U.S. towns ask teens to pull up their pants
New York. Jonathan lifts his white t-shirt. “Can you see my underwear?”, he asks while going through the Red Hook Houses, a large project in Brooklyn. Jonathan, a 20-year old African American is dressed like a rapper. He is wearing baggy pants, a black hat, a large t-shirt and beige Timberland shoes. He defends his clothing style against criticism from some people inside the African American community. “I do not understand why some would like to ban baggy pants, he says. It is my style and my urban culture. It is also more comfortable”. Several US towns have decided to wage a war against low-slung trousers and now ask young people to pull up their pants to hide their boxers. This popular attire among black teens has already been outlawed by several towns in Louisiana on the grounds it is indecent. Punishment ranges from fines in Alexandria (Louisiana) to a possible prison sentence in Delcambre (Louisiana). Several other cities such as Atlanta, Dallas or Baltimore are mulling bans on saggy pants. In Yonkers, New York, Patricia McDow, an African American councilwoman, is currently working a resolution, which would force young people breaching the “saggy pants ban” to perform community service. “This resolution is part of a gang intervention program, she says in an interview with the.point.is. news agency. We are trying to come up with positive solutions for children, who are caught up in gang activities. We are trying to teach young people that they cannot dress like that to go to a job interview”. The councilwoman also argues that saggy pants come from the prisons, where inmates are not allowed to wear belts. “Young people in my community should be proud and creative instead of wearing their pants like this, she adds. It is a question of dignity and responsibility. When you leave your house, you represent your family” In the Red Hook Houses, Jeffrey, 17, Howard, 21, and Jerry (first name altered), 20, criticize the move. The three young blacks wearing baggy pants, speak about their culture. “Linking our style to gang activity is a stereotype, Jeffrey claims. It is like judging a book by its cover”. The young man says he knows the attire comes from the prison system but adds young blacks mostly think of hip hop stars when they wear saggy pants. “It is also a way to show we are people from the hood, he says. It is urban culture”. University of California African American studies professor Patricia Turner says she sympathizes with the efforts members from the black community to ban saggy pants. “They want young people to get better jobs but one should also understand that young people try to distinguish themselves, she says. I think the vast majority of youths do not dress that way because they embrace the prison culture, but because hip hop stars such as Snoop Doggy Dog dress that way”. Professor Turner adds that such a ban on saggy pants can be seen by young African Americans as racial profiling”. Patricia McDow claims she does not fear her initiative could backfire and push troubled youths further away. “We tell our children to express themselves and to do their own thing, she says. When they all dress the same way, they do not use their mind to distinguish themselves”. Jonathan lost his job three and early October. For his next job interview, he will not wear his baggy pants. “It is a question of common senses”, he says before heading to one of the building of the Red Hook Houses. Jean-Cosme Delaloye A French version of this story came out on October 27 2007 in 24heures and Tribune de Genève. CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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