How Can It Be Illegal To Be An Asshat?
There was a grownup, middle-aged white man with his wife and child at the grocery store the other night...wearing his pants floating halfway down his ass with his boxers showing. I wanted to sneak a picture from the rear but Gregg yanked me along.
Now, in Florida, they've passed a bill to keep students from wearing their pants so they reveal their undies. I think it's targeted at males, so I'm guessing that they won't go after girls who bend over and reveal their thong. Jon Swaine writes for the Telegraph/UK:
Senate Bill 228, also known as the "Pull Your Pants Up" Bill, was last week overwhelmingly approved by the state legislature. It is expected to be signed by Governor Rick Scott this week.The measure prohibits students from wearing clothing that "exposes their undergarments" or "indecently exposes their body parts" while they are at school.
It is aimed at putting an end to the Hip-Hop-influenced trend, favoured especially by young men, in which jeans are worn around the buttocks rather than the waist.
State Senator Gary Siplin, a Democrat of Orlando and a longstanding advocate of a ban, described it as "pro-family, pro-education, pro-jobs"."It is necessary to put the focus back on learning in the classroom," said Mr Siplin. "We can eliminate inappropriate dress as one of the many distractions in public schools today."
Yeah, right -- as if telling students to pull up their damn pants from around their knees is going to teach them to read, or help any other students focus.
On the face of this, the problem seems to be, as I learned working on the high school newspaper, that the Constitution doesn't end at the school house door.
Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, it seems looking like a total fucking idiot to school doesn't seem to count as speech, and has not been protected as a First Amendment right.
But, hey, Florida lawmakers, way to make it look like you're doing something about our country's massive education problems!
Teenagers are doing stuff that bugs adults? When did *that* start happening?
I'm sure some new laws will fix it all, though...
Not Sure at May 9, 2011 10:35 PM
This was a fad quite some time ago. I haven't seen it for some years now. Seems a little late. Or maybe I live in a fashion forward area.
The Former Banker at May 9, 2011 10:54 PM
Yeah, I thought it had swung back to skinny jeans... or did it swing back to big again? I can't keep track.
NicoleK at May 10, 2011 12:31 AM
Funny to compare this to SlutWalks that start all mover the two countries when someone tries advising what women should dress like: http://bostonslutwalk2k11.tumblr.com/
Me at May 10, 2011 2:42 AM
this fad is easily 21 years old....as i've been waiting for it to go away for that long.
oldvix at May 10, 2011 5:02 AM
I saw a kid just yesterday wearing skinny jeans below his ass - they were clearly too small for him. Maybe he couldn't pull them up because they were too skinny?
But seriously, how in the world do these kids prevent the pants from falling all the way down? I've never understood how they're able to routinely defy gravity.
chargrill at May 10, 2011 6:24 AM
Wouldn't something like this be better served by a school dress code? I mean, I've no idea to see the little crumb crunchers in suits and ties, but I seriously doubt a "no visible underwear or ass-crack" rule would spark a riot at the PTA meeting.
And has anyone played the "That's Racist" card for claiming it's an attempt to stop something that started in the "hip-hop" (codeword for "black") community?
Vinnie Bartilucci at May 10, 2011 7:02 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/05/how-can-it-be-i.html#comment-2122666">comment from Vinnie BartilucciWouldn't something like this be better served by a school dress code?
These days, everything must be criminalized.
Amy Alkon
at May 10, 2011 7:07 AM
Yeah, it's ridiculous that this actually requires action by the Legislature. (But of course, it's also a feel-good law that legislators can pat themselves on the back for, which we see in the article.) Which means that whenever it happens, cops will have to be called and the whole legal yada yada. I'm with Vinnie; back in the "old days" (wasn't that long ago), schools had dress codes. You either pulled up your pants, or they sent you home and counted the day as an unexcused absence. No need to get the law involved.
And I agree that First Amendment interpretation regarding primary schools is crazy, but in this case it's a red herring. As long as the pull-your-pants-up rule is content neutral and evenly enforced, there should be no First Amendment issue.
Cousin Dave at May 10, 2011 7:26 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/05/how-can-it-be-i.html#comment-2122763">comment from Cousin DaveHere's a dress code for you -- two boys who weren't allowed to eat breakfast because they were wearing the wrong shoes:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/05/09/no-breakfast-for-kids-wearing-wrong-shoes-at-grade-school/
Amy Alkon
at May 10, 2011 7:34 AM
We used to call it "sagging," back in the 90's. It was against the dress code at the middle and high schools I went to. I recall the stupid baggy pants making an appearance right around the time the little kid rap group that wore their clothes backwards came out.
I don't know if even the rappers are wearing the super-baggy stuff any more... The look only seems to be popular currently with ganstas and skaters (though they interperet it different ways.)
ahw at May 10, 2011 7:34 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/05/how-can-it-be-i.html#comment-2122771">comment from ahwHilariously, these "rebels" are wearing a uniform as much as all the businessmen in their suits are.
Amy Alkon
at May 10, 2011 7:35 AM
Lil Wayne still wears 'em low.
See (below) Rolling Stone's cover, Jan 2011.
(I'm no fan of low slung pants - but I saw Lil Wayne on SNL recently - and he looked brilliant, despite the gravity-defying thing.)
http://officialdjwm.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/lil-wayne-x-rolling-stone-magazine/
Jody Tresidder at May 10, 2011 9:13 AM
Pro jobs?
Pro education?
Pro family?
Why do people who get elected to office feel a need to interfere with every aspect of a person's life - and then pretend that the interference is somehow economically and morally beneficial?
Guys who have to reach behind their knee to pull their wallet out of their pants look ridiculous.
And, despite being around since before Kriss-Kross, this fad will die out and be an object of derision for future generations. Just like spats, raccoon coats, leisure suits, big hair, and Ed Hardy.
As long as people are not running around naked in the streets, let them look as ridiculous as they want.
Conan the Grammarian at May 10, 2011 9:16 AM
But seriously, how in the world do these kids prevent the pants from falling all the way down?
there's an app for that: http://www.hatchventures.com/Subs.html
knobody at May 10, 2011 10:06 AM
Don't see as many as used to; but you can still occasionally watch some idiot who has to use one hand to keep his pants up as he walks.
Firehand at May 10, 2011 2:40 PM
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