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New site? Maybe some day.
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TRENTON, N.J. - It's a fashion that started in prison, and now the saggy pants craze has come full circle — low-slung street strutting in some cities may soon mean run-ins with the law, including a stint in jail.
Proposals to ban saggy pants are starting to ride up in several places. At the extreme end, wearing pants low enough to show boxers or bare buttocks in one small Louisiana town means six months in jail and a $500 fine. A crackdown also is being pushed in Atlanta. And in Trenton, getting caught with your pants down may soon result in not only a fine, but a city worker assessing where your life is headed.
"Are they employed? Do they have a high school diploma? It's a wonderful way to redirect at that point," said Trenton Councilwoman Annette Lartigue, who is drafting a law to outlaw saggy pants. "The message is clear: We don't want to see your backside."
The bare-your-britches fashion is believed to have started in prisons, where inmates aren't given belts with their baggy uniform pants to prevent hangings and beatings. By the late 80s, the trend had made it to gangster rap videos, then went on to skateboarders in the suburbs and high school hallways.
"For young people, it's a form of rebellion and identity," Adrian "Easy A.D." Harris, 43, a founding member of the Bronx's legendary rap group Cold Crush Brothers. "The young people think it's fashionable. They don't think it's negative."
But for those who want to stop them see it as an indecent, sloppy trend that is a bad influence on children.
"It has the potential to catch on with elementary school kids, and we want to stop it before it gets there," said C.T. Martin, an Atlanta councilman. "Teachers have raised questions about what a distraction it is."
In Atlanta, a law has been introduced to ban sagging and punishment could include small fines or community work — but no jail time, Martin said.
The penalty is stiffer in Delcambre, La., where in June the town council passed an ordinance that carries a fine of up to $500 or six months in jail for exposing underwear in public. Several other municipalities and parish governments in Louisiana have enacted similar laws in recent months.
At Trenton hip-hop clothing store Razor Sharp Clothing Shop 4 Ballers, shopper Mark Wise, 30, said his jeans sag for practical reasons.
"The reason I don't wear tight pants is because it's easier to get money out of my pocket this way," Wise said. "It's just more comfortable."
Shop owner Mack Murray said Trenton's proposed ordinance unfairly targets blacks.
"Are they going to go after construction workers and plumbers, because their pants sag, too?" Murray asked. "They're stereotyping us."
The American Civil Liberties Union agrees.
"In Atlanta, we see this as racial profiling," said Benetta Standly, statewide organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. "It's going to target African-American male youths. There's a fear with people associating the way you dress with crimes being committed." |
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I hope they still allow them to bunch up on the package. nothing better than dudes with their pants all bunched up on their package, eh? |
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Really, there must be something wrong with you if you think showing your underwear is cool |
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that's not what I said.
bunched up so you see the package, not down so you see the underwear.
that's gay. |
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the_reverend said: that's not what I said.
bunched up so you see the package, not down so you see the underwear.
that's gay. |
I know that's not what you said, i said that in general
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we need this law to pass in New Bedford. |
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Yeah, it's totally cool that they're passing a law against baggy pants! Next they should pass a law against having long hair and wearing metal shirts! Wouldn't that be cool too? Oh wait. |
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Lamp said: Next they should pass a law against having long hair and wearing metal shirts! Wouldn't that be cool too? |
Yep. |
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At the show I went to in Gilford last night, There were a bunch of baggy pants wearing kids trying to mosh during Supplication's set. They were all like family members or something. One of them mentioned to me that he was not into the music,He was just there supporting his "cuz". |
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im bringin back HUGE jncos. HUGE! |
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Lamp said: Yeah, it's totally cool that they're passing a law against baggy pants! Next they should pass a law against having long hair and wearing metal shirts! Wouldn't that be cool too? Oh wait. |
Do you wear baggy pants?
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There shouldn't be a law against wigger attire. However it should be lawful to beat the shit out of wiggers. |
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this is fucking bogus. what next? laws like this are one more step to a total censorship mechanism. its always covered up by "oh its just this one thing", yeah and next its "just one more thing". i hope that there is a giant revolt against this. i don't care for baggy pants, but if you want to wear them its your fucking right to do so. |
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niggers are useless. i mean blak people |
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I'm gonna get a pair of Jncos so big that me and a friend can wear'em to shows. We'll be best friends forever.
This law = legal AIDS, BTW. |
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it's not against baggy pants, it's about having the waste around your knees. fucking gay shit! |
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NIGGERS |
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sacreligion said: im bringin back HUGE jncos. HUGE! |
I miss Jnco jeans; I used to have a couple of pairs in middle school, now I can't find them anymore. They were comfortable as hell! |
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IMMOLATION said:
No, I wear regular pants. But who the hell cares what people wear? |
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THAT IS TOTALLY FUCKING RACIST
IF YOU HAVE WASTE AROUND YOUR KNEES, YOU ARE NOT BLACK
BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT JUST RETARDS COVERED IN POO
RACIST WHITE PEOPLE!
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hopefully they out law girls jeans on guys. |
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if sagging is illegal who will you laugh at? |
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sxealex said: if sagging is illegal who will you laugh at? |
black people still. |
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