"Criminal sagging?" Topic

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Whether it can be made to be a criminal offense or not, boiled down it's just a ridiculous way of personal expression, IMHO. And we can thank the current entertainment climate for that.

My two cents in the kitty.

Stupid fashion, Stupid law.

Useless law. Just prosecute under "indecent exposure" statutes if its too blatant. Besides, its a crime prevention tool. Someone who sags can't outrun the cops.

Wyatt

Youth fashion are made to look stupid, they're teenagers! No better or worse than hippies fashion of the 60s or any other teenager fashion.

Anyways, other cities have tried before, it has always been overturn by courts.

I take it back. It appears that there's a couple of valid reasons for going after this "fashion trend."

1) Its easier to conceal drugs

2) Its easier to conceal a weapon – and more difficult for other gang members to know if you're unarmed.

With that last, it now becomes a public safety issue – hence the "probable cause" aspect of the law. For a large number of people its a (stupid) fashion choice, but for the people the wannabe's are aping, its just another criminal tactic.

Wyatt

OK, so why not ban trenchcoats then?

Or large sweatpants?

Or large hoodys?

And on, and on…

Oh, there's a lovely thought. Let's just ban clothes!

Gonna suck in those non-tropical winters, though.

I hate the fashion. At least once a year some boy's pants fall off in class, and I really didn't want to know he's wearing Scooby-Doo underoos. Also, it's damned hard not to start laughing as I tell him to pull up his pants.

Yes, our school has a dress code. No, it does no good to send them to the office for dress code violations, especially the 'droopy drawers' offense, since all they do is hitch up their britches on the way, and then I'm an over-reacting hag who hates the students.

At least they didn't target whale tails.

Wait until they go after "Plumber's Crack"!

I take it back. It appears that there's a couple of valid reasons for going after this "fashion trend."

It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.
- George Washington

LLC aka Ron

I'm 42 years old, and my trousers hang off my arse due to the size of my gut not allowing me a waistline – I suppose I'll be arrested there too, and Im not even trendy.

Damn the man…dude.

Just lock them up for looking stupid. Do we really need a law for that? Just do it.

We will all end lock up if we do that OFM!

Unfortunately, it's a tell-tale of the gangs, which have grown exponentially in number, presence and influence. In the early 70's, when the gangs were getting started, they existed only in the large metropolitan areas, namely New York, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. Today, according to the FBI, there is almost no region in the U.S. that does not have a gang presence. And I'm not talking about wannabes mimicking their favorite rapper; I'm talking about violent criminal activity, both juvenile and adult, including assault, robbery, extortion, drug traffic, rape and murder.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the spread of gangs is in no small way related to gang dress and media presentation. Some kid sees a rapper, media character, etc., who's presented as a "tough guy" standing against "the man," and the kid thinks "cool." He mimics the character's dress (no big deal), but along with it, he mimics the character's perceived "attitude"— namely disrespect for authority, dismissal of social rules, and casual disregard for the feelings and needs of others, particularly women. It's not much of a step from that to dismissal of legal rules and an acceptance of brutality towards others. If we can stop the spread of the attitude, we can curtail the spread of gangs.

Just lock them up for looking stupid. Do we really need a law for that? Just do it.

Well, someone's over 30.

I think this is a "crime" that is its own punishment. When it becomes "cool" to act like an idiot, they're welcome to it. Its letting people brand themselves. This is why flag burning should remain legal – it lets us immediately identify flag burners. Make it illegal to demonstrate your folly and it becomes harder to spot the fools.

I understand people's irritation. I'm irritated. But a an irritated majority doesn't mean its appropriate to take a way a freedom, even a stupid freedom.

We need to deal strongly with illegal gangs, but not by removing freedoms – you either make stupid dress a cause celebre, while the ones hiding weapons and signaling each other will move on to other techniques. We need to cope with illegal gang activity on a person to person, lefal level, not use fashion laws as a shortcut. Its against the spirit of the constitution and it won't work well.

Andrew

Maybe a national dress code administered by government fitters to guarantee a proper fit. Say black slacks, and white shirts (ties optional) for men, and a below the knees modest black dress for females. of course make pockets limited and tight so you cannot conceal much of anything in them. maybe transparent outerwear for colder weather, and some uniform head wear. the fashion industry wont like it but if it makes even one child safer it will be worth it.

Its only a tactic for the police to pick up gang-members and excons. Yes, it does infringe on liberty…however given the scope of the problem in Flint, it is justified. This is a symptom of Michigan's bigger problems, but those can't be addressed…Uhoh…Time for the Blue Fez.