Pull Up Your Pants!

I know this topic has been covered by numerous people - the best I've ever heard was Dennis Leary - but I'm really tired of seeing pants hanging around people's knees.

Now I live in an area that's shall we say - "a wee bit rough". Last week I came home to see over a dozen police cars, ETF vans and ambulances paying a visit to a resident in the building next to me. Apparently this upstanding member of the Crips gang had allowed a baby to be photographed holding a gun - this didn't go over well with the local photolab or the police who later viewed it.

My point is that many of the young folks in my area either belong to similar organizations or they want to look the part. This usually consists of wearing clothes eight sizes to big - with giant hooded sweatshirts and baggy pants worn around the knees (okay, it's actually the middle of their ass, but it sure looks like their knees).

For the actual gang members I guess I can understand this - it is their uniform and I suppose they need to dress the part. What I have a problem with is the posers - the wannabees. These kids think it's "phat" or "sick" to dress like this and it does nothing for them but lump them in with the real hoodlums.

Now much of their influence comes from the rap and hip-hop music scene. These artists (I call them that because I actually like the music) portray an image that promotes the "gangsta" culture - drugs and violence are glorified in their lyrics and videos. This is unfortunate because I feel that these very talented people could be using their outlet to promote positive values and role models to our youth, but instead choose to lead them down a path that dooms them to drugs, violence and despair.

I don't know if their is an answer, but I think a good start would be for someone to tell these kids to dress properly, walk proud and for god sakes pull up their damn pants! It's too bad we all live in the fear that such comments, directed to the wrong person, could very likely get us killed.