Menace to Society?
Cops in Flint, Michigan are literally playing fashion police!
According to reports, the city's new chief of police has ordered his officers to start arresting saggers*.
Saggers could face jail time and hefty fines for a fad he calls "immoral self expression."
He later told a local paper the style could give officers probable cause to search saggers.
WTF?
Flint is in America!
We still have some freedom of expression rights in our country, don't we?
Michael Moore, what's your hometown thinking?
No worries…the ACLU is on the case. They've threatened to take the Flint cops to court if they insist on citing peeps for sagging.
*Saggers = fans of wearing their pants low - very low!
Update: A reader points out something very interesting.
"Although I'm not a fan of the baggy jeans look, most folks don't know that the whole look didn't start as a fashion statement, but because poor kids always had to wear hand me down clothing …so in the hood, everyone was wearing pants, shirts and shoes that were way too big for them. The look is a nod to that …and when folks challenge that, it's often because they don't understand the context."
Update #2: Inneresting.
Another reader offers a different take on things.
"On the posting about the new saggy pants citations in Mich you have an update from a reader who points out the tradition stems from poor kids wearing hand-me-down clothes. This is not true. It stems from the fact that when in prison, prisoners aren't allowed to have belts, so their prison issue pants often sag very low. The style of saggy pants was brought to the street as a show of toughness associated with the prison/gangster lifestyle. And the citations aren't really about freedom of expression. One of the main reasons saggy pants are being banned in many places (including in many schools) is because it makes it easier to conceal guns."
Update #3:
You guys are so smart!
Another reader points out an interesting hypothesis, " just an update, they are STRUGGLING in michigan and they are trying to find some way to make money, especiallllly oakland county. that's why they're enforcing this."
[Image via WENN.]
He's Not Gay
Headline of the 
Kudos to the person that knew that this style originated from the fact that inmates were not allowed to wear belts and this is why their pants fell extremely low- not many people know that. I once tried to explain this to someone, and almost ended up in a full blown brawl over it, as they thought i was being an a**hole and trying to put them down
THE COPS LIKE THE IDEA OF SAGGY PANTS - HERES WHY ? THE SO CALLED TOUGH GUYS CANT RUN FROM THE POLICE - THEY DONT HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO PULL UP THERE PANTS AND RUN AWAY…SO THE ARE CATCHING MORE CRIMINALS THIS WAY - TOUGH GUYS PULL UP UR PANTS !!!!!AND REALLY HOW CAN U CONCEAL A GUN WHEN THERE IS NOTHING ON THE WAIST TO HOLD IT - BE REAL !!!
I live in Michigan, in Kalamazoo actually not too far from Flint. I think this law is the biggest crock of shit I have EVER heard in my life. How the hell are you gonna freakin ARREST somebody because of what they're wearing??? I see a lot of people here posting about how they hate the sagging look and whatever… but ya know what I hate it even more when I see those damn stupid Chris Crocker looking emo nerds wearing their TIGHT ass jeans! And their bad haircuts and their freakin My Chemical Romance t-shirts. But nobody's arresting THOSE stupid kids, so why they gotta pick on the "ghetto" kids with the sagging pants?? As long as their balls aren't hanging out, let 'em sag. And usually guys who sag wear long shirts anyway so it's not like you can see their boxers, so whatever. This is bullshit. FUCK THE POLICE!
O.K. I will be the first to say I don't know about how the baggy thing got started. I do however know this…my little brother is in prison and they are NOT allowed to wear their uniform bottoms baggy. Furthermore they are all elastic waistband and they will get a case against them if they are not worn properly.
Flint, MI is in GENESEE County, not Oakland, lol. Not such a smart reader comment after all.
But yes, Michigan is hurting for $$$ right now.
Bullshit. Saggy pants still cover your ass. Half my friends are rednecks who wear Wranglers and believe me they can still conceal a weapon! I live in Michigan and I can't wait to move back to FLORIDA!!!
They are banning this in MANY cities because of indecent exposure and some areassessing fines as well, in small towns and I believe even in trenton NJ. Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago…
Ok, first of all I'm an escapee from Flint MI, which by the way is NOT in Oakland County, where they still have a modicum of wealth. Flint is in Genesee County, where the only remaining wealth is in the pockets of gangsters-gone-legit like Don Williamson, Flints Mayor. Flint is a cesspool and if Williamson thinks that sagging pants tictets is the way to solve it, then he's taken the 'broken windows' concept to a most ridiculous end. The sagging pants came from both the prisons and the poor kids wearing hand-me-downs for the record, and Flint is loaded with both. Now to the gun angle: To those of you who think carrying a gun in sagging pants is easy, try it, preferably in Flint where you'll just 'blend in'. Your brand new G17 will have it's front sight broken off from hitting the floor in no time. I say let the morons wear their pants however they want. The baggier they are, the easier it is to catch them in a foot chase and the Flint cops, God bless them, have a hard enough time as it is without this lunacy.
Oh, and one more thing. Please, People of the World, do not blame us Flintoids for Michael Moore. He is a World Class Lying Moron. I'm amazed that a sausage fingered, stupid, fat, loud-mouthed, egotistical, pussified, blowhard like him made it out of Flint without taking a bullet. I know I never saw him in my ex-city…
Flint, Michigan is located in Genesee County. NOT Oakland County.
acually both of them are wrong. This fad did in fact start in jail, but it was started by the gays. The gay jail birds would sag their pants to show other jailers that they were gay and open for anal sex. I know this sounds odd but that is really how this fad started
that's not true the style of wearing ur pants down low came from inmates in jail. They weren't allowed belts because belts could be used as a weapon, so their pants would always sag
to the 3rd response in your post…flint is in Gennesee county, not Oakland. Flint is also in the top 5 for most dangerous cities in the United States, and the cheif of police was on the local radio here where he discussed why he was fighting for this. It's more gang related, and well as concealment of weapons related than someone making a bad fashion call.
didn't baggy pants go out with boy bands? like early 2000's?
Dear Perez,
can you stop posting pictures of that rapper guy? I went to a museum in Glasgow last week which had a crab on display with a body the size of a giant human head and arms that were 3 meters long. When I saw it I thought it was some kind of mutant and didn't know if I felt nauseated or scared or both. I feel the same way everytime I see a picture of Lil Whatever.
flint is not in oakland county - it is in genesee.
Michael moore was born and raised in Davison, Michigan a very small town 10 miles east of Flint.
this whole story was just a silly news item in the local paper - another news outlet got ahold of it and blew it up bigger than it really ever was in the Flint area.
Chilllllllll.
I just find this funny.
I find the comments even funnier.
Commenter #3 - Oakland County is struggling like the rest, but still is the richest county in Michigan, and Flint isn't in Oakland County.
Flint, Michigan is where the GM motors had a huge plant in the 80's. This auto factory was closed down ("Fahrenheit 9/11" director Micahael Moore did one of his first documentary's on the issue because Flint was his home town). Flint even tried to have an amusement park built to attract people to the city and it didnt work out. They have been struggling for years since the auto factory was closed down. So, it is obvious they are looking for someway to get money (fines) into their government. It is really stupid to think that this could be allowed. oh, and to those who say it is stupid and say that they will be going to jail (Chloe); get your head out of your ass and dont be so ignorant and condescending to people. It may look stupid but there is no reason for you to pass judgement.
Actuall, the second comment is the most accurate even though it isn't completely true. Sagging pants in prison means you are "available". Point blank-I know people who work in prisons and in the law enforcement community and trust me–that's what it means so for all of those of you who think it represents your street/gangsta self–and you've done no hard time-you'll have a rude awakening if you ever go up north.
I think if "celebrities" can walk down the red carpet wearing see through dresses etc, and garments that barely cover their nipples, vags, asses, whatever, then no one should be picking on these guys for not wanting to cover their asses. I HONESTLY don't see the difference between this and Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction", and the fine that was instated was just LIFTED for christ's sake, and THAT was on national tv. Even if it does look dumb, it's these guys RIGHT to wear them how they want. Hell a lot of "fashion" looks stupid and people still want to wear it. This is no different. Its just been around longer.
IThe 3rd comment featured doesn't have basic facts straight. Flint is in Genesee county not Oakland. I would know…I live there. Cracking down on saggers may not be the best way of going about things, but Flint has real problems. Recently many members of the Pierson Rd. Gang have been arrested. Thing of what the sagging pants represent, and what else can be hidden in there besides weapons. The economy here has been declining for a long time, and drugs are a major issue in Flint, as well as violence. The Police need to do something. At least they are trying.