No More London, No More France, You Could Get Fined With Those Down-Low Pants!

Momma always told you “pull your pants up, you look like a bum. So you pull up your oversized Girbauds and walk out the door, letting them drop stylishly back into place just under your butt.

Those were the good old days, but now in some cities in America, Momma could be down the street, ready to get on your back about those pants again. Well, not Momma, but Sergeant Friday might soon be on the case.

City Councils in several southern cities have voted for creating an ordinance to ban sagging pants that expose underwear and skin. Two cities that have approved this are Shreveport and Alexandria, Louisiana. In Alexandria, violators showing more 3 inches of booty could be fined $25 to $200 and ordered to perform community service and counseling. "I'm tired (of) looking at behinds," said Councilwoman Joyce Bowman, in Shreveport's 4-3 majority Tuesday.

The idea to outlaw this trend has also reached cities as large as Atlanta, where the debate has heated up. Critics have said that Atlanta's measure is a form of racial profiling that would allow police to target some young black males who wear their pants below the belt line. Similar initiatives in other states have spurred complaints from civil liberties groups.

It’s been known that this style of sagging has been prevalent in the Black community for years. Young Black men have been hearing, “pull your pants up, tie your shoes, turn your hat around” from their mothers and grandmothers forever. Some of my favorites were, “Who’s gonna respect you if all they can see is your ass?

And while watching COPS, “Look at him; trying to run away, he can’t get away from the police running in those pants down around his ankles.” So despite the possibility that these new laws could give some police officers one more thing to bother a young Black man about, the sponsors of the proposals are older Black people fed up with the unsightly appearance.

Although the older citizens of these cities have good intentions in mind, the fact is that no one should be able to make others wear their clothes the way they want them to. Indecent exposure is one thing, but disagreement with this sloppy style is another that deals strictly with opinion. The attention of our law enforcement should be focused on real issues that actually affect our communities, like theft, shootings, and drug dealing.

This isn’t the Red Carpet in L.A., and I don’t see Joan Rivers anywhere, so the fine people of Louisiana should let the fashion police do their job on E! If you don’t like the look, then look away, all it takes is a simple twist of the neck.

Now that sagging has been forbidden, I’m proposing that the opposing “Waistline up to your chest” look be next on the chopping block. It makes me shudder every time I have to wonder exactly where someone’s waist really is.

Keep talking, it’s the only way they’ll ever hear you.--JJJ