Sagging
may be the norm in the world of rap, but the trend may see an early end if some
residents of a small southwest Georgia town have their way. The
Associated Press reports that people in Plains, GA., are up at arms over seeing
the underwear of young people who are wearing their pants and shorts low. So
much so that members of the Plains City Council plan on asking the town’s
attorney to look into whether they have the authority to regulate sagging. Plains
is best known as the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter, the nation’s
39th Commander in Chief. Protesters
of sagging believe those who engage in the trend could ward off some of the 68,000
tourists who visit Plains each year. The town boasts a population of 600,“To
have a lot of young men walking around like that it creates a bad image of the
place," said Plains City Councilman and anti-sagging campaign leader Eugene
Edge. "We don’t want to infringe on anyone’s rights, but … nobody wants
to look at your rear end. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a person to wear
their pants above their butts." Sagging
pants and shorts have become popular among rappers, who have advocated the trend
in videos, concerts and public appearances. Rap fans soon followed suit as youth
adapted the style and made it their own. Nevertheless,
officials have tried to ban sagging. Although attempts by schools in Columbus,
OH, Kittery, ME, and Red Bluff, CA have been initiated, other efforts ban sagging
have met with failure, according to the AP, which cited a case in which
“droopy drawers” legislation won approval in the Virginia House in 2005.
Senators
later rejected the proposal, saying international news reports on the bill had
embarrassed the state. A
similar bill was turned down in 2004 by Louisiana lawmakers after warnings that
the bill would make the state a laughing stock. The situation has yet to be addressed
in Dallas, TX, where the city attorney was asked to look into a ban by city officials.
As for
Plains, the town’s attorney, Jimmy Skipper, revealed that he hasn’t explored the
legality of the ban.
