Thursday, October 15, 2009

"Saggin Pants"

This is powerful... something to think about... "Saggin Pants"



Pass this on Our Youth, Our Parents,
Our Black Men and Women


Letter from a college student


The other day, a friend of mine visited me in the lobby of my dorm just to chat while her laundry was drying. As we were chatting, two young freshmen came by. One of the two boys wanted to 'talk' to my friend (as in date)... She asked him how old they were, and both of the boys replied 18. My friend and I both laughed hysterically because we are both 22 years old. After my friend left, the young men were still hanging around and one wanted to know how he could gain her interest.


The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants! He asked why, and then said he liked saggin ' his pants. I told him to come over to my computer and spell the word saggin'. Then I told him to write the word saggin ' backwards.


S-A-G-G-I-N

N-I-G- G-A-S

I told him the origin of that look was from centuries ago. It was the intent of slave owners to demoralize the field workers by forbidding them to wear a belt as they worked in the fields or at any other rigorous job. In addition, men in prison wore their pants low when they were 'spoken for'. The other reason their pants looked like that was they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide.

Also, saggin' pants prevents you from running.

We as young Black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media has made a mockery of the Black American. Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don't take us seriously. Something as simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head held high could make the biggest difference in the world's perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves. We need to love and embrace each other. No one is going to do that for us. It all comes down to perception. What people perceive is what reality to them is. We have to change not only the media's perception of us, but we need to change our perception of ourselves.


Remember all eyes are on you, Black Man. All eyes are on you, Black Woman. All eyes are on your Black Child. People point the finger at us and expect us to engage in negative and illegal activities, to manifest loud, boisterous behavior, to spend our hard earned money in their stores, buying goods we don't need, or really want. We have allowed not only the media, but the government and the world to portray us as a 'sub-culture. ' They have stripped our culture down to the point where the image of Black people is perpetuated as rappers, athletes, drug users, and consumers of junk food, expensive tennis shoes, expensive cars, expensive TVs, cell phones and not investing in homes for our families. We are so much more!!!

To all our Black Men : It's time to stand up. There are billions of Black Women who want to do nothing more than worship the ground that you walk on. We are so in love with your potential. We want to have your back, we want to love, support, and cherish every ounce of your being. But with that you have to show that you are willing to be the head of our households. You have to prove yourselves worthy of our submission. We need you to be hard working...Not a hustler. We need you to seek higher education, to seek spirituality. We need you to stand! And trust us; we will have your back. We know that it gets hard. We know you get weary. Trust and believe that there is nothing that a Black Man and a Black Woman can't handle with GOD on their side.


To all our Black Women : It is also time for you to stand up. It is time for you to stop using your bodies as your primary form of communication. It is time to be that virtuous woman that Proverbs spoke of. You cannot sit by the wayside while our men are dying by the masses. You are the epitome of Black Love. It starts within you. You need to speak with conviction to let not only our Black Men know, but the world, that you are the Mothers of this world. You are so powerful. You are so beautiful. You need to love and embrace every blessing God has given us physically, emotionally and spiritually.


For all our Black Children : We need to love them. We need to teach them. We need to stand up for them. We need to protect them. We need to show them that there are no 'get rich quick' schemes. We need to tell them that they WILL die trying if they submit to a life of crime and deceit. We need to teach our children that no one will love them the way we can. And being a basketball player, a rapper, or a drug dealer is not reality. It's not realistic and only a small percentage of people ever make it as a rapper or professional athlete. We need to teach our children that we can be more than rappers and athletes. We can be the owners of these sports teams. We can be the CEO's of OUR fortune 500 companies.
We need to believe in literacy.


Please Keep This Going & Have a wonderful day.

'This is the year of empowerment. '
God will empower us to accomplish
things this year that will be mind blowing'. GOD BLESS, Ellis Henderson

2 comments:

  1. IT WOULD MORE FAIR AND LESS CONDESCENDING IF YOU TOLD THE WOMEN THAT THEY SHOULD NOT DATE YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT PARTICULARLY PREPARED OR EXPERIENCED ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THE THINGS THAT COME WITH PARENTING AND THAT IS WHY IT IS NOT YOUR PREFERENCE. DISCIPLINE IS A LIFE LONG JOB WHICH MEANS THAT IF YOU WALK INTO A CHILDS LIFE AT 8... HE STILL HAS TEN YEARS LEFT OF DISCIPLINE. EVEN ADULT SOMETIMES WE MAKE CHILDISH MISTAKES SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT A CHILD WOULD MAKE CHILDISH MISTAKES. SO AS A PARENT WE EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE SOME EMBARRASSING MOMENTS AND WET SUITS IN OUR FUTURE, BUT WE DEAL WITH IT AND KEEP IT MOVING. WE NEVER EXPECT NOT TO HAVE A PROBLEM WHETHER IT BE A WET SUIT TODAY, A TOILET SEAT P TOMORROW, NOT SCRAPING YOUR PLATE B4 DISH WASHING ETC... BUT TO NOT EXPECT SOME FORM OF INCONVENIENCE SPEAKS FOR YOUR INEXPERIENCE. WITH EVERY SITUATION YOU CAN VIEW IT AS A CHALLENGE OR AN INCONVENIENCE... IF YOU SEE IT AS AN INCONVENIENCE... KEEP IT MOVING. BUT KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME MEN, FOR THE RIGHT WOMAN ARE UP TO THE CHALLENGE. THINGS THAT ARE AN INCONVENIENCE BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE YOURSELF BEING A PART OF THE SOLUTION.. HOWEVER, WITH THE RIGHT WOMAN AND/OR FAMILY SOME MEN CAN SEE THEMSELVES TAKING ON THE CHALLENGE AND HAVING THE TOOLS TO POSITIVELY EFFECT. THERE IS SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT THAT KIND OF MAN...

    THANK YOU JERMAINE FOR COMING INTO OUR LIFE!
    CECELIA KING 856-391-5478
    FACEBOOK profile&id=100000494769267

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  2. WHO CARES... A MAN IN SAGGING PANTS COULD SAVE MY LIFE. A MAN IN A SUIT COULD RAPE ME. I THANK GOD I DO NOT SUBJECT MYSELF TO THE PETTY SUPERFICIAL JUDGMENTS AND SYMBOLS OF OUR SOCIETY. PEOPLES FADS, CLOTHING AND THE THINGS THEY MEAN CHANGE DAILY CULTURE TO CULTURE BUT ONE THING IS A CONSTANT... PEOPLE. YOU CANT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER, BUT YOU CAN READ THE BOOK AND FIND OUT WHAT ITS ABOUT. I LOVE TO READ THE STORY, COVERS MEAN NOTHING TO ME AND IF THEY MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU -TO US, WE LIMIT OURSELVES. THE SAME WAY IT IS SAID THAT SAGGING PANTS SYMBOLIZED HOMOSEXUALITY AND IGNORANCE , SOME SAY MEN WITH NAPPY HAIR ARE IGNORANT. I AM NOT GOING TO SIGN UP FOR ONE PREJUDICE AND DECLINE THE OTHER... IT IS ALL IGNORANT AND I WISH WE WOULD STOP ENTERTAINING ITS FORUM.

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