For my act of resistance, I decided to raise the awareness of the origins of saggin'. I have always been disturbed when I hear people say that saggin' came from men who got "taken" (if you don't what that means...ask somebody cuz it's too inappropriate to post on here) in jail. FYI saggin' originated during the times of slavery. Wearing your pants up over your butt was a sign of respect, prestige, and social class. Slaves were forced to sagg their pants because it kept in a lower class than whites, and it kept them from being able to run away. This was true for men, women, and children. Over time, slaves adapted to this and learned to use clothing lines as belts so that they could be comfortable and able to run away to gain freedom. If a slave was ever caught doing this, the punishment was brutal torture and death. Slaves would be lynched to death for wearing their pants above their butts. For a person, especially black, to sagg thier pants, they are giving off a sign of self-disrespect and lower status in my opinion. Why would you do something that people fought, struggled, and suffered to not have to do? Blacks went through so much to be able to wear their pants above their butts, and it seems like all of that struggle and suffering was for nothing because people, blacks, still sagg their pants.
For my act of resistance/awareness I made flyers and handed them out to people on the street and at Oak Creek Mall in Chicago, Illinois. I also told people at the mall and at King about the origins of saggin' (above). Most of my reactions were positive. I got alot of people who said, "Wow, I didn't know that," "Really," "Interesting," and "I wish more young men knew this, then maybe they would dress more appropriately and presentable," among other things. However, many of the young men I gave flyers to and spoke to about the issue said things like "And so," "Yeah whatever," "That was then, this is now," and "This isn't going to change anything," among other things. I noticed that the boys I talked to at King still sagg their pants except one boy. I don't know what grade he is in or his name because I just randomly stopped him in the hallway and told him about the issue. Everytime I see this boy, now, he is not sagging his pants.
I really wouldn't do anything differently with this project, overall. However, I might construct a solid speech about it and/or make a little more public than I did.
Just as a side note....saggin' spelled backwards.....How far have we, blacks/humans, really come?
SAGGIN
NIGGAS (sorry if this is too inappropriate or too much to handle for some)
THE END
6 comments:
well, i have to respectfully disagree with your negative opinion of saggin'. slaves fought for people after them to be able to wear their pants as they wish. I, for example, sagg my pants not because im lower class or disrespect myself, but because thats just how i prefer to wear them. no one thinks of me as a lower class person because i sagg, and if they do, then they are ignorant and single-minded in my opinion. Rosa Parks fought for blacks to be able to sit wherever they wanted on a bus, but today, we still sit in the back of bus because of preference. does this mean that they are disrespecting her actions for wanting to sit in the back, or that her actions have gone unappreciated? no, i dont think so, and i think its the same in the case of saggin
I respect that opinion, hun, and I agree to an extent. Lower class is pushing it a bit, but as far as self-respect goes...I feel that looking presentable and put together and keeping up your appearance overall is a big part of self-respect. It is just my opinion, but I think saggin' is not presentable or cute. And...I sit in the front of the bus lol.
Ok so, I read over my blog again to see how I worded the lower class part to see if it was offensive, but I didn't say lower class. I said lower status, and I meant that because none of the adult men I know who are in the career field or in college sagg their pants, but the boys at school and guys that just be on the street and men that don't have jobs or have jobs that aren't really careers sagg their pants...just something that struck me as interesting. That's why I said lower "status"...it wasn't meant to mean lower "class". Sorry about that.
sagging also comes from prison.
inmates were not allowed to use belts.
so...they'd sag.
kinda like their representing that prison life..
there's fines for sagging now too.
like up in the hundreds.
That's good...it should be fined. And yeah I know it comes from prison, I just wanted to put the first origins into awareness. And if you think about, there is a connection. The "masters" and "prison guards" don't allow the "slaves" or "inmates" to wear belts. Slaves aren't free and are under the strict rule of someone of much higher power than them, and neither are prison inmates. Interesting...
i wasnt offended or nuthin, i just thought it was a little odd with the lower class thing, but i just read it wrong. and think saggin should be limited to certain places. school, home, casual places, its fine. church, work, interview, its not, and some people dont really realize that and give saggin a bad name. yea, after i wrote the bus thing i talked to like 3 other people and they all said they hate sittin in the back because its harder to get off the bus. but it was a good arguement at the time. haha
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