Okay, the kids may still think saggy pants are cool, but many cities are starting to crack down on them. This is a part of our pop culture fashion I have never understood. I hate to be somewhere and see a boy with the waistline of his pants down under his hips. First of all, I have never quite figured out how they could walk like that and still manage to halfway hold their pants up. Second of all, it really is not very attractive. And most of all – it is a fashion statement that was born in prison. I do not know about you, but I really do not want my child dressing like a convict.
And now, if they wear the prison fashion, they may actually be doing time in certain towns. Atlanta, Georgia and Trenton, New Jersey are just a few of the towns with proposals to ban saggy pants. As Trenton Councilwoman Annette Lartigue put it “The message is clear: We don’t want to see your backside.” Well put Annette!
The saggy pants look started in prison because inmates are not given belts so they cannot hang or beat themselves or others. In the late 80s, the gangster rappers of the time picked up on it and started showing men dressed in this manner on their videos. Pretty soon, even suburbanites and small town kids were wearing saggy pants as a form of rebellion.
However, teachers and old people like me are fed up with it. Worried that it may even crop up in elementary schools, many city officials have had enough. Atlanta’s proposal has those caught with saggy pants paying a fine or sentenced to community work.
Maybe Delcambre, Louisiana has the solution. In June, the town council passed an ordinance that can fine those guilty of wearing saggy pants up to $500 or even sentence them to six months in jail for exposing their underwear.
Some shop owners that sell the saggy pants have tried to defend them. One in particular, Mark Wise (who really doesn’t seem to be very), owns Razor Sharp Clothing Shop 4 Ballers and said that he doesn’t wear tight pants because it is easier to get his money out of his pockets with saggy pants on. Uh huh. Another shop owner in Trenton, Mack Murray wondered if they were going to go after construction workers and plumbers too because their pants sag. If I can see their underwear in public, I say fine them too!
I know I am getting old because I just do not have any patience for this. It looks sloppy and no one wants to see your underwear, I do not care who you are.