[sociallocker]
AFRICANGLOBE – I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of seeing too many of our African-American boys/men wearing their pants below their waist. By now, you already the know term, ‘saggin.’ A term as well as trend that began in the prison system, ‘saggin’ happened when prisoners began losing weight and due to the fact that many prisons forbid inmates from wearing belts, pants sag. As we fast-forward on the issue of ‘saggin’ the trend has taken on a new twist – homosexuality.
MSNBC in one of their many stories on the life of prisoners serving time in prison interviewed one prisoner who described seeing prisoners wearing ‘saggin’ pants as an open invitation to have sex. The convicted prisoner spoke candidly about this dress as being ‘sexual.’ In fact, he went on to say that when he sees this happening, he approaches the inmate to have consensual sex. If he refuses, then he will proceed to sexually assault him at some point. Permit me to be blunt with his answer. He said either they give up the booty freely or he takes it. Let’s face it- that’s a reality for many of brothers who are locked up in the prison system. (That’s another story)
The troubling aspect of this is that too many of our brothers have adopted wearing pants below their waist. For what? To look cool, to be in the mix, or because it’s trendy. Whatever the reason, it needs to stop. The prison mentality must fade away. In a real sense, unless those who like to ‘sag’ begin to wake up and get their life together, they will be left behind with no one to blame but themselves. What many of them don’t know, comprehend, or understand is that their actions make it difficult for so many people to get ahead. Please don’t be naïve at me saying this because we still live in a world that judges a group of people based on the actions of a few.
There are now laws in place that are implementing fines on people for ‘saggin.’ While many are in favor of these laws, you have some who are critical of such laws. They quote that all people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that is true, but whenever you have people not condemning or should I say, addressing the need of helping our brothers coming to their senses, there’s an ulterior motif on the horizon.
‘Saggin’ pants won’t get you a good job. It will keep you from being taken seriously by employers and if you’re in business for yourself, your customers may question your professionalism.
Too many of our civil rights leaders of the past didn’t fight for people to wear ‘saggin’ pants. It saddens me that too many of our brothers wish to show off their ‘butts’ rather than their brains. It also breaks my heart that too many people are condoning it without saying anything.
Something needs to be done to reverse this trend.
Here’s what I’m calling for:
- Educate our young boys/men about how the trend started and what it’s perceive as.
- Hold classes on self-esteem and self-empowerment through fashion
- Support laws and legislations that forbid ‘saggin’
- Business to have a ‘NO SAGGIN’ rule. If you ‘sag’ you can’t come into the establishment
Now a special note for our sisters: Refuse to date a man who wears his pants ‘saggin.’ If they continue to ‘sag’ allow them to be by themselves.
This has to be done collectively to keep our brothers from ‘saggin.’ This isn’t just an inner city dilemma; it’s a problem that has spawned throughout the United States. When our brothers are able to come to their senses and pull up their pants, then they will be taken much more seriously and then you’ll see a change begin to happen. We must never compromise on our standards and values
By: Dr. Sinclair Grey III
Dr. Grey is an inspirational speaker, motivator, author and committed advocate for change. Contact him at drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey.
[/sociallocker]
