I have to admit that I never understood this ‘fashion’ statement. Why would you deliberately dress so that others would think you are a low class idiot who hasn’t got the brain power to keep his pants up? But go to jail for it? Get real! Too much government control over personal lives for me.

On the other hand, the article indicates rather than being racist laws against blacks and Latinos who primarily wear this, it’s black legislators pushing it. Must be embarrassed by what their people are doing.

But hip-hop is dying, so they say, so maybe this fad will fade away, too.

Are your jeans sagging? Go directly to jail

JAMARCUS MARSHALL, a 17-year-old high school sophomore in Mansfield, Louisiana, believes that no one should be able to tell him how low to wear his jeans. “It’s up to the person who’s wearing the pants,” he said.

Marshall’s sagging pants, a style popularized in the early 1990s by hip-hop artists, are becoming a criminal offense in a growing number of communities, including his own.

Starting in Louisiana, an intensifying push by lawmakers has determined pants worn low enough to expose underwear poses a threat to the public, and they have enacted indecency ordinances to stop it.

Behind the indecency laws may be the real issue — the hip-hop style itself, which critics say is worn as a badge of delinquency, with its distinctive walk conveying thuggish swagger and a disrespect for authority. Also at work is the larger issue of freedom of expression and the questions raised when fashion moves from being merely objectionable to illegal.



  1. TIHZ_HO says:

    It was explained to me that the low riding pants started in prison – the new guys had to do this so they are more…well…accessible.

    That’s what I heard anyway.

    What I don’t understand is how do they NOT fall down…is there like velcro involved? Staples?

    Cheers

  2. Improbus says:

    I am all for disrespecting authority but wearing your pants like that just makes you look stupid. I guess I just don’t get the whole “ghetto” thing.

  3. elbillo says:

    honestly this is ridiculous. to all boomers: imagine if mop-tops, miniskirts, halter-tops had been criminalized………… a threat to public safety ? are you kidding ? if anything the safety goes up because one can’t run in these saggy pants, & can’t hide a weapon either. geez, what a bunch of whiny b&^%’s grown ups are. can you imagine what the flower children of the 70’s would think ? oh, wait, they “sold out”………

  4. Bob says:

    Its not the look that matters here, its our American way of life, if they can tell you what to wear or how to wear it, then that is a total violation of our freedoms. Its not like the kids privates are hanging out. Its no different than the Goths, or Punks from the 70’s or any other movement including the “long haired hippy freaks” of the 60’s and 70’s. When will these self righteous politicians and their fanatic supporters step back and take the time to learn about history so they can stop making the same mistakes over and over. If they can arrest you for this then every soldier might as well just lay down their arms and walk away because there so called fight for our freedoms is being lost right here in America.

  5. undissembled says:

    I saw a little white guy wearing his shorts like this in the gym on purpose. I didn’t have to say anything, he was looking stupid all by himself. On a side note. Doesn’t it seem that blacks are like emo kids? Then don’t want to conform to the white style or something.

  6. jlm says:

    I dont like mullet haircuts, can we throw them in jail too?

  7. cheese says:

    Great. Now we’re fighting stupidity with more stupidity.

    I’m pretty sure the saggy bottom fad started as a result of prisoners who were issued poorly fitting pants during their stay. It’s supposed to make you look prison tough. Kind of like greasing your hair back, wearing a T-Shirt with a pack of smokes rolled up your sleeve. Was anybody in the 1950’s sent to prison for that look? Or for listening to those long-hair hoodlums from Liverpool? Wasn’t one of them Knighted by the Queen? How times change (or not).

  8. B. Dog says:

    Yeah, those are stupid pants, but I don’t like the “luge look” either:

    http://tinyurl.com/yprvwq

  9. MacBandit says:

    Kind of reminds me of the bikini laws in many Florida beach counties. they actually have people that patrol the beach and measure the bikini and the womans ass to make sure the bikini covers a certain percentage. If you are so offended by these things don’t pass a freaking law that takes police power away from real crimes like theft, just look the other way!!!

  10. Cinaedh says:

    So this is what passes for important in the U.S. today?

  11. Sounds The Alarm says:

    Shouldn’t this kinda be a self selecting fashion – I mean how well can you run from the man with your knickers around your knees?

  12. Mister Mustard says:

    Looking like a goddamned idiot who doesn’t know how to dress himself like a grownup is punishment enough. No fines or jail time necessary.

  13. Bob says:

    At least fads from the the past had SOME sense of style (even if very little).

    This fad just looks frickin’ stupid! It’s like, “Hey people, I’m too lazy to pull my pants up. I enjoy having my crotch around my knees”. And if they DO have to run in them, it’s like watching a sack race!

    Same with the sideways ball cap. Do kids realize that in those old TV shows Goober and Gomer were made to look stupid with the sideways ballcap??!

    Guess I AM an old geezer now…

  14. Rick says:

    The best commentary on this (meaningless fashion statement, if odd) came from a mom in a group that assembled of parents who had recently had kids. I was one of them. This particular mom said, when she see the young people trying to look like “thugs” with their giant clothes sagging down, all she can think of is a toddler with his or her poor-fitting clothes and saggy diaper…and, well, if a “thug” inspires one to react to him as a toddler, maybe something isn’t working….

  15. Ralph, the School Bus Driver says:

    If how someone else dresses bothers you that much, you have too much time on your hands.

  16. Nimby says:

    #11 – Tell us where you’re from – I’m sure we can find your country doing something stupid, too.

  17. OvenMaster says:

    It’s bad enough that some Black guys have this look. But when White guys try to do the same, it’s just comical.

    Bottom line, though, if someone wants to look like a jackass in public and set themselves up for ridicule, fine. I saw elsewhere that this law or similar would also ban women’s thongs from being shown, as well as wearing sports bras while jogging in public.

    When, oh when, will the Powers That Be realize that you cannot legislate morality or taste?

  18. Cinaedh says:

    #17 – Would you believe Iraq? Have lots of fun!

  19. mark says:

    Wait till these kids hit 40 and see pictures of themselves as teens, ha!

  20. George says:

    Jeff Foxworthy, last night:

    “If your mama is still driving you to school, you ain’t no “gangsta!” PULL UP YOUR PANTS!

  21. 0cool says:

    Great, more laws. More decisions someone is trying to make for us. If an urban youth wants to look like an idiot, let them! Aren’t jails too full, court dockets too crowded and the cops busy enough to deal with this type of crap now? As long as someone isn’t showing any cheek or skid-marks, who gives a toss?

    Really…

  22. hmeyers says:

    #22 >>Aren’t jails too full, court dockets too crowded and the cops busy >>enough to deal with this type of crap now?

    Quit being so nappy-headed 😉

  23. iGlobalWarmer says:

    I’d like to see this coupled with a baseball cap law: if you see some idiot wearing their baseball cap sideways or backwards and they refuse to straighten it out – it’s legal to grab their head and twist it until the cap is facing straight forward.

  24. RBG says:

    Other than the little kids who just copy the older ones, these are the same prople who would gladly walk around without any clothes at all. It’s as close as they can legally get to raping women.

    RBG

  25. Barf says:

    Re: 24 – C’mon, that is personal choice. It is not offensive in any way, funny looking, yes, but nothing bad. The same could be said if someone did not like your face. That does not give them the right to legislate wiping it off of your head!

  26. OhForTheLoveOf says:

    #11 – So this is what passes for important in the U.S. today?

    Comment by Cinaedh — 8/30/2007 @ 5:36 am

    Well… To a certain subset of busybodies and crybabies, yes…

  27. Awake says:

    Cute girl + low pants + thong = “It’s good to be alive”
    I hope that this law is applied selectively.

  28. Chuck says:

    @ # 25 “It’s as close as they can legally get to raping women.”

    What? I mean… What?

    How did you get to raping women from saggy jeans?

  29. iGlobalWarmer says:

    #26 – hip hop style and gangbanger style is almost always a sign that society would be better off without that person as they are very likely to not only be indescribably stupid but also actively dangerous.

  30. RBG says:

    29. Chuck. What? I said “prople.”

    Okay: If you check out most of the sexual animals out there, the innate urge to mate is so powerful, it just about takes over their behaviours including to the point where they do battle with each other for this purpose. If you believe humans are animals too… and judging by this blog both in anti-creation beliefs and eye-bulging, dripping saliva lust content… you would have to believe humans share most of the same kind of innate sexual genetics and motivations. That is why people are selective in their sexual behavior, preferring not to have sex with trees and tractors. With unusual exceptions, they prefer the opposite sex. But what’s a guy to do when you just can’t go out and do what you were “selectively” programmed to do because nobody will let you do what you really, really wanna do? For some, you at least try to pull down your pants.

    But none of this applies to you and I, of course. Isn’t it refreshing to know that our intellectual capacities have placed us above such puerile thoughts and caveman behaviors?

    (Yikes, what a set up…)

    RBG


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