I received an e-mail the other day explaining the origin of SAGGIN or NIGGAS (the reverse). For those of you who are unaware, this is a so called fad; however what many young people don't know and understand is how it came about. First, we need to go way back to slavery. (I know you are probably thinking "Why do Black people always have to talk about slavery? Well, the truth of the matter is, most ills facing America stemmed from slavery, AND it's a part of history that we can't change, so deal with it!) Anyway, the slave owners were trying to find additional ways to demoralize/dehumanize slaves so they would not allow them to were belts. (Yes, Black people did have morals at one point).
The next way this was perpetuated was from prison. Many prisons didn't allow prisoners to wear belts because they could use it to committ suicide. It is also a way for other prisoners to know that an inmate is "spoken for." I guess many young people don't realize this fad is not cute. It is truly sad that young Black boys have a 1/4 chance of going to prison. White males have a 1/23 chance. What is wrong with that picture?
In Lynwood, Illinois, they are issuing $25 tickets for people who sag their pants. I found this chart I posted and in Detroit, it looks like there are various levels of saggin. I think the fines for Detroit could go up to $500 and the offender can spend 93 days in jail. It is a misdemeanor, but come on, let's get real here: Is this the only issue plaguing the African American community? Let's talk about the number of foreclosures, and how about the number of Black males who are constantly going back into a prison system that is supposed to "rehabilitate them." What about the number of African American children that can't read/write/perform math on grade level? Are these not relevant issues? I m
ean, let's get real here: I teach high school and Lord knows I hate seeing drawers and things of that nature, nonetheless, if this is the only concern of police departments, then they need to send some of their officers to other high crime areas.
ean, let's get real here: I teach high school and Lord knows I hate seeing drawers and things of that nature, nonetheless, if this is the only concern of police departments, then they need to send some of their officers to other high crime areas. I found this picture on line and I believe the Deputy Mayor in Dallas is trying to encourage everyone to pull their pants up. There is even a local rapper Dooney 'Da Priest" is getting in on it as well. He has produced a song and a video to encourage young men to change this behavior.
Hopefully young Black men (and older ones) will get rid of this slavery/prison look and start looking like the young intelligent Black men they are. Also, maybe they municipalities will find other ways to utelize their resources.
2 comments:
Since so much of our youth look up to this silly rappers, I was kind of glad when Kanye introduced a new style to everyone. Now more rappers are clean cut and want to look nice. I hope this has a major influence on our youth.
The sad part is, even white guys are getting in on it. I sat behind a hipster white guy at Hot Doug's last Friday and he had his pants sagging and his butt crack was showing. Lovely. As much as I hate it when black guys do it, I think it's even more obnoxious when middle class white guys approximate "black" behavior because they think it's cool or funny or whatever. But you are right -- there are more pressing issues.
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