Topic : 01/28 The Baggy Pants Debate

First of all--Baggy pants should not be considered a racial issue--nearly all boys do it.

It is a fashion statement for some.  I am the mother of 2 white middle class boys and thier friends are all from the same background.  In front of me or any adults, their pants may be low, but theboxers are resectfully covered with their T-Shirts.  When they are out with their friends they are free to make a statement.  The difference is that my sons have a healthy respect for themselves and they know what makes them acceptable or not.

 

Since I feel that I have raised my boys with respect and have given them the morals they need to survive in life, I have no doubt that when they go to work for others and/or go to college, that they will have the tools to  show themselves as the good unique individuals that they are.  My boys know how and when to dress in a certain manner and they know how to make a positive statement no matter who they are with.

does Al Sharpton have anything else to do but talk about everything being a race issue?

with the issues this country is facing today I think it is wrong for Dr. Phil to have topics like today's show on, what a waste of time!

we need to talk about where this country is headed and what we can do about it, not how "kids" are wearing their pants!

 

Concerned in Michigan

Do I think kids should wear their pants half-way down their "tuchus" with their underwear showing? Hell no! Would I allow my kids to dress that way? Hell no! Dr. Phil & Rev Al were correct when they said that this began as the hip-hop culture began to copy the prison attire. That's also why you see young kids without laces in their sneakers. No belts and no laces are allowed in jail. This is not a racial thing. My nephew is white and lives in the suburbs and he dresses that way. But do I think the government has the right to pass laws about how one should dress? HELL NO! If Big Brother can tell you how to wear your pants, what's next?

Baggy Pants as a Law.  Are you kidding me.  I grew up in the sixties.  If someone made a law that I couldn't wear mini skirts or hot pants, tight sweaters, or tight pants, I would be wondering  What country is this.  Baggy pants are OK with me and I am a great-grandmother.  Can they be banned in schools,  absolutely.   That's it.  On the streets you are supposed to wear the clothes you can't wear to school.  Are your parents supposed to like it.  Of course not.  That is the point. What teenager wants to wear something their parents like.  Worry about something much more important, like guns.  You can wear baggy pants.  You can not have guns. 

Baggy pants sagging is no big deal, my goodness. Ok I can understand people not wanting to look at others butts and underwear, but look how young girls are dressing. Their clothing should be a bigger issue cause these young girls are dreesing in the low cut jeans showing off their figures at the age of 8-9 on up. Thats much more of a serious problem then baggy jeans. I sag my pants but not to wear my jeans are below my butt thats just stupid but to each his own.

Dear Dr. Phil,
Because you have a son who wears baggy pants you were biased from the get-go to soft peddle. You often portray yourself as having a God-centered home. I do not know how much cleavage Robin shows when out in public, I have only seen her as decently attired. The fact that your son wears baggy pants to the extent that you have to worry they might fall down says a lot about indecency. I realize he is over 18, but you should have indicated something like that. From what I have been able to gather, both you and Robin, in your private lives what to portray a godly America. I am not particularly christian in my belief system, but I do believe in morality. The fact that you tacitly approve of your son's baggy pants and disseminate that view on TV, shows a de-christianized personality, one that caters to the least resistance.
I am sorry, Dr. Phil, but your weakness as an intimidated parent showed through today. If you and your family were to go to church on Sunday, would you really and truly not say anything to your son's baggy pants? That to me is an intimidated parent.
Your shows have to cover all topics and today's show was a timely one. While we do not all have to go to church on Sundays and be bible believing people, we were founded on christian principles. Women should not show their cleavage and men should not wear baggy pants.

i dont like looking at peoples underwear, but banning baggy pants and having such issues even brought up is ridiculous, let kids wear what they want, as they grow up it will change and they will look back and say what the hell was i thinking, but for now worry about other things in there life and take more interest in there schooling , and social life. if they cant even make choices in what they wear then as they get older what are they going too be able too make choices in, they wont know how too, they will be doing what everybody else wants them too do and not what they want too do. they wont even be able too think for themselves.

If anyone wants to dress like a SLOB, wearing their jeans down around their KNEE CAPS, they should just stay indoors, because they totally LACK dignity and self-respect. If I have to look at someone's "crack" or their underwear while out in public, my first thought, regardless of their race, "what the hell are they thinking?" and "who let them out in public dressed like this?"  As far as the issue of personal choice goes, just because I would not dress in this fashion or allow my sons to dress like this, I think the government getting involved is excessive, where do we live, in RUSSIA? It would be nice to go out in public and NOT have to look at someone's underwear, but that's just me. If these people want to dress this way, WHY WEAR JEANS AT ALL????? HA HA HA  Just go to the mall in your boxers....HA HA HA 

Dr. Phil, I don't know what the big deal is, but as a female, personally, I feel there's nothing wrong with saggin.  The deputy mayor constantly saying, "their offending a 3 year old girl, and the 89 year old woman."  But what about woman in between.  He said that EVERY woman is offended.  Yet i'm a woman, and i'm not offended, and I know a lot of other women who'd agree that this is a pointless issue.  Even the girl in the video for your opening intro said it herself, why are people so concerned with looking at someones pants.  What they need to do is concern themselves with a more news worthy battle like guns and drugs.  Saggin is merely a way of self expression, a man should have every right to do what they want and dress the way the want without being harassed.  And to banned this trend just because its offensive, news flash, there are a lot of things that exist in this world that are offensive, but you don't see a banning of that popping up.  Like the Ying Yang Twin said, the lessons start with the parent, not hip hop, and if your kids are doing something that you don't like, then ban it from your home, not from the world.  Put a child blocker up, take away the cds, set rules, but don't force your beliefs off onto the whole world because not everyone in the whole world is offended by this.  For every person who's offended, there's someone who isn't.  And in the videos from the breaks, most of the people stating their opinion I notice their mostly white, no one's asked the YOUTH or members of the communities in which people see this in.  What about the kids in which this issue surrounds their opinions and their feelings on this issue, not just the parents, because as a parent you're going to oppose a lot of what kids do today, but ask them why they do it before jumping to conclusions.  Plus when some sag, their shirts cover it up, and it's NOT HIP HOPS FAULT!!!  For every person who doesn't like seeing someone saggin, there's someone out there that does.  If someone doesn't like it, well that's why God gave you the ability to close them and to turn your head.  Saggin signifies nothing, doesn't mean you're a trouble-maker.  There's a time and a place, saggin outside doesn't mean you're going to do it at work.  Like I said before, its just a fashion statement, that we've all participated in at one point or another.  But there's no need to fight to ban a trend, that's harmless.  And just because I'm for sagging, doesn't mean I have low class ethics, I just believe in my God given right....freedom of expression.  Campaign for something more important and worthwhile, and stop wasting your time on something so pointless like someones pants.

Hi Everyone, good to meet you all.  I don't usually comment on the everyday topic board, but I felt the need to.  I usually stay in the Religious Topics room, so this is weird.

 

The way a person dresses does on a small level represent the character of a person, but it's sometimes all people use as a judge of character.  I used to have long hair in the early 90's, I used to get followed whenever I walked into a store.  I have never committed a crime in my life.

 

Baggy pants are equivalent to long hair in the way that people assume you must live the life style.  Or even listening to rock has it's judgment.  Only Rock or Hip Hop gets the bad rap, no other music does. 

 

This is where the race card comes in.  Baggy pants is almost always associated with crime.  And Crime is mostly associated with African Americans in this country.  The rest of us put the two together.  When a white kid decides to wear baggy pants, parents are angry, not because it looks bad, but they start to associate their children with gang bangers and African Americans, and there are too many racist people in this country to let their kids dress like that.

 

It's all association.  Long hair equals =dirty, rock and roll, devils, black clothes, drugs. 

Baggy pants= Minority, crime, drugs, sex, bling.

 No one thinks when they see  a person like this, " Oh, that's probably a great kid". 

 

So, now this country (US) we use stereotypes to profile everyone we see.  We don't look at individuals, we look at which group they fit most into and then judge them accordingly.

 

Had all serial killers worn suits when they killed, everyone on Wall Street would be one.  No one trusts their instinct anymore, we all fall back on what we were told about that " type" of person.  Almost always, people have their own preconcieved notions before they ever meet a person.  Then people start to run through the list in there mind, kind of like what cops do to catch criminals.  You are guilty until proven a good person. 

 

I think this debate is healthy, but it doesn't change anything.  Kids grow up the way they are raised by their own parents.  The responsibility lies with them first.  Then everyone else also has an obligation to take care of each other. No attention at home= a kid who tries to get that attention somewhere else.

 

Just my opinions, thanks for reading.