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Group spending $2,000 a month on ads that lie about saggy pants
By adamg on Tue, 02/19/2013 - 9:31am
The Globe reports that's how much the Black Mental Health Alliance of Massachusetts is spending on video ads that threaten black teens with arrest for wearing their pants too low even though the ads are completely wrong since there are no criminal penalties for saggy pants.
Neighborhoods:
Ad:
Comments
You know
you can actually be arrested for all kinds of things that most people are unaware of. There are MANY laws on the book, and many are pretty vague. One law that's an arrest-able offense is causing a 'scene' or 'spectacle' in public which cause people to stare. There are also pretty vague 'decency' municipal by-laws.
Please see the second link in the post
The law the ads cite is now used specifically to go after people performing acts in public that go way beyond wearing pants too low, specifically masturbating and urinating in public. The Suffolk County District Attorney's office says it has never prosecuted somebody for too-low pants and has no plans to.
Some disturbing case laws on the subject.....
Indecent Exposure requires an exposure of the genitals, not the butt, pubic hair or genitial area, including female breasts. A thonged bottom, would also not qualify under the indecent exposure statue, but could under the open and gross statute, depending on the circumstances.
The open and gross is similar but the suspect must have the intent to "produce alarm or shock".
The audience must also be "unwilling", so strip clubs and the like are always exempt from these laws.
Hobbies
There are SO many good books to read, movies to see, tv series to catch up on, ski trails to be skied, restaurants to be tried, pilates classes to be attended, sweaters to be knitted, internet articles to be commented on....these people need to get a hobby.
Calm down
I've seen the ad. It just makes the point that you can't have respect for yourself walking around with your pants falling down. Which is pretty accurate.
pretty accurate except..
....for that whole Going to Jail part.
Justin Bieber ashamed all the way to the bank
Along with other fashion victim pop stars.
Wait, you can't have respect
Wait, you can't have respect for yourself if you wear your pants low? Is this somehow related to people who say women can't have self-respect if they wear miniskirts?
A few people on here have
A few people on here have small brains that's all. They don't think before they type
Pants on the ground
You sound like one of the apologists, with low expectations for black kids cause you think they can't do any better. Dude, Obama's president. A black dude. And he doesn't wear his pants on the ground
Baggy pants are silly but it's not really that big a deal.
Intentionally saggy pants are an eminently silly way to dress. But it's ultimately just a fashion choice, and therefore mostly a subjective matter of taste. In principle people should try to comform their clothing styles to the general population so as to better coexist with society, but teenagers of all races tend to do stupid things and wear stupid clothes. For some reason excessively baggy pants have remained inexplicably popular over the years with young black men, but that doesn't mean we have to moralize it. As long as they are aware that you don't show up to a job interview dressed like that it's a fairly minor affectation.
Fair enough.
Still, it's their money, and I'd have to chuckle either way - marketing folks take client's money for anything (think political and superbowl ads of uncertain effect) and some people will believe anything (I just need your bank account information and we'll share this cash I've been embezzling from the good people of Nigeria).