Let's hope this spreads across North America.
SAN ANTONIO - Saggy pants may be fashionable among urban youth but they won't be allowed on some buses in the state of Texas.
"Pull 'em up or find another ride," reads signs on city buses in Ft. Worth.
The signs went up after the Ft. Worth Transportation Authority, known as "The T," implemented a new policy that prohibits any passenger from boarding a bus with saggy pants that expose the person's underwear or buttocks.
"Riders don't want to see a person dressed like that on a public bus," Joan Hunter, communications manager for The T, told Reuters. "Our customers think it's disrespectful."
The saggy pants look has been around for more than a decade, tracing its roots to prison attire because inmates are not issued belts. It spread to the rap and hip-hop music community, and from there became a popular symbol of freedom and cultural awareness for many young people.
Hunter said the saggy pants policy is an extension of the dress code that The T has had for years, which has long required shirts and shoes.
"A lot of different people ride the bus," she said. "And many of them told us it's not a good idea to have your pants below your buttocks."
She said the decision on whether a potential rider's pants are inappropriate is up to the discretion of the bus driver.
The first day the policy was in place about 50 people were removed for improper pants, Hunter said, adding the overall reaction has been positive.
Following this rule is actually easier than following any other clothing policy we have," she said. "All you need to do is pull your pants up before you get onto the bus. You don't have to go home and get a shirt or get a pair of shoes. Then, after you get off the bus, you can dress however you want." (Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Peter Bohan)
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Pants+ground/4887851/story.html#ixzz1OJyHq82z
A friend of mine recently had her pick-up truck stolen. Because the thief was speeding down the highway, the police pulled him over. The thief then tried to run across a field to escape police, but while climbing over a barbed wire fence his baggy jeans got stuck and he lost his pants. The cops caught him. I have heard of other instances when saggy britches hindered the bad guys and helped the police.
ReplyDelete...a popular symbol of freedom and cultural awareness for many young people.
ReplyDeleteWhich REALLY means: how to identify the young and stoopid.
wv: bandisti. Young Italian men in saggy pants.
I guess I can't take the bus in Ft. Worth.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feeling about this. On the one hand, the baggy pants thing irks me. It's immature, and rather stupid.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I'm not to fond of nanny gov't. Once they get their foot in the door with something like this, then they have set a precedent to regulate what we wear because it might offend one group or the other.