I
was doing some shopping in my neighborhood when I saw a young kid with sagging
pants not just any ordinary sagging pants, the waistband of these pants were
almost on his knees. And on top of it he had his red boxer briefs showing.
The
pants were so low I could see the fly of his underwear.
This
wasn’t a fashion statement. It was just disturbing.
Now
sagging isn’t a new thing. I’ve seen guys wearing pants like this way back when
I was in Park West High School back in 1988. Back then it was the drug dealers
and the wanna be bad boys (simps) who had their pants hanging off their butts
with no belt. Trying to be cool, trying to get the attention of some girl.
I
thought they were lame then, and I still think guys who wear their pants like
this are lame now.
But
lately dudes are taking it to an extreme. Young men exposing their entire
buttocks to the world. Or like the young man, I saw waiting for a bus, showing
his butt and the print of his penis for all to see.
Like
the guys in my day, these guys think they’re cool. They think they’re
impressing the ladies.
All
they’re doing is embarrassing themselves. Sacrificing their dignity in a vain
attempt to get the attention of people who could give less than a crap about
them. Giving their power away.
What
these poor boys don’t understand is that the Sagging pant is not rooted in hip-hop.
It’s not rooted in Thug culture.
It’s
rooted in prison.
In
fact, it’s a statement to other prisoners that a man is gay.
And
that he’s available for sex. Those sagging pants mean there’s easy access to
his anus. That they can get a quick buttfuck in a hall or a corner of the
prison. That he’s on one of the lowest rungs in the prison food chain. A weak
dude passed around from man to man.
But
Madison Avenue and Hollywood tell young Black males who don’t know any better
that saggin pants down to their thighs and showing their underwear is stylish.
That it’s cool. They dress up all the rappers and sports stars like this. They
tell these poor boys that it’s the in thing to do.
It’s
all part of an insidious plan to brainwash young Black men into adopting
effeminate behavior. To strip a Black man of his maleness and his manhood. To
take away his dignity and self-respect. To heterosexualize homosexual behavior.
Brothers
don’t fall for the game.
Saggin
pants doesn’t make you look cool. It doesn’t attract the attention of the
ladies.
Most
females I hear from on my trips on the train or walking down the block say
they’re turned off by guys in sagging pants. Most say they look GAY. Others say
that guys who sag their pants look like a CLOWN. To many ladies a guy in
sagging pants is a JOKE.
Seriously,
what Real Man shows his ass to everyone? And what woman would find a man’s exposed
ass cheeks attractive? What’s so sexy about seeing some man’s underwear and his
dick hairs? What’s so cool about having the waistband of a pair of pants on the
lower part of the thigh?
I’m
sorry, but there’s nothing cool looking about sagging pants. They make a man
look like a BITCH. Especially when they’re worn with effeminate stuff like low
cut Pink T-shirts, beaded braids, baby blue sneakers and big hoop earrings like
I’ve seen guys accessorize them with.
Are
these guys trying to tell the other homosexual men out there something we don’t
know? Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but are they sending a message
to all the other homosexual men with these sagging pants?
Or
are they a bunch of misguided boys just following a fashion trend not
understanding the sexual connotation behind them?
I’m
hoping it’s the latter and not the former. Because if it is the former we’re
going to have some screwed up men in the future.
Fashion
wise Saggin pants are lame. It leaves a bad first impression on people. It says
a man is sloppy. That he doesn’t care about himself. That he’s a LOSER.
Brothers,
notice how the most powerful men in the world like Barack Obama and Warren
Buffet and the owners of all those NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball teams all
wear their pants on their waists. Not on their hips, not on their thighs. On
their waists. The well-dressed men who radiate power, make decisions and get taken
seriously have their pants secured at the top of their waist with a nice
leather belt that matches the color of their shoes.
That
look has been the iconic image of success for over 100 years. And it’s not
going to change any time soon. No matter what trendy crap the hipsters,
meterosexuals, the thugs or the hip-hoppers try to shove on the masses.
The
serious power players at the table all wear classic style. And they’ll all
still be wearing classic style as these guys come and go. Counting their money
while those guys are begging for change.
How
many fortune 500 CEO’s have the waistband of their pants on their thighs? How
many billionaires have their underwear showing out to the world?
Not
a single one.
The
people who sign the checks of those entertainers and athletes aren’t dressed
like this. The people who own the fashion houses that manufacture those sagging
pant young brothers pay $300 for aren’t dressed like this. No, they wear
tailored suits with pants that fit directly on their waists. They wear leather
belts to keep them up. And no one sees their underwear. When they wear their
polished suits and ties it leaves a lasting first impression. It makes them
take them seriously.
Brothers,
the clothes you wear are a reflection of who you are. And a guy who runs around
in sagging pants around his knees needs to take a long hard look at himself in
the mirror.
Brothers,
take back your respect and pull up your pants. When you dress like a fool you
get treated like a joke. But when you dress like a man, you get the respect of
a man.
Shawn, this has to be one of the most disturbing blogs I've ever read, or ever will read. Your heart aches for these clowns, but it might as well not. I don't see where Madison and others are egging them on. They're only ridiculing too.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me the problem is a total lack of self esteem, seld valuation and pride. I think you're yet oo young to realize that these males are deal inside, and so it does not matter what they do or what they wear, or how they handle their bodies. They're not appealing to anybody, just exhibiting a manstrous lack or pride in anything. and having none in themselves, they seek to lay waste to everything around them.
These males are destroyed. Depend on it, and they will, in time, destroy everything else they come in contact with.
Whatever your first-rate blogging does to ameliorate this situation, it is a welcome salve.
Sorry, Shawn, I forgot to check after writing. Avenue should follow Madison in the first para.
ReplyDeleteIn the second para., should be self valuation, and yet too on the first line and "dead" not "deal" on the second line.
This from one who really gnashes her teeth at typos.
I think I really got just too carried away with sorrow at the pathetic path these guys have taken.
I have a question when will we start bypassing these young boys with the sagging pants and ask the person who is buying these pants too big in the first place?
ReplyDeleteI have seen mothers order their sons to sag their pants because they don't want them to look "white".
How do you deal with the parent that thinks it's okay to do this? Even with the health risks sagging can and will bring as the boy gets older.
The mothers who think wearing sagginp pants will make their boys look "white" are sad.
ReplyDeleteAs a Black man who grew up in the South Bronx I can tell you that there's nothing "white"
about wearing your pants on your waist. I've worn my pants on my waist for 39 years with a belt. Just that these poor Moms have been brainwashed by Madison Avenue, Hollywood to believe that Gay prison culture is hip-hop culture.
How do you deal with parents who think it's okay to dress like this?
1) Show them this blog.
2) Explain to them that there is no race when it comes to clothes. People either dress for success or dress for failure. Fortune 500 CEOs dress for success when they wear suits and ties. Because they show how much they care about themselves and others, they put on their best clothes to leave a lasting impression on them.
Prisoners dress for failure. Sagging pants are a sign a person has low self esteem, lack of self-confidence and insecurity. As I stated in the blog, only the lowest and weakest male prisoners wore their pants sagging, these were the men who were passed around from man to man.
Ever since I was a 15 I knew You dressed for what you want to be, not for who you are. Growing up I always wore an ironed shirt and pressed pants to school along with clean shoes. Wearing these clothes helped me do well in school and succeed in life. How you dress is a reflection of who you are and how you feel about yourself.
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteAs an African-american man myself, I don't care for the 'sagging' pants phenomenon either; but I think we're missing the point of what our youth are trying to tell us.
African-american youth...and for those who are wondering, I purposely wrote 'america' with a small 'a', are not so much trying to emulate losers and ex-cons by wearing sagging pants, but they're rebelling against european mores that have failed them TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
When our young people go to european-centered schools that are purposely over-crowded and underfunded, or when they sit in their classrooms and notice that there are 60-70 students to one teacher, or when they have to pass through metal detectors to enter school, or when the school's his-story classes tell them they're nothing, don't you think it's commons sense on their part to reject everything that european culture offers them?
Older Black folks can be critical, and as a matter of fact, that's all we seem to be with our youth, but the REAL and deeper question is why are older Black people so willing to wear the cloths of their oppressors when these same people have committed the world's greatest atrocities against our kind every day of their lives.
I understand Black people have to wear tight, restrictive, european clothing to get and keep their jobs, but why don't we ask ourselves why we haven't created our own jobs so we can wear any kind of cloths we want to work. And mind you, our African ancestors and our African contemporaries have always worn loose and free-flowing clothing.
I also think that parental guidance is THE greatest factor in this, in so much as, there needs to be a parent to tell these kids which attire is appropriate to which occasion.
In closing, I just wanna' say our children are MUCH smarter than we give them credit for. As a matter of fact, they could teach us a thing or two about how silly our indoctrination to these pale-skinned people is. Especially post-Katrina and post-Trayvon Martin.
WORD!!
When you are constantly looking for reasons out side of yourself for your short comings and blaming other cultures for your problems then you are the problem! With a black man as President and people of color holding powerful positions all over our great country you should expect more of yourself. You'll never go forward playing the poor poor me game! Take responsibility for your actions and expect better from yourself and work on being a gr8 human. We are all the same.
DeleteShawn...
ReplyDeleteI'd like to clarify the last comment I left on your blog.
Now, like I said previously, I'm not a fan of the 'sagging' jeans movement; I want to be very clear about the fact that I DON'T like our young men wearing 'sagging' jeans. I DO however like that our young people made 'baggy' jeans fashionable. Reason being is, that whether they realize it or not, they are indeed emulating their African ancestors (and contemporaries) who have always worn loose, free-flowing clothing. THIS is what I meant when I said our youth are indeed rebelling against european mores that have failed them/us. There is a difference between young brothas who wear 'baggy' jeans on their waist's, as opposed to the others who wear 'sagging' jeans; problem is older Black folk can't see the difference or make a distinction because we're so preoccupied with reviling our young people.
Now, I do realize there is a tremendous campaign underway to feminize and emasculate Black men; and I DO see the 'sagging' jeans phenomenon as a part of that, but sagging jeans were a result of the white elites campaign to co-opt the 'baggy' jeans movement--which was indeed our young people's way of rebelling against the anglophilic mores that have been conditioned into them. Because THEY ARE smart enough to realize that accepting the status quo in this country means that on some level, they had to hate themselves. So make no mistake, they ARE indeed rebelling against european culture, whether their mothers teach it to them or not. We can't help but adopt some european culture being that we're surrounded by it everyday, if for no other reason than it's delivered to us daily through TV.
Also, make no mistake, tight, restrictive, european suits and skirts ARE the cloths of our oppressors. The people who've been trying in earnest to destroy us ever since they brought us here...yeah, those people. Now I agree with you that until we have the option of employing ourselves and dressing anyway we want, we have to adhere to this dress code; but we should be cognizant of the fact that our decision to conform to that is just as debasing to us older Black folk as 'sagging' jeans are to our youth. Only difference is, we keep dogging out our youth, but we can't see the same problem in ourselves.
Now when you say any Black boy/male who wears 'sagging' pants will be targeted by police as a criminal, understand, just to be Black and a male/man in this country means you're going to be targeted. Don't take my word for it, ask Harvard professor Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates who was arrested for trying to get into his own house. That man did everything he could trying to convince himself he wasn't Black, and we saw that he got his 'wake up call'. I've been in suits and ties when I was followed around retail stores like a common criminal. I understand we need to put our best foot forward, but don't think that's a cure for this country's bigotry.
In closing I'll say that you needn't worry about our children being conditioned into anglophilic social mores in order to survive in 'West Hell' (america); somewhere in their travels they'll run into brainwashed Black folk who will happily indoctrinate them into this way of thinking. And if by some miracle that doesn't happen, our youth will surely pick it up themselves; again, our children ARE SMARTER THAN WE THINK.