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PHALON'S FILE - 07/30/2008
(by Joe Phalon - OpEd Columnist - July 30, 2008)
Fashion police
Beware the law of unintended consequences.
There’s a movement afoot to ban what many consider to be an offensive style of dress. You’ve probably seen them outside your high school, maybe even middle school. Saggies.
It’s the style of dress in which (mostly) young men allow their paints to droop significantly below their waistline, exposing collective yards of boxer shorts. It is a look that some believe started in prison, where belts are usually forbidden, which then spread to urban centers and then to suburban shopping malls.
Several cities, even states, have legislation pending that would regulate just how far pants could sag down one’s buttocks. Paterson Councilman Anthony Davis is working on an ordinance for his city.
While it does sound silly on the surface, I do understand where the councilman is coming from. The 42-year-old Davis was born in Paterson and grew up in its toughest neighborhoods. He is clearly concerned about wrong influences shaping youthful character, particularly young African-American men. He once sponsored a largely symbolic ban of the N-word in Paterson. I don’t doubt his concern or sincerity.
He suggests the look is disrespectful. Perhaps it is. But think back about some of the fashions many of us wore at one time or another. When I was in middle school, sporting a peace sign was considered by some to be an act of defiance. Long hair, ripped jeans and tie-dyed shirts were all a big departure from the norm in the early 1970s.
And it only got worse. Soon leisure suits nosed out Hippie Chic in many social circles. Now if anything required legislation, it was that. Those patchworks of pastel polyester (“Never needs ironing!”) consumed more petroleum than a Hummer.
There are offensive fashions everywhere. Look down the street. Is that man really mowing his lawn clothed only in a Speedo? Nobody looks good in a Speedo. Nobody. You would look better tending your grass in boxers.
Which brings up the unintended consequences. Criminalizing saggy pants puts our plumbers, steamfitters and other trades people at risk. Now I know I’m perpetuating a stereotype here, and I apologize. In fact, the plumbers I know are neatly dressed. But things like this do need to be considered. What if we did indeed witness a crime being committed right under our own sink? Would we be obligated to call the authorities? And if we didn’t, would that make us complicit in the offense?
We would have to add tape measures to the list of standard police equipment. “This guy’s showing two inches of shorts. He’s OK.” One more, though, and he be busted.
The best way to discourage offensive and defiant behavior is not to ban it, which would only make it more attractive. Instead, discourage the allure. In this case run public service ads that suggest the saggy look has its origins not with prison, rather with Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 453. Wait until you see how fast those pants are dropped. (Again, my apologies to the profession.)
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