an african american friend emailed this to me and I would like to share it with you and get your input:Saggin Pants
Pass this on to Our Youth, Our Parents, Our Black Men and Women
Letter from a college student
The other day, a friend of mine visited me in the lobby of my dorm just to chat while her laundry was drying. As we were chatting, two young freshmen came by. One of the 2 boys wanted to %26#039;talk%26#039; to my friend (as in date). She asked him how old they were, and both of the boys replied 18. My friend and I both laughed hysterically because we are both 22 years old.
After my friend left, the young men were still hanging around and one wanted to know how he could gain her interest.
The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants! He asked why, and then said he liked saggin %26#039; his pants. I told him to come over to my computer and spell the word saggin%26#039;. Then I told him to write the word saggin %26#039; backwards.
S-A-G-G-I-N
N-I-G- G-A-S
I told him the origin of that look was from centuries ago. It was the intent of slave owners to demoralize the field workers by forbidding them to wear a belt as they worked in the fields or at any other rigorous job. In addition, men in prison wore their pants low when they were %26#039;spoken for%26#039;. The other reason their pants looked like that was they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide. And, saggin%26#039; pants prevents you from running.
We as young Black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media has made a mockery of the Black American. Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don%26#039;t take us seriously. Something as simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head held high could make the biggest difference in the world%26#039;s perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves. We need to love and embrace each other. No one is going to do that for us.
It all comes down to perception. What people perceive is what reality to them is. We have to change not only the media%26#039;s perception of us, but we need to change our perception of ourselves.
Remember all eyes are on you Black Man. All eyes are on you Black Woman. All eyes are on your Black Child. People point the finger at us and expect us to engage in negative and illegal activities, to manifest loud, boisterous behavior, to spend our hard earned money in their stores, buying goods we don%26#039;t need, or really want. We have allowed not only the media, but the government and the world to portray us as a %26#039;sub-culture. %26#039; They have stripped our culture down to the point where the image of Black people is perpetuated as rappers, athletes, drug users, and consumers of junk food, expensive tennis shoes, expensive cars, expensive TVs, cell phones and not investing in homes for our families.
We are so much more!!!!!!!
To all our Black Men : It%26#039;s time to stand up. There are billions of Black Women who want to do nothing more than worship the ground that you walk on. We are so in love with your potential. We want to have your back, we want to love, support20and cherish every ounce of your being. But with that you have to show that you are willing to be the head of our households. You have to prove yourselves worthy of our submission. We need you to be hard working...Not a hustler. We need you to seek higher education, to seek spirituality. We need you to stand! And trust us; we will have your back. We know that it gets hard. We know you get weary. Trust and believe that there is nothing that a Black Man and a Black Woman can%26#039;t handle with GOD on their side.
To all our Black Women : It is also time for you to stand up. It is time for you to stop using our bodies as our primary form of communication. It is time to be that virtuous woman that Proverbs spoke of. You cannot sit by the wayside while our men are dying by the masses. You are the epitome of Black Love. It starts within you. You need to speak with conviction to let not only our Black Men know, but the world, that you are the Mothers of this world. You are so powerful. You are so beautiful. You need to love and embrace every blessing God has given us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
For all our Black Children : We need to love them. We need to teach them. We need to stand up for them. We need to protect them. We need to show them that there are no %26#039;get rich quick%26#039; schemes. We need to tell them that they WILL die trying if they submit to a life of crime and deceit. We need to teach our children that no one will love them the way we can. And be ing a basketball player, a rapper, or a drug dealer is not reality. It%26#039;s not realistic and only a small percentage of people ever make it as a rapper or professional athlete. We need to teach our children that we can be more than rappers and athletes. We can be the owners of these sports teams. We can be the CEO%26#039;|||Wow I did not know that about the saggin pants.
I agree that we need to rise above the %26quot;n!gga%26quot; lifestyle and show people ourselves that we are decent humans just as they are. Our perception around the world is ruined due to the media. We also need to grow thicker skin and lose the victim mentality.
Although there are more things than the media we need to recognize to improve our image.
Some of these answers are concluding that the media runs the young american mind...|||That was really good, and so true. I%26#039;m a 25 year old blk male and I don%26#039;t even sag. Just don%26#039;t see the purpose in all that. Makes you look tacky. I%26#039;m beyond that.|||oh ok|||I didn%26#039;t read the question but it%26#039;s obvious that not all young black men wear saggy clothing and for those who do I%26#039;m sure they%26#039;re smart enough to know not to wear their clothing this way for certain events.|||you%26#039;re late. Black guys wear skinny jeans now. Catch up with the times. sheesh.|||it%26#039;s going out of style where i am|||@ I hate prejudice..you completely missed the point of this post.|||Why are people posting ignorant thinga out black people?
Wow people really need to of there hillbilly towns.
I see mor white kids and asians sag more than anybody.
Black kids are starting to be hipsters now were I live. Keep up on the trends.|||I only see white trash %26quot;saggin%26quot; these days, please drive by the nearest trailer park to confirm my answer.|||Black people make their own decisions. Stop blaming the media for any negative attitudes towards black people.
And by the way, black people already know this information about %26quot;saggin%26quot;. In fact, that%26#039;s why they do it.|||Damn It Why Do People Love Black People So Much I Mean 90% Of The Questions Here Are About Blacks I Mean It%26#039;s An Obsession Now!
-Mexican Who Loves Blacks|||This spam is such BS it%26#039;s not even funny. Black people have problems but it no spam email is going to solve them.|||I don%26#039;t respect any man that shows his underwear. I think that%26#039;s showing the world that you don%26#039;t care about yourself so you also don%26#039;t care about anyone else.|||saggin will never go out of style. and if you spell s-a-g-g-i-n-g like this = g-n-i-g-g-a-s. you feel me.|||old joke.|||I%26#039;m not reading all of that.|||quit obsessing over black people...
get a life
edit: im just tired of people questioning everything that blacks like to do when white people do some of the wierdest ish too(wierd peircings, pink hair, mohawks, ect.)
if its okay for the white youth to express themselves then blacks can do what ever the **** they want too.
