No End in Sight, the Banning of Saggy Pants

During the last few years I have seen more crack than a young person growing up in D.C. during the 80's. So much so to the point my children and I have a term we use to alert each other to divert our gaze to avoid an eyeful of butt crack (Crack Kills.) What was once a jail yard fashion has become a popular fad that can now get you thrown in jail. (How's that for irony.) One doesn't have to travel far to be subject to a impromptu fashion show where the participants display their underwear or lack of in some cases, it's everywhere. To young people it is merely a fun harmless way of expressing their sense of style (or lack thereof). The saggy pants trend is predominately popular among African American youth, and has become popular to youths from other races and culture as well with some help from hip hop music.

Personally I can't stand saggy pants myself, ( I have this thing about drafts) besides I am courteous enough of my fellow citizens to keep my crack to myself after all if God wanted me to see crack all the time He would have put mine in from of me so I could gaze upon it...but I think it's on the back of me for a reason. At the same time I recognize that it this is basically a form of rebellion and expression among young people, not at all unlike bell bottoms, jeri curls, parachute pants and those nut hugging pants from the 50's and 60's (yep I said it)

As much as I don't like looking at other people's unmentionables, I still don't think that it is a crime worth doing time in jail...and yet there are politicians and legislators wasting (our tax money) money ( that could be put to better use), on passing laws that would make wearing saggy pants a crime. To date several states have proposed legislation to ban the wearing of saggy pants, and Florida has actually banned the wearing of saggy pants. Florida's Senate approved Bill passed this week, giving schools the power to penalize offenders who wear clothing revealing their backsides or genitals, while in Louisiana legislators propose that offenders receive a $500 fine and six months jail time.

I can't help but wonder however if there isn't a bit of discrimination going on here, and I am not the only person who thinks so, after all where are the bans on smoking (which actually does kill) tongue rings, nose rings, all over body tattoos, crazy hair colors, lack of hygiene, refusal to bathe or shower and other socially offensive fashion styles. Will this same ban be extended to J-Lo or Heidi Klum the next time they wear a dress that reveals their name address and zip code? Will the ban extend to Hollywood and Music Land? It is ridiculous to me that with all of the real crimes taking place and the supposed lack of funds to fight real crime and improve upon our schools, medical system and other vital agencies, that we would waste the time, money and man power involved in getting legislation passed on an issue that should be handled in some other fashion. (So much for the freedom of expression right)

This is another one of those ideas that sounded good when proposed, but should have been well thought out...this has nightmare written all over it. I can already see it being the catalyst/excuse for harassment and profiling. Maybe I am missing out on the Intel that was used when these laws were passed, maybe they discovered a link between the drooping economy and saggy pants and that by putting an end to this offensive fashion trend, things will begin to get better in our cities. Maybe once everyone starts pulling up their pants...then likewise school test scores, minimum wage and consumer confidence will go up as well.

Whatever the case...it says a lot about where we have come when we can no longer depend on community leaders, teachers and peer pressure to help influence positive fashion trends among our young generations and instead we have to resort to the threat of jail time or $500 fines to get kids to pull their pants up.

On the positive side, wanna be rappers can now easily gain street cred and get a jail record without having to commit any real crimes...simply let your pants sag and get yourself tossed in jail. How's this for irony, the punishment for wearing saggy pants could be to go to jail, where they don't give you belts and your pants will be sagging. So basically you will spend your time behind bars practicing exactly what got you there in the first place...Oh wait that happens everyday already