Well, it seems that the civil liberties of us young'ns are still intact — for now.
Virginia's Senate on Feb. 11 dropped a bill that would have imposed a $50 fine on people whose baggy, sagging or low-riding pants exposed their underwear.
The state's House of Delegates had passed the bill by a 60-34 vote just two days earlier. The argument: People wearing pants that exposed their underwear were "coarsening" society.
"To vote for this bill would be a vote for character," the bill's author, Algie T. Howell, a Democratic delegate, was quoted as saying. "To uplift your community and to do something good not only for the state of Virginia, but for this entire country. "Yeah, because terrorists and weapons of mass destruction could be hidden in those baggy jeans. Louisiana tried to pass a similar bill in May. It, too, was killed by state lawmakers. But not before it made news for being the "baggy pants bill."
Maybe lawmakers will catch on that trying to ban fashion trends just doesn't work. The trends usually just go away on their own. Meanwhile, a state representative in Iowa is trying to ban spinning rims on cars. You know, the ones that keep spinning even while the car is stopped. They're usually on SUVs, and they cost about $2,000 per set. Iowa Rep. Doug Struyk was at a four-way stop around Christmas time. He was pulling a trailer full of ladders. He says he couldn't tell whether another car was stopping because of the spinning rims, so he slammed on his brakes and almost jackknifed himself. And that's why, he says, they should be illegal.
Maybe he should work on a different project. Perhaps something about refining his state's drivers license requirements? Aw heck, why don't lawmakers just start banning other aspects of youth culture that they just don't get? Let's make it illegal to wear caps backward. Let's limit the places where people can pierce their bodies. Oh, and let's just ban hip-hop altogether. But before we do all that, let's think back a little bit. Remember when Elvis Presley shaking his hips was obscene? Now he's on stamps. How about when women started wearing hip-hugger jeans and miniskirts? Oh, the shock. Now thongs are all the rave.
Tattoos used to be taboo. Only bikers, gang members and hooligans had them, right? Now they're a cute way to express yourself. Only drug dealers used to carry pagers. Now if you don't have a cell phone, something's wrong with you. Long hair, Afros, Mohawks, dyed hair — all, at one point or another, were either ridiculed or looked down upon. Now, no big deal. And remember when people wearing zoot suits in the 1940s were targeted by police as criminals? Generations later, we're still fighting the same battles against pop culture. Older generations looking at younger generations and shaking their fingers. Younger generations insisting the older generations "just don't get it."
Right now, it happens to be baggy pants,
Custom Wheels and Spinning Rims. That's life. That'll never stop. Trends and styles come and go. Some are cool. Some are stupid. But they don't need to be regulated by laws. Imagine the world today if someone stopped The Beatles from coming to America in the '60s because of their long hair. Or if platform shoes and bell-bottoms were outlawed in the '70s. Or if lawmakers tried to ban pagers in the '80s and tattoos in '90s. It would seem pretty silly, huh? Now, out and shine your 20's!
