by Judge Greg MathisWe've all seen young Black men wearing white T-shirts and jeans sagging so low that their underwear was on display for all too see. And we've all shaken our heads and wondered what they were thinking, coming outside dressed like that.
The sad truth is that they probably weren't thinking. They are simply emulating popular fashion, not knowing the trend's origin or understanding the potential social and personal consequences of blindly following the masses.
The saggin' pants trend started in prison. Inmates, not allowed to have belts, wear their pants slung low. Once home, they continued the practice. Young boys in their neighborhoods took the look as their own. The trend grew and is immensely
popular in both urban and suburban areas; many White teens now wear their pants dropping below their butts. Emulating prisoners, or any other group, without understanding what you're doing is dangerou
s. For young Black men, the trend is especially self-destructive. Copying prisoners can contribute to a prisoner's mentality. Already our young men refer to a prison stint as a state-paid "vacation" or time away at "school." Prison is not luxurious and education received there will not serve the inmate well once he returns home. Prison has become, for many, an unfortunate rite of passage. Instead of fighting against the odds, too many of our boys are embracing the street mentality. They must understand that prison is nothing more than modern-day slavery. Inmates in some U.S. prisons produce products sold on the open market. They receive just $1 a day while the large corporations that run the prison makes millions.For many of our youth, glorifying the ghetto life and gangsta culture is the modus operandi for "keeping it real." The reality is that there is no glory in living in poverty, going to prison. being killed young or contracting a sexually transmitted disease, all frequent consequences of the thug culture. The current generation of young Blacks is one of the most talented we've ever seen. We repeatedly have proven that we can rise above obstacles. Unfortunately, too many of our youth
are still trapped in a mind-set that ultimately puts them at competitive disadvantage against those who are more privileged. While privileged youth may listen to gangsta rap and mimic some of its culture, at the end of the day, they return to superior schools, economically stable 
households and most of them attend college. Poor youth don't have the option of taking a detour into self-destruction. When they decide to change directions and recapture their potential for success the privileged youth has captured the opportunity.
One proposed solution is to outlaw saggin' pants, as did the town in Georgia. A better approach might be to embrace, educate and challenge our youth on why they should avoid fads and fashions that would be disrespectful to themselves and their community. We should inform them that saggin' , when spelled backwards, describes the type of the person they don't want to be.
We must be consistent, however; we cannot criticize our boys for wearing their pants low when our girls-and some grown women-are wearing low-rise jeans cut so low that the top of their thongs peek out. That particular style has its roots in prostitution, and the pole-dancing exercise rage comes from strippers. As a community, we must be consistent in what, who and how we criticize and encourage our young people
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