I want to get in here before everyone else does.

I know someone is going to say "but but but the saggy pants looks BAD and DISRESPECTFUL and BLAH BLAH BLAH."

And I want to say "yes." Yes it does. It looks ugly, it looks stupid, you look like a jackass when you sag your pants below your butt.

But.

First, do people still do this? I want to say this is a fad going the way of the sideways hat and the thick gold chain. People still portray rappers (and by extension, black men) as looking like early 90s Flava Flav even though that look has been unpopular for a good two decades. I almost never see the "baggy pants" thing, and when I do, it's on two kinds of people: teenagers (usually suburban ones), and 40 year old washouts. Not exactly accurate representatives of what is trendy and normal in a wide demographic. I'm going to go ahead and say that the average black man demanding anything owns pants that fit reasonably well.

Second, the fact that it looks idiotic isn't the point. A lot of fashion trends look idiotic. Are young white women being blamed for sexism because some of them do the Skillex haircut and wear diaper jorts? Are white frat boys being denied rights because they walk around in muscle shirts, basketball shorts, tube socks, and shower shoes? Do we deny rights to people over 60 because they wear their pants up around their armpits? No. Ugly fashion is ugly fashion, and that's the end of it. It may be an excuse to say "you, as an individual, look like a moron." It is not a good excuse to say "you, and everyone who shares basic demographic markers with you regardless of whether they're wearing the same dumb clothes as you, deserve to be systematically oppressed."

I see some parallels here with victim-blaming and rape culture. Dressing a certain way 'n all that. :|

What is a Jay smooth? Some sort of slushie?

This (to pull their pants up) is the advice given to their male children by white parents everywhere. And many, but by no means all, white parents actually enforce the advice.

J Smooth is saying this is good advice for for white boys (you know, since by his own analogy, white boys have their teeth) and useless advice for black boys (since they have no teeth). Yes, I wholeheartedly agree that black men and boys have serious institutional hurdles that need to be addressed. And I agree that pulling ones pants up will not solve global warming; however, I cannot imagine any real world scenario in which it helpful to pound the message into the heads of black men and boys that they are so screwed they might as well not worry about trying--that they are fools if they waste any energy on any effort to make a good first impression.

Fads come and go. To get excited over fashion fads is a sign of immaturity.

sagging pants is a synecdoche for oppositional culture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppositional_culture

If they pulled up their pants I wouldn't have to look at their a$$ crack, that's what would happen!

Gimme a break, why would anyone who wants the best for the black community encourage this stuff? This style proceeds directly from the emulation of 'jail' fashion, where they don't let you wear a belt (so you won't hang yourself--no shoelaces either in jail & that explains the reason they leave their shoes undone as well). I wouldn't hire a guy w/ his pants halfway down his a$$ much less let him date my daughter, no way.

Black people have a hard enough time getting respect from white people without disrespecting ourselves.

Mocking poor people's survival strategies is cruel. Apparently, appearing a thug is one of the only ways to personally defend oneself in hyper-violent environments. It seems if you don't look like you will immediately defend yourself - you are automatically a victim.

Empathy and research data, not cheap laughs, is key to problem solving. Make people safer, if you want clothing to change, duh.

The obvious behavior is a symptom of the horrible conditions in poor neighborhoods - not the cause of anything.

So interesting reading comments from here and a few other comment based sites from around the Internet about the demographics and attitudes of young males particularly young black males.

So they decide to dress and express themselves in a manner which says "f*ck you" who are we to pass any judgements on Them ? The fact the so called civilised people need to gossip about he/she where/what black/coloured display what seems to be a real insecurity about such things, young black men that I have spoken to whether it be on the street or various public spaces seem to be fully aware of the subtle arrangements and hegemonic mis-representations but at the end of the day, who knows what's around the corner...!?

They are a fiercely subtle but intelligent group and when I have stopped to quiz some of these guys, they speak about institutional racism, gender bias and how independent movements for self preservation are occurring on a large scale, essentially they don't care

Would it be erong not to hire someone with their pants below their butt. I believe this is degrading and does not present my company. What is your take on this subject.

Pants below the butt says: I'm a slob/asshole/jackass/fool/ignoramus - I don't bathe - I need to distract from my stupidity - I have no goals of any merit - I'm worthless, ignorant, and can't put a coherent sentence together - I care about no one, and vice versa - I don't have a pot to piss in - I don't accept responsibility. etc...

I'm a walk around with my pants down like the prison favorite to protest that black men get no respect.

I'm a walk around with my pants down like the prison favorite to protest that black men get no respect. And by the way, this article is doo dah.