In Opa-locka, law would demand: 'Pull Ya Pants Up'
Maya Bell | Sentinel Staff Writer
October 24, 2007
OPA-LOCKA - Wagging her finger, Ines Reid summons the young man with jeans
belted below his buttocks to her parked car. "Baby, pull up your pants,"
she
said. "That's no style. You're showing your underwear."
That gentle admonition came from the heart of the 72-year-old mother of
four
grown sons -- but after tonight, it could carry the weight of law.
The Opa-locka City Commission is poised to make this majority-black city
of
15,000 in Miami-Dade County the first in Florida to ban sagging shorts or
pants that expose boxers, briefs or bare skin below the belt -- or at
least
where the belt is supposed to be.
Related links
a.. 'Pull ya Pants up' by Andy "Bulldog" Cuff (MP3) Audio
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-pullpants-mp3-102307,0,3884040.mp3file?coll=orl_tab01_layout
"It's not decent. It's not respectful. Showing your butt sends a terrible
message," said Commissioner Timothy Holmes, the measure's sponsor.
Nonsense, counters Mark Gelin, as he leaves the Discount City convenience
store, plaid boxers prominent above his low-riding denim shorts.
"Don't they know you can't judge people by how they look?" the 30-year-old
thrift-store manager said. "I get my money legal. I don't sell drugs. If
they're going to buy my clothes, then they can tell me what to wear."
The urban fashion that started in prisons and was popularized by hip-hop
artists in the early 1990s already has inspired anti-sagging laws -- or
debates about adopting them -- in cities and state capitals from Texas to
New York. The small town of Hawkinsville just became the first Georgia
city
to adopt such a ban, following the lead of six cities or parishes in
Louisiana, and beating its big sister, Atlanta, to the punch.
'Laws target a specific group'
In Tallahassee, state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, has filed a bill, SB
302,
to ban low-riding pants in public schools.
Some of the laws elsewhere carry fines, jail time or community service,
but
Opa-locka's has no penalties. The ordinance would allow police only to
evict
offenders from city property, including the library, parks and the
historic
Arabian-themed City Hall where the ban is expected to pass tonight.
To civil libertarians, that makes Opa-locka's ban less offensive -- but
still unwarranted governmental intrusion that invites racial profiling.
"The fact is, most kids who dress that way are black or Hispanic, so these
laws target a specific group," said Brandon Hensler, a spokesman for the
American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. "It allows law enforcement to
become fashion police for minority youth."
Yet it is mostly black officials embracing anti-sagging laws. Like Holmes,
many think the look contributes to crime, poor grades and low self-esteem.
The commissioner also plans to post signs across town depicting young men
with britches slouching and messages aimed at changing attitudes.
"How can you hold your head up high when your pants are so low?" reads
one.
"I'm not trying to put no child in jail. I'm not trying to make no parents
pay a fee," Holmes said, dapper in a burgundy leisure suit with matching
socks, loafers and brimmed hat. "All I'm saying is, if they're going to
come
on city property, they have to show respect."
But many in this poor enclave, where the median household income is
$20,300,
wonder whether respect -- or fashion -- can be legislated.
"You change attitudes with relationships, not with laws," said Jannie
Russell, director of Teen Upward Bound, an after-school program.
Dissing saggy pants via rap
At 35, Andy "Bulldog" Cuff agrees. A rapper and actor with bullet wounds
"from head to toe" from growing up on the streets of Opa-locka, he doesn't
oppose the ordinance. But he thinks politicians could better serve the
youth
who strut the streets in sagging pants by providing jobs and serving as
role
models.
"That's how you make a difference," Cuff said. "The politicians -- after
the
elections, we don't see them."
A bill collector by day, Cuff tries to do his part with motivational
speeches and a rap song penned at the behest of one of his "angels," the
director of the Youth Co-Op, a remedial-education and
employment-assistance
center in Opa-locka where he graduated almost 20 years ago. Cuff said
Sylvia
Daughtrey's guidance helped him turn his life around, and now it's his
turn
to do the same for the next generation.
Called Pull Ya Pants Up, the lyrics address the stereotypes Cuff said are
reinforced by the saggy style born when prison inmates were issued
oversized
pants but no belts to prevent suicides and other crimes:
"Uneducated thugs, dressing like strippers/ Buddy, you a man painting the
wrong picture./Even their mommas say don't play with you/ Kids your age
don't respect you/ Police harassing you, constantly checking you."
The song and a heart-to-heart chat with Cuff convinced Chris Shorter, a
co-op participant and portrait artist, to retire his saggy-pants look.
"I started to understand that people treat me different when I look
different," Shorter said.
But back on the street, Leroy Pearson, leaning into Reid's car window at
the
Meat Land grocery, tries to convince the hospital dietitian that clothes
don't make the man. The 18-year-old listens respectfully to Reid's pleas,
protesting only when she tells him that older people like her clutch their
belongings and lock their doors when they spot him coming.
"You don't see a knife or a gun on me," Pearson said, patting down his
pockets. "So why? It's just the style. It's just a look."
Maya Bell can be reached at 305-810-5003 or mayabell@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
CB
After all, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"
http://www.hustleandflow.com/
#Foe
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