Its only fashion, relax Rush Limbaugh lovers.
Droopy drawers are getting a bum rap in Flint, Mich.. Earlier this month, Flint Police Chief David Dicks said his department would arrest people wearing saggy pants that expose skivvies, boxer shorts or bare bottoms.
The crackdown is a rather cheeky enforcement of disorderly conduct and indecent exposure laws. Both misdemeanors are punishable by 93 days to a year in jail and/or fines up to $500.
In brief, Dicks, like many parents, is tired of seeing “immoral self expression” that “goes beyond the freedom of expression.”
We think there’s better things for Dicks’ department than serving as fashion police.
We do, however, understand his agony.
If it were up to many of us longing to be fashion police, we’d place bans on middle-aged men who wear black sandals, anyone who talks on a Bluetooth headset in line at the grocery store or joggers who wear dark clothes at night.
If anything, police should welcome criminals who wear saggy pants: It’s harder for suspects to flee when their drawers are around their knees. Also, we wonder whether Flint’s law should apply to plumbers or roofers whose pants shift to provide all kinds of southern exposure.
Droopy drawers have other cities covering their behinds.
In Lynwood, Ill., pants must not expose 3 inches or more of underwear. Penalties will be imposed soon in Riviera Beach, Fla. As in Flint, Mich., we expect the American Civil Liberties Union to get involved and fight these bans.
In these cities, authorities don’t see parents parenting and decide they have to jump in. But let’s not worry about fashion trends that don’t always make sense: Beatle boots, bell bottoms, the Material Girl look.
We’re the first to admit that we don’t necessarily understand the social trend where young men let their pants hang around their thighs. Whether it comes from prison life, gang culture or the inability to buy a belt, we’re not sure.
In the end, we also aren’t going to guess at the personalities of these young men and make judgment calls that can only serve to stereotype. Applying indecency laws when bare buttocks are exposed seems reasonable. But cinching up baggy pants via police enforcement is taking it too far.
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