Do You Really Want To See This?

There is a movement under way in Atlanta to outlaw sagging slacks and other public displays of underwear, like those bra straps that don't fit under spaghetti-strapped tank tops.

City Councilman C.T. Martin has proposed the legislation. He is hotly opposed by civil libertarians as an infringement of first amendment right of free expression. They also say this is targeted toward black youth. A gentleman on the latter side who was being interviewed on TV declared that sagging jeans is just a style, no different than the miniskirt or the midriff. I think this is a lame argument. Miniskirts and midriffs exposed skin of thighs and midsections, respectively, but nothing you could be arrested for. If these young men didn't wear underwear under those jeans, they butts would be exposed.

My views are somewhere in the middle. I've always hated that so-called "fashion," which reportedly originated in prisons, where belts are not used for safety reasons. But I don't see it as a race issue, just one of bad taste. I do feel that outlawing it seems extreme. I don't feel such attire should be permitted in schools, and that students who show up dressed that way should be sent home.

I'd love it if those merchants who post signs like 'No shirt? No shoes? NO SERVICE' will do the same for exposed underwear. But it's up to them. The fellows who go in for this style might pull up their pants if they can't get served at McDonald's or Popeye's or get into a movie.

One has to wonder how many of these young men will end up in prison yards, wearing work pants that sag . . . .?