Sunday, October 11, 2009

#113. Belts


Finish the analogy: Brooks Brothers is to FUBU as white is to _______.

Answer? That's forthcoming, but instead let's take a fascinating look at an often neglected accoutrement in the world of fashion today,the belt.

One of the biggest faux pas one can commit in the world today is not wearing a belt, as it has been synonymous with a political protest against the racist fashion standards of the white man, and is yet another example of cultural dominance and ethnocentrism over indigenous and formerly captive peoples.

The belt was invented by white people and has long been a tool utilized by white people to hold up their pants - and lately a tool used by women to accentuate their mid-section and give off the impression of being "skinnier" - and keep them from "sagging":

"Belts have been documented for male clothing since the Bronze Age. Both sexes used them off and on, depending on the current fashion, but it was a rarity in female fashion with the exception of the early Middle Ages, late 17th century Mantua, and skirt/blouse combinations between 1900 and 1910. Art Nouveau belt buckles are now collector's items. In the militarain periods, particularly the later half of the 19th century and up until the first World War, the belt was strictly a decorative part of the uniform, particularly among officers. In the armed forces of Prussia, Crimea, and other Eastern European nations, it was common for officers to wear extremely tight, wide belts around the waist, on the outside of the uniform. These tightly cinched belts served to draw in the waist and give the wearer a trim physique, emphasizing wide shoulders and a pouting chest.

Since the mid 1990s, the practice of sagging has been popular at times among young men and boys. This fashion trend consists of wearing the trousers very low on the hips, often exposing the underwear and buttocks of the wearer. This urban style, which has roots tracing to prison gangs and the prohibition of belts in prison (due to their use as weapons and devices for suicide) has remained popular into the 21st century, particularly among pubescent boys."
We now have the answer to the riddle from the first sentence, as those who decide to absolve themselves from wearing belts are by and large Black people - the "wigger" is also an individual who finds belt wearing perplexing, but that is for another time to discuss - and this has lead to a whole new world of fashion.

Did the fashion of Black people not wearing come from prison? Or are the origins far more sinister and homo-erotic? You be the judge:

"We have now come to the point where young men, in particular, have adopted the culture, clothes and language of young African-American males; those individuals are adopting as role models inmates in prison. It is the latter point that creates the problem.

While there is some controversy as to the sources of the new "fashion", baggy pants worn so loosely that they perch somewhere well below the waist, exposing, usually, decorative boxer shorts, most believe it comes from prison inmates. Bill Maxwell, writing in the St. Petersburg Times, suggests an alternative origin derived from slavery times.

Some white masters would rape their African male slaves; subsequently, the victims were forced to wear their pants sagging so that their masters could identify them for future attacks. According to Mr. Maxwell, dehumanized black slaves wearing sagging pants were said to be announcing that they were available for their white masters. Over time, the style became a little-talked-about subculture that seeped into general black culture."

The other version says the fashion developed in prison among black convicts. Judge Greg Mathis, host of a television program, said in Jet Magazine, "In prison you aren't allowed to wear belts to prevent self-hanging or the hanging of others. . . [Inmates] take off the belt and sometimes your pants hang down. ... Many cultures of the prison have overflowed into the community unfortunately. ... Those who pulled their pants down the lowest and showed their behind a little more, that was an invitation. [The youth] don't know this part about it."
This whole idea of homosexuality among Black people in prison and the almost laughable notion put forth by Mr. Maxwell of Black slaves being buggered by their white masters truly sheds new light on the idea of "No Homo" and also opens eyes as to why HIV/AIDs is so rampant in the Black community.

Most people in this world - save the fine example of Mormons - have been to a bar, and many have probably seen signs that prohibit people wearing baggy clothes from entering said bar. Obviously, this is a good idea, for if we are to believe the reality of "saggy" pants wearing, then most of these individuals are in danger of suicide or are trying showcase their ancestral connection with their Black fore bearers who were raped by their white masters.

Most interesting, a Google search on "Baggy Pants Law" turns up an astounding 93,000 hits, as cities from Atlanta and Los Angeles debate whether they should outlaw baggy pants and make it criminal (the connotation being that only criminals wear their pants baggy):

Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin said he's tired of seeing kids and young black men wearing their pants down around their knees. His ordinance would make exposed underwear no different than sex in public.

"It kind of doesn't make sense. It is hard for people to walk," Martin said.

And the councilman has plenty of supporters.

"[There] should be a law against it. I think they should be arrested. They should be fined," said Atlanta resident Beverly Thomas.

Interestingly, this debate on baggy pants and criminality has a number of correlates, as a lot of Black people are in jail and many of those Black people in jail wear baggy pants:

"At midyear 2008, there were 4,777 black male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents being held in state or federal prison and local jails, compared to 1,760 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents and 727 white male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents."

Yet, are the imperialistic laws against baggy pants yet another clear-cut definition of cultural imperialism directed at Black people in a white world?:

Towns across the country have passed laws banning baggy pants, imposing fines and prison time on the offenders. In Pine Lawn, Missouri, the parents of young offenders could spend 90 days in jail. A proposed bill in Kentucky would fine offenders $1,000 for wearing pants below the waistline.

These laws are misguided because they criminalize expression - anyone arguing that exposure of underwear is indecent exposure should work on amending indecent exposure laws rather than criminalizing a specific clothing style. They're also wrong because they target an urban population and one that includes a large number of African-Americans. We tend to criminalize that which we don't understand, and we tend to make laws that increase contact between police and inner-city youth.
Well, one thing is understood: Black people who wear belts are acting white, and Stuff Black People Don't Like has a new addition - wearing belts - for the origins of "No Homo" needs much more research to prove after learning why Black people don't wear belts.



23 comments:

Anonymous said...

While there is a homo-erotic component to the origin of the saggy-pants trend, this stems from PRISON: not from white masters raping their Black slaves. Blacks in prison wear their pants like that when they want to announce that they are eager and willing to do the backdoor handshake. Apparently, Maxwell can't conceive of the notion of Black men engaging in sodomy under any set of circumstances, even in prison (where everybody pretty much does it). Instead, he resorts to that pathetic last resort of the unimaginative: the abuse of the Black man by whitey. Somebody should tear him a new one.

Mgrub said...

Back in the early 90's, I remember white kids flirting with sagging pants. One incedent in particular where one kid was goofing with his baggy sweats till one day they fell down to his ankles.
I made a joke that " sagging is fagging". Another kid, also white, heard the comment from the " baggy boy" and looked at me shaking his head dismissively.
Apparently I was the odd man out. And this was middle America the heartland it self. Whites were already whiggering down way before mid 90's but it certainly exploded during that time.
MARs will only happen if they expell black influence and stop worshipping them.

Anonymous said...

i could not get past "The belt was invented by white people"

according to who and or what?

nothing in your article, which are the same sources i found googling "belt", point to white men creating the belt. it says that the belt dates to the bronze age. the time-line for the bronze age is limited in scope concerning "white" contributions. what your article does say about "white" inclusion in the bronze age is "Some scholars date some arsenical bronze artifacts of the Maykop culture in the North Caucasus as far back as the mid 4th millennium BC.[1]If true, these are the earliest bronze artifacts in existence."

if true.

beyond that, the bronze age is dominated by non whites.

conjecture and assumption are the key ingredients for this soup it seems.

maybe i missed something.

i am sure you will point it out if i have.

i am sure you will say nothing if i have not.

Anonymous said...

ummmmm....

Anonymous said...

saggy pants is a good thing. Most young criminals adopt this style, which does not allow them to run properly, so they are increasing their chances of getting caught by the po-lice. Must be a good thing, no?

Anonymous said...

'i could not get past "The belt was invented by white people"'

Can you get past this? White people stopped almost all cannibalism in Africa and Papau New Guinea. They also stopped human sacrifice in the New World. All, after our "discovery" of these lands.

Dave

Anonymous said...

The modern belt was invented by whitey in the 1920s. Who the hell cares about the Bronze age?

Anonymous said...

Let me put it to you this way. For every one black that sags his pants theres about three whites and four latinos that imitate. Also if you real wanna talk about homo erotic what about those white boys who wear their hair like women, wear eyeliner, make up, foundation, tight jeans and shirts. Thats pretty homo erotic.

Conservatives or racist are so self indulge that actually think they are intellectual and know what they are talking about. They often times make stupid generalization that are factless and stupid (Rush Limbaugh) only to promote their racist agenda

Mark IJsseldijk said...

Conservatives or racist are so self indulge that actually think they are intellectual and know what they are talking about. They often times make stupid generalization that are factless and stupid (Rush Limbaugh) only to promote their racist agenda

At least we can use proper English, which is more than can be said for you, chimpy.

Anonymous said...

white men created the belt in the 1920s like they discovered the americas.

walt said...

I don't care if you are Black,White,or Latino pull your pants up and have some decency and respect for yourself and others.I don't see how any rational,moral,decent person can stand in defense of this shameful practice,it's disgusting.I am not being racist, I'm being realistic,I'm Black and I don't like sagging by anyone.

Anonymous said...

The fact that wearing your pants at your knees is fashionable just shows how completely undeveloped black culture is.

Anonymous said...

i agree walt.

i disagree with people using this as an attempted method to display "how completely undeveloped black culture is."

Porter said...

I agree. A much better way to display how completely undeveloped black culture is, is by looking at the state of every single black African country...Or Detroit.

Anonymous said...

I agree. A much better way to display how completely undeveloped black culture is, is by looking at the state of every single black African country...Or Detroit.

He Porter you should try using your brain. Some African has had its freedom for atleast 50yrs. What nation has built itself from the ground up that fast. Secondly most African nations are on the economic rise while white nations are on the decline. African GDP is growing faster than most first world nations in history. It takes time to build a up to first world status. Some african nation are in better shape than some eastern european nations.

It helps when you read and study information other than using old outdated racist conservative talking points.

Porter said...

"He Porter you should try using your brain."

He Anonymous, you're certainly a model for brain using--I'll try harder going forward with you as motivation.

"Some African has had its freedom for atleast 50yrs."

Well you have me there. I can not deny that some african has had its freedom for at least 50 years. Though are you speaking of any African in particular? And what's with calling him/her an "it?" What are you, some kind of racist?!

"What nation has built itself from the ground up that fast."

Puncutation aside, I'll presume you meant this as a question rather than a statement. And this is a reference to the "African nation" I suppose? Well, there's a lot that can be said about the African nation; but one thing that can't be said is that it exists. But then I'm partial to the Europe nation.

"Secondly most African nations are on the economic rise while white nations are on the decline"

Well my neighbor's ant hill is on the rise as well, though I doubt the queen will ever win Jeopardy. Though I do note that her odds of winning a Nobel Peace prize are now only slightly below even.

But, with your indulgence, I'll provide a few hate facts:

From the CIA world factbook, here are the top 5 countries by per capita income with a minimum of 5 million population:

1. USA 46,900
2. Switzerland 41,800
3. Netherlands 40,400
4. Austria 40,200
5. UAE 39,900

The bottom 5 of per capita income with 5 million pop:

1 Sierra Leone 700 5.5% GDP growth
2 Somalia 600 2.6% GDP growth
3 Burundi 400 4.5% GDP growth
4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 300 6.4% GDP growth
5 Zimbabwe 200 Negative 14.1% GDP growth

Now you're a smart guy--as you would be the first to admit--so see if you can detect any pattern in these groupings.

Now let's discuss growth. If the USA experiences absolute zero growth forever and these african hell-holes grow at their 2008 rates into perpetuity how long would it take for them to catch up?

1. Sierra Leone: 79 years
2. Somalia: 170 years
3. Burundi: 109 years
4. Congo: 82 years
5. Zimbabwe: looks like approximately...infinity

Excluding Zim (and all of its murdered white farmers) the average parity horizon is 110 years. Was this the point you were trying to make?

"It helps when you read and study information other than using old outdated racist conservative talking points."

Well I do hate that my comments have been so boilerplate on this site. I suppose I could conjure a novel and slashing riposte: Wait, I just thought of one...Racist! No one's ever used that before.

Anonymous said...

i don't know that you understand what culture is porter.

Mark said...

I had a good laugh at that baggy pants picture.

That we even have this ridiculous issue is a testament to how degenerate blacks are.

Wanderlost said...

"He Porter you should try using your brain."

Got argument?

No?

Insult, instead.

Democrats cheer.

"i don't know that you understand what culture is porter."

Got Argument?

No?

Insult, instead.

Democrats cheer, celebrate Scripture quote "I don't know"

PAUL SHEAFFER said...

IT IS NOT JUST "BLACKS" SAGGING THEIR PANTS. WHITES,HISPANICS, EVERY TYPE OF ETHNIC GROUP IS DOING THIS. THAT IS HOW RIDICULOUSLY FAR THIS HAS GONE!!! TO TARGET ALL ETHNICS IS THE KEY! NO ONE WANTS TO SINGLE OUT THE BLACKS, WE WANT TO STOP SEEING UNDERGARMENTS THAT MAKE US UNCOMFERTABLE. WHAT I AM AMAZED AT IS HOW PEOPLE CLAIM THAT THEY ARE PROUD TO SAG, I MEAN SHIT IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF. I DONT CARE WHERE IT ORIGINATED FROM, IT IS PLAIN OUT REDICULOUS. SO, HIP-HOP SO CALLED FOOLS SAY IT IS HIP-HOP, SHIT, I NEVER SAW RUN OR JAM MASTER JAY SAG. NEVER SAW LL, RAKIM, OR ANY OTHER OF THEM SAG!! YOU FOOLS ARE CONFUSED. THAT IS NOT HIP HOP!! YOU KNOW WHAT IS HIP HOP?? SHOWING THE WORLD THAT YOU CAN PICK YOUR PANTS UP AND STILL BE HIP HOP. THAT IS HIP HOP! THERE IS NOTHING FASHIONABLE ABOUT IT!! I GO TO COLLEGE AND EVERY TIME THAT A STUDENT WALKS IN AND SITS DOWN.......MAN EVERYONE LOOKS AWAY BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT TO SEE IT....YOU ARE STRAYING YOURSELF AWAY FROM YOUR ENVIROMENT.

Anonymous said...

I have always thought sagging pants originated in unban areas as a means to conceal drugs and weapons.

Am I wrong?

Mark said...

Caucasians invented trousers and the belt, yes.

Just like their inability to speak proper English, lower class blacks seem unable to wear their clothes properly. The ones around here like to litter as well.

That picture is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. It's sad it even has to exist.

Ezhel M. said...

I'm black and I wear a belt... but I still sagg my pants.