Sagging Saga
We may never know for sure why people decided to start wearing their pants lower and lower, eventually exposing their underwear and more. Some sources say it started as a trend from prison culture. Inmates aren’t allowed to have belts, and if their uniforms are too big, there’s nowhere for pants to go but down.
However it happened, the trend is now mainstream. Cities in Louisiana, and around the country, are trying to bring waistlines back up. It started when the small town of Delcambre in south Louisiana passed a city ordinance creating penalties for wearing pants that turn underwear into outerwear. Mansfield passed its own ban earlier this month. People cited for sagging starting on September 15 will have to pay a $150 fine and court costs, or spend up to 15 days in jail. Now Shreveport and Alexandria have also passed ordinances banning the big britches.
Atlanta, Georgia, has also passed an ordinance to outlaw the sagging pants, but legal experts there have said the rules would not hold up in court because telling someone how to dress violates the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
What do you think about the bans? What do you think about sagging pants?
August 29th, 2007 at 4:43 am
Aside from just being sick and tired of seeing young men and boys showing their underwear (often not clean) and their butts all over town and around my home, I think this gross display of ignorance says a lot about the persons whom are doing it. They are immature and they are followers not leaders in their communities. Most are not even aware that this idea of running around showing their butts to the world, and sagging their pants, shorts and underwear, started in Prisons and other Penal Institutions as a signal of one inmate telling another that they were available for sexual relations. Unless Shreveport has a lot of black men inviting sexual contact with one another, I think that if they were aware of this, they would not be doing it. Rather than the government prying into the personal lives of others and their freedom, I think, the media should make it known to these characters, the message that really is meant by this sort of display. I am sure it would then decrease, if not end all together! I am sure too, that this is the IN THING right now in order to be a hip thug in this city, and like other fads I have seen in my lifetime, it too, will soon pass.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:43 am
I can not believe it has had to come to this but I am very glas these laws are being passesd. I would have thought that responsible parents would have corrected the problem by now. This issue is just another perfect example of LACK OF HOME TRAINING. Parents are failing to instill morals in their children today. This lack of morals is the cause of most problematic issues with children today.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:55 am
Only problem with new law is the fines are too small. They should also be charged with indecent exposure and pay the fine for that crime too. Officers should have give EVERY person ticket immediatley NO questions asked. I really feel this should be a federal law.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:59 am
I hope the people of Shreveport are proud of their city representatives wasting valuable time & resources on such an idiotic topic.
Will the city form another regulatory division, along with hiring more officers to enforce this asinine ordinance?
It is amazing to me the only rep speaking out in opposition, & rightly so, to this ludicrious ordinance is the only sitting councilman who has a felony conviction for bribery. Welcome to the United “Fascist” States of America.
August 29th, 2007 at 6:30 am
RON YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. SAGGING PANTS ARE A SIGN IN PRISON THAT THE PURSUER WANTS SEXUAL RELATIONS. JUST LIKE TAPPING YOUR FOOT IN A BATHROOM STALL. WE HAVE AN AWFUL LOT OF QUEERS AROUND THE AREA. PULL YOUR PANTS UP! 3 CHEERS TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR GLOVER.
August 29th, 2007 at 8:10 am
GOOD SHOW!!
I HATE IT HAS COME TO THIS , BUT LET’S PUT OUR FOOT DOWN AND LET PEOPLE KNOW HOW THEY DISGRACE OUR SOCIETY WITH THEIR HOODLUM WAYS!!!
August 29th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
This isn’t one of the biggest concerns I feel like the people who voted for this have nothing else to do. I feel like there should be more focus on things to do for young people and to get the homicide rate down bossier didn’t have to put an ordinance in put you see very few people sagging. Bossier City doesn’t focus on things like this. I blame the law enforcement also because they put their foot down on silly things. I don’t see anything wrong with the pants its a lot of things that we don’t like but we get over we cant make an ordinance about things on the job. So I feel like they should suck it up and try to do better things with the city, kids , murder rate, make people who plan to leave this country city wanna stay when they get out of college. I would much rather see Shreveport grow. I have visited many other cities such as Houston, Atlanta, Miami just to name a few cities and this is not their man concern. They see people cruising and they dont harrass them because they have rims Shreveport Police Department needs to find better things to do with the community and make this place safe not worried about looking at someone’s butt.
August 29th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
It is a shame that so many people have devoted their time and their lives for our freedom and we don’t have our freedom. What about the Bill of Rights. I guess if those people would have known that our freedom would be taken away they wouldn’t have died trying to get it.I think that this is ridiculous because we have more important things to worry about other than people sagging. We need to be more concerned about homicide, robberies, medicare, and the war. People have nothing else better to do with their time than to tell people how they can wear their pants.
August 29th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I agree that this form of dress is in very poor taste and disgusting to most people, however, do we really want laws telling us how we must dress and what we must wear and how we wear it. Wouldn’t it be more practical for businesses and public buildings to post signs and enforce it barring this type of dress in those places. I know we have all seen on resturant doors(NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO SERVICE). If you go to the court house you will see a sign with dress and cell phone restrictions. If this type of law is allowed, it scares me to think what we may be subject to in the years to come. A simple solution would be for people to dress as to not offend others. We can not expect that but certain places we all go from time to time like malls could expect and demand it. The boardwalk did and it is a pleasant place to visit.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:52 am
I think only sissies show their underware. But…I’ve got a nail gun that can solve that problem.
August 30th, 2007 at 6:00 am
I agree with Brown, I don’t like the sagging pants at all and if we are going to start making laws up then womens low cut tops and skirts, mens sleevless shirts, when its hot working in the yard no shirt should be banned aswell and lets not forget the girls that run around in mens boxers. Our constitution gave us freeom of expression and goverment and state are slowly stripping us of our rights.
August 30th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Some of you folks who are complaining about this new ordinance must really like looking at these young men’s not-so-clean underwear. I bet if it was turned around and a lot of our young ladies wore there lowrider lower than lowrider are suppose to go and exposing their thongs or whatever there would be no complaints, so lets just say that no matter what sex we are no one wants to see another person undergarments,it may be infringing on saggers rights to freedom of expression but majority of people in Shreveport and surrounding areas don’t want to see it,and there is a law for indecent exposure and those who sag should get a ticket for that offense.
August 30th, 2007 at 8:25 am
I think the “Sagging” fad is gross!! As a parent, I feel first and formost that the parents of these so called “saggers” should be ashamed of themselves. To allow their children to go around in public dressed as they do. I hear people complaining about the Law officals not doing anything about the current laws just making up new ones, well, what are they to do when many kids look up to law breakers as their idols and the parents of said kids are too busy with their own lives to give the attention they need for guidance. Listen to the news, read the paper its all there, this one busted for drugs, that one for DUI. Not to mention the many children that have parents in jail or prison. Why are the parents not pointing out the GOOD! roll models for the kids to imulate or making themselves (parents) the best influence? WHY? They are taking the easy way out for themselves, they don’t want to be bothered with bringing their kids up respectable, they are too hungry for the next new gadget or trying to out do the neighbors things.
If parents and self control can not or will not prevail in controlling the situation the City, State, and Goverment has to get involved to insure the rights of the many not the few. If memory serves me right we as a nation vote on many things and the majority of the votes win. As for someones rights to wear what they wont, Yes you have your right to do that, but in your OWN space not when you are in EVERYONE elses space, we have our right too!
Please keep your pants at your waist! The only person that would not find offense to see your underwear or heaven forbid the flesh of your rear is your own mother.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I find it interesting that some of you think just because the law has not yet attacked other disgusting dress habits, ie low cut tops with bras showing or low rider pants showing underwear, that the law shouldn’t start with sagging pants. Is it that maybe you or someone you know enjoy this rude, lack of respect for others in the community? I don’t care if it is man, woman, child, black or white. This form of dress is just indecent. As for this being a cut at freedom of expression, what exactly are they supposed to be expressing? I think that I would rather choose to use my freedom of expression in a more productive way rather than “I should be able to show my undergarments to whomever I please”. As a matter of fact, why wear pants at all? Why go half way when you can go all the way. And lastly, about the law enforcement having better things to work on. That is absolutely true, however, there are barriers to law enforcement when it comes to trying to control crime. I happen to know first hand. The law is written in such a way as to frequently prevent law enforcement from doing their jobs to the full extent. And do you really think that having a law to prevent people from showing their underwear prevents them from going after murderers, robbers and such? That is ridiculous. All that means is that when they are doing their job, if they come across someone whose pants are sagging indecently they can make them cover their butts. They are not going to be out prowling for saggers instead of worrying about crime. And as for the people who write the laws, they have done about as much as they can to make laws for criminals. They are unfortunately held back by bleeding hearts who think that criminals, no matter how heinous, deserve rights. No doubt if parents were raising there children to have morals and respect for others, we would have much less crime…and no sagging pants. If those of you who think that you should have the right to sag your pants, would pull them up and look half way respectable, the rest of us might take you seriously about your more important concerns.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:28 am
i think it’s stupid that they r tryin to ban saggin pants it’s like takin our rights away and thats not kewl
September 26th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
We dont even have people with enough guts to even pass this law in Natchitoches. Hope they like looking at ass. Most of their kids are the ones that are guilty.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
I believe that to pass this law would be the dumbest thing that could happen.
It’s nothing wrong and besides that people express themselves this way even if most people don’t like it. Which makes no sense because everyone has that RIGHT and I see no point why it should be taken away.
You may not like it or agree with me but the thing we need to focuss on is that everyone has the right in the pursuit of happiness and if that makes them happy then so be it.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:10 am
I THINK THIS IS KIND OF SIMPLE TO EXPLAIN, AS TO WHY THIS SAGGING PRACTICE SHOULD BE BANNED. UNDERWEAR IS WHAT YOU WEAR UNDER YOUR CLOTHES, NOT OVER YOUR CLOTHES OR OUTSIDE OF YOUR CLOTHING. IF THIS CONTINUES; THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP IS FOR ONE TO ACTUALLY WEAR BRIEFS OVER THEIRS PANTS, THEREBY EXPOSING EVERY PART OF THE UNDERWEAR. IS THAT AN ACCEPTABLE FORM OF SELF EXPRESSION? HOW ABOUT SOCKS OVER SHOES? OR SKIRTS STUFFED INTO PANTYHOSE. OH, THAT’S RIDICULOUS YOU SAY? BUT WEARING PANTS SO LOW AS TO EXPOSE DISGUSTING SKID MARKS IS COOL? THERE HAS TO BE A LOGICAL CUT OFF POINT SOMEWHERE. IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO WEAR A BELT FINE, DO WHAT YOU WANT. IF THAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE A REBEL, A THUG GOOD FOR YOU, BUT REMEMBER, THIS ONLY MAKES IT EASIER FOR THE POLICE TO BE MORE SPECIFC IN THEIR PROFILING OF THUGS.