (especially baseball caps!), but no hoodies.</p>
<p>I used to wear hoodies in the winter because they were comfortable and convenient - they were just a pain when they got wet. I now wear fleece because it is a more functional material. My daughter has a light fleece hoodie - looks great and is very functional.</p>
<p>Son has a pretty old ratty hoodie that he likes to wear in the winter under his winter coat. I think that he needs to up his game on outerwear.</p>
<p>Every sweatshirt I have is a hoodie, except 2 that didn’t have hoods in my size. White, 58yo female. My school is ~100% minority, and we all like our hoodies. Generally the hoods are down in the building, but if it’s cold in the room some will put them up.</p>
<p>Here in Silicon Valley, many people wear hoodies, including (famously) Mark Zuckerberg. I don’t really understand the big deal about it.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of some areas banning hoodies in schools and shopping malls and such because they are so heavily associated with gang activity in that area… maybe this is something that just can’t be understood by those of us who don’t live in those areas. We have no shortage of gang activity in Detroit but nobody thinks twice about a kid in a hoody.</p>
<p>Telling your teenage son to put his hood down at 7 a.m. on the ride to school isn’t worth the fight. The hoods up to isolate himself. Hood up says leave me alone. Hood up says don’t talk to me. Hood up means I hope no one sees me getting out of this …minivan with my … dad. ( …whatever the kids say these days to denote uncool).</p>
<p>As soon as he walks in the school door the rule is no head covering so it goes down anyway. Oh and by the way…PULL UP YOUR PANTS!</p>
<p>My kids did not own jackets…they owned hoodies. Hoodies are great. Easy to find one to express your personality.</p>
<p>Easiest way to get kids to stop wearing hoodies is for adults to start wearing hoodies all the time.</p>
<p>If you don’t want kids to wear hoodies, turn off the AC. I’m not seeing this as a big issue.</p>
<p>I have lots of hoodies. They are ubiquitous in my city and Not associated with hoodlums.
Advocating against wearing a hoody, is like advocating against wearing Converse shoes or using earbuds. Really random.</p>