Take The Rat Out Of The Hood

Brothers and sisters look at what I am saying and don’t get caught up with keeping your own lifestyle safe. Xen I referred to you in a positive light as far as your dreads but you just convinced me of you moral character when you started using profanity. I am not trying to bring no one down I am mealy saying if we allow our children to dress an act any how they are destine for destruction. I want some one to give me a testimony of a young black man (who walks wearing his pants on his butt walking around with a white tee shirt on an unkempt hair)[and their hair is unkempt not styled, like XEN.QUOTE] (NOT DREADS XENOCIDE) TELL US WHAT POSITIVE THINGS THEY DOING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY. Finally sister who got Hollered by a dirty man then you found out he was rich, personally I don’t care how much money you have If you walk around dirty and unkept It says that you don’t care about your self so how could you care about me. So I am saying It was a blessing you did not know he was rich.

[shankems2000]

Originally Posted by triniman

TELL US WHAT POSITIVE THINGS THEY DOING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY.

I work 5 days a week and am in my sophmore year in college working on a degree in computer science. My friend Kevin works at the same place I work and he's working on a degree in accounting. Cory is working at Home Depot and has recently been promoted to 2nd man (assistant manager) in his dept. Is that enough for you?

brother i dont think you walk around being a menace to society. so get you education. keep it real and embrace your upbringing. if you think it is black culture to look like a hoodlum you need TO read about SHAKA ZULU.

[Corals]

Originally Posted by RanRan

I can't even mess with this thread. It's a sad fact but there will always be people who choose to judge people by things as superficial as clothing. I reckon some of it is some people's desire to be accepted by white folks. But some Black folks have different issues going on. I see some of our people have a love for degrading other Black people without a reason that holds up. That you target the children says a lot more. See your words and deeds tell me more about you than anything you could ever wear on your body and I'm glad I make my judgements based on that as opposed to something trivial. Maybe it's a good thing that's all we can really see here in Afrochat, each other's words. Other than that some folks might be running scared, searching for another discussion group whose dress code is apparently more befitting of what good, law abiding people wear. Sent thanks to Xen, Shankems, Jacqui, and Baba for great posts.

It is fact that through clothing we communicate some things about ourselves. With certain styles the identity will vary depending on identity of the wearer, the occasion, the place, the company, a person's culture and even their mood. Likewise it can emphasis a person's social class, but as I said before, that identity might not necessarily be the true identity of the wearer.

We call tell a person culture from the way they dress; and sometimes we can tell the kind of work a person does from their dress also. We can distinguish between someone who works in a coal mine from someone who works in an office. So dress does communicate a lot about the wearer whether we accept the fact or not.

[Jackson]

Originally Posted by triniman

brother i dont think you walk around being a menace to society. so get you education. keep it real and embrace your upbringing. if you think it is black culture to look like a hoodlum you need TO read about SHAKA ZULU.

I just need to clarify something. Are you saying there is a correlation between urban dressing and behaving like a hoodlum?

[shankems2000]

Originally Posted by triniman

brother i dont think you walk around being a menace to society. so get you education. keep it real and embrace your upbringing. if you think it is black culture to look like a hoodlum you need TO read about SHAKA ZULU.

Of course I don't, but as Jackson said, it seems as though you're correlating a certain manner of dress with being a thug or a "hoodlum". What I told you in my last post was that my friends and I dress in a way in which many people would consider us thugs, but we're all in school and have jobs, have never been arrested, don't go around starting trouble etc.

look at what Corals have to say and I rest my case.

Originally Posted by Corals

We call tell a person culture from the way they dress

Exactly. Now it's unfortunate that a lot of people equate hiphop culture with Black American culture. As if the 2 are one and the same and there's nothing more to us than that. But at the same time hiphop is a PART of Black American culture. That includes music as well as dress and speech. Now you say we can tell a person's culture from the way they dress and I agree, but why is this particular part of our culture's dress considered a negative and equated with some of the most negative of stereotypes? So what if I wear a doo rag, or baggy jeans (not falling off my *** exactly cuz I think that's just trifling), or a white tee? I still say it has absolutely nothing to do with whether I am or will ever be a criminal and anyone that thinks it does has some serious issues IMO.

Originally Posted by Corals

So dress does communicate a lot about the wearer whether we accept the fact or not.

Yes, you gave examples of it conveying culture and occupation, but again, what does it say about the person themselves? I can not look at a person's dress and know for myself whether they are neccessarily a good person or a bad person, whether they are ambitious or lazy, whether they like a bowl of cereal for breakfast or bacon and eggs. The most I can ascertain from a person's dress is whether they are into fashion do's or fashion don'ts. Now sometimes a person might wear a shirt with a saying or something that suggest how they see the world (for instance a shirt with a confederate flag on it) or someone who is unkempt might suggest self esteem issues. MIGHT being the key word. But knowing for sure? Nah, and whether we do it or not (judging someone by manner of dress) still doesn't mean it's right.

[Jackson]

Well, I thought I was actually going to give this thread a skip, but since I keep bumping into it, here goes. Lol, don’t shoot .

I don’t care what people choose to wear, after all it is their prerogative. Since I entered my teens my casual wear trademark has always consisted of short or long sleeved button down shirts with jeans that don’t sag. That’s what I liked then and that’s what I still like now. I was raised in a home whereby my parents taught me against subscribing to “herd” or “group” mentality. Therefore I’ve always worn what I was comfortable with, whether other boys thought it was the trend or not. I don’t like the oversized clothing look and I certainly would never leave my home with my jeans down by my crack but I don’t judge those who choose to go around dressed like that. This is despite the fact that I had a very nasty run in with some black men in durags, wife beaters, white Tee’s and sagging jeans when I was in California. The run in was so bad that for up till a year after that, I would not get out of my car if I saw a group of black youths dressed like that milling around nearby. Even now there are times I still won’t get out of my car . The experience was too traumatic. However despite that episode I know that not all black men who dress like thugs are actually thugs. That’s what I believe and that is what I told my therapist. It’s just I was attacked in what is classified as a very safe area so I get queasy sometimes.

That being said i am aware that there is such a thing as a "first impression" and that people decide what they think of other people within the first 15 seconds of meeting them. It's sad but it is true. What people choose to wear really shouldn't count, but we live in a society, which is hung up on externalities. Therefore, portraying certain images could lead to unsavoury conclusions being reached by other people. Those conclusions could very well be inaccurate but hey, it’s the society we live in. Externalities count so much that the following is a real possibility…..

Originally Posted by triniman

That comment about if you pay enough money for a home we could do what ever we want in our yard or neighbor hood will only get us black people in 2 places devalued homes and undesirable surroundings.

It’s not like it only applies to black people. I know a white guy who stopped accompanying his parents when they went to view homes because he has the punk image. None of the estate agents ever said it but his parents figured they weren’t getting a home because he looked like a punk and the assumption is that such people play loud rock and noise is an unacceptable element in upmarket neighbourhoods. People also pay for the peace and quiet. So whilst I agree with Shankems that simply because someone dresses like a thug, it doesn’t mean that they are one, I acknowledge that we live in a world whereby perception counts. If you dress a certain way, a conclusion can and will be drawn about your attitude and behaviour from your clothing alone. It’s not right, but the ideal is not reality.

[shankems2000]

Originally Posted by triniman

look at what Corals have to say and I rest my case.

But even she admitted that the identity that may be assumed by a person looking from the outside, may not be the true identity of the wearer, where as you've asserted that it does.