Thursday, August 23, 2007

You can't legislate good taste.

It figures. As soon as I let myself off the hook for not posting, I find something to post about.

I saw in today's newspaper that Atlanta wants to ban "saggy pants"! Apparently, this is an "epidemic" that is of "major concern". Wow. I hope I don't catch it. I'd look terrible in saggy pants, and I have no idea how kids get them to stay on when worn so low on the hips.

It seems that some Atlanta City Council members are tired of seeing young men wearing those incredibly baggy pants worn low on the hips so as to show off their boxer shorts. The council is equally upset with women who wear low rise pants that expose their thong underwear. They are fed up and they aren't gonna take it anymore. The new law, if enacted, would ban any visible underwear seen in public, including a stray bra strap. (Oops. I'm guilty of inadvertant bra strap display on occasion.)

This proposed change in the law is a stupid idea for a lot of reasons. I don't like this particular fashion trend, but this is a free country and laws should stick to limiting behaviors that endanger the public. It is bound to be seen as racist (although the thong thing seems universally popular among young women regardless of race). It won't stand up in court, and will waste a lot of money and resources when it is inevitably challenged. All the time and attention paid to this "issue" would be better spent solving real problems. Instead of worrying about what kids are wearing, why don't we worry about how well they are being educated, how healthy they are, and whether or not they are staying out of trouble?

9 comments:

LL said...

Good thing you're not in politics. I mean c'mon... just think of what the world would be like if people could do what they wanted when they wanted. There would be an abundance of liberty, and we just can't have that now, can we.

dr sardonicus said...

Atlanta still has indecency laws? But then I remembered this...

The juvenile court judge in Nashville keeps a collection of belts in her chambers. When a kid shows up in court with his pants sagging, she makes him go back in her chambers and put a belt on before she'll hear his case.

Dave said...

Don't take this wrong; but, you know you're getting old when....

I'm getting old. I see the saggy thing going on and immediately am put off, me who could have gotten a sideman gig in ZZ Top in my younger days.

But, you are absolutely right about the legislative thing.

TheWriteGirl said...

Every time I catch myself thinking how ridiculous the saggy pants and enormous shirts and sideways baseball hats look, I remind myself that they probably don't look any stupider than I did when I was in my teens and 20s, wearing, well, whatever it was i wore. But at least my pants weren't falling off. I also try and envision these kids when they're, say, 40. They'll probably be looking at the teenagers, thinking they look ridiculous. The characters change but the play stays the same.

Beth said...

I don't know. I'd like to have that bra strap law passed in my own little town. Teens in this town think showing the bra strap while wearing razorbacks is actually a good fashion choice. Drives me bonkers.

All right, you're right. I don't think there should be laws ... unless actual body parts are showing ... and not just asses and elbows.

Natalie said...

The only thing I hate about the girls showing off their whale tails is then my husband gets on the whole, "Why don't you do that?" Kick. Yeah, right.

Jess said...

My sentiments exactly! I don't like that particular fashion, but I'm not about to put us all in uniforms and strip everyone of his/her individuality! That's craziness. I'd be in a heap of trouble if they enforced that bra strap rule. My shoulders are so narrow; I always have to tighten my straps so they'll stop falling down, and then when I do get them tight enough, then my shirt wants to start creeping down the ol' shoulder slope. :-)

Great blog, by the way. It seems we have a lot in common. I wish you the best.

Jessica

NYPinTA said...

I just can't believe baggy pants are still in style. How long till that stupid trend dries up already? Jeez!
A friend of mine was telling me this story about watching a group of kids walking across a parking lot in those baggy jeans and suddenly it started raining pretty hard. Well, the one kids jeans got so wet so fast that they fell down and then he fell down and couldn't get back up so he was rolling around like a turtle with these huge pants around his knees! Funniest image in my head ever. Hahaha. Idiot.

fermicat said...

LL - yes, give us liberty and next thing you know people are buying beer on Sundays...

dr s - the weird thing about the sodomy law is that in the 90s, every year someone in the state legislature would try to get it repealed and they were never able to. That law was ridiculously restrictive and outlawed pretty much everything except sex in the "missionary position" between husband and wife. Oh, the hypocrisy!

dave - I am smiling now imagining you as a ZZ Top guy!

thewritegirl - unfortunately, I do remember some of the stupid stuff I used to wear as a teenager. Sheesh. ;-D

beth - yes, I don't understand the whole "deliberately showing your bra strap" fashion. To me, it just looks bad.

magnetbabe - that is very funny! I'm glad my husband has never suggested such a thing (although he does really like it when I wear a tight shirt).

jessica - welcome to the blog, and thanks for visiting.

nypinta - it does seem like this trend has lasted incredibly long. Why doesn't it just die already? But then the next thing is probably going to be worse.