The Boston Globe

Editorials

editorial

Tightening the belt on saggy pants

While the young should respect their elders by wearing proper garments, Socrates declared, there is “small wisdom in legislating about such matters.” That observation, now more than 2,400 years old, continues to be lost on the elders: Hence the new cable ad campaign to convince teenagers in saggy pants to pull up their britches.

Produced by a group called the Black Mental Health Alliance of Massachusetts, the ad features an actor playing a policeman. He sternly warns that under state laws for lewd behavior, a person who wears deeply sagging pants could face up to three years in prison. Saggy pants are a fashion trend that emanated from prisons, where inmates were banned from wearing belts; but like other such trends, this one has taken on a life of its own, and many kids have no idea of its derivation.

Comments

It just looks idiotic, or they're wearing diapers.

Who cares?  Flappers were pretty dumb and so were bell bottoms.  My mother hated my leather jacket, my cuban heels and my DA.  Good grief they'll grow out of it.

Replies

She hated your District Attorney?

Please you don't know what a DA was - you are either really young or I hope are simply being facetious, cookie, cookie lend me your comb.

Show more replies (1)

What has the world come to when saggy pants are deserving of an editorial by a major publication? It's called a fad, and like all other fads, it will go away. Who cares? There's way too many serious issues to be wasting time on this - like I just did!!

"Unsightly"???????  Puh-lease.  It's just a style, nothing more.  Youth will always rebel, and adults should show some wisdom and not rail against their petty rebellions.  Work instead to end bullying.

I had to pass a guy leaning over this weekend...I asked him to stand up, because I didn't want to have to brush across his underwear to get by.  And as far as pulling up their pants to get a job, the author assumes that they will get one and not just collect benefits...the pants seem parallel to the attitude of doing nothing with your life in many instances...

This comment has been removed.

This isn't a simple stupid trend. This is disgusting. And trends don't last this long. The other day I saw a guy's crack as he was walking with family ahead of me in the Mall. Gag me please. What purpose does this serve? It can't possibly be comfortable, and it says "I was in prison" or "my family and friends are in prison" or, "I admire prisoners" and "I am a slob". Please tell me why prisoners aren't given elastic waist pants, since they can't have belts? Maybe the "trend" will end then.

"Kitch"

There are historians and military men of his era who would disagree, but I really don't care about Kitchner or any English "Lord" or noble a class of which I hold in as much disdain as I would Royalty or a plutocrat.  Generally speaking we are talking about people with delusions of grandeur.  I leave that to syncophants.

But again the point is "dress" as an op-ed subject or how to measure a man.  Good lord let us bring back Queen Victoria.  I think not. 

Replies

This comment has been removed.

As I said a lot of historians and Kitchners own contemporaries did not share your view of Kitchener.  However, I am only busting on the gentlement regarding dress and demeanor in jest, as dress relates to this article.  I believe the ship he was on hit a mine not exactly a fighting finish although I would imagine Kitchener would have preferred a last stand.  I do believe he was a Lord and wasn't it Lloyd George who kind of dissed him in his bio, (don't hold me to that but I think it was George).

Show more replies (1)

For the students, it works well to say in that tone reserved for 3-year-olds, "Michael, I'm afraid your underpants are showing. Please pull up your trousers."  For the older set, ignore them knowing that the older the saggy-pants wearers are, the fewer young people who will want saggy pants. So uncool!