Tracy Press

Mr. Johnson
I am sorry but I have to disagree with you. I agree with 4ourTracy......if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then it is a duck. If you are not a thug why in the world would you choose to dress like one? And, if you are truely a nice person who just happens to like that style of dress, then be prepared to be judged. It is going to happen and you are going to be 10 times more likely to be harassed by the police than someone who is not wearing baggy pants and showing their a$$ crack.

lwest,

What you are saying is that you think it is OK to stereotype people based on how they dress. Do you honestly think that is the right thing to do? Do you teach your children, assuming that you have any, to judge people based on their appearance, as if that has any bearing on who they are as a person? If so you are just one more negative member of an already sad, sad world....

Bill
I am not saying that it is ok to stereotype people by the way they dress. The problem is if you don't know someone personally then you naturally go on what they look like. Be honest with yourself. Have you not looked at a homeless person, who is begging for money at walmart, and thought, I bet he is to lazy to get a job. Or, he probably makes more money doing this than he would working an honest days work? I don't like to judge people and I try not to but sometimes, without even thinking about it, I find myself judging someone by how they look. You only have one chance to make a first impression. My previous post was just stating that if you want to dress like a thug you might as well be considered one because that is how you are going to be preceived by people who don't know you. Do you have children? Do you allow them to dress with baggy clothes, wife beater T-shirts, their butt crack hanging out for all the world to see? I mean, come on its the style, Right? I have kids and over my dead body will they ever leave the house looking like that. I don't want my kids to be stereotyped and I know that if they dress the part then they will be stereotyped and that is just the way it is. Why would someone want to dress like a low life when there are so many other styles that are just as comfortable to chose from? I am just wondering if you are so dense that you are unable to see what the rest of society sees? I am pretty sure that most parents, at least the ones who wish sucess for their children, do not let them go around dressing like wanna be gang members. At some point a we as parents need to put our foot down and say enough is enough.

lwest,

To be completely honest with, Yes, I would let my kid dress in a wife beater shirt or whatever else, with some minor exceptions, he wanted to wear. I like to think of that as free thinking/ freedom of choice for him as opposed to being oppressed and forced to wear clothes he dislikes because a small number of idiots in the world have given that particular style a bad name and people who like to stereotype others have perpetuated it. If you are concerned about people stereotyping your own children then a good step in the right direction would probably be to quit doing it yourself don't you think? Perhaps you are right maybe I am “dense” but ask yourself, Why? Is it because I am encouraging my child to think for himself? If so then I suppose “dense” is a compliment. In closing the most laughable part of your rebuttal is your equation of the future success of your child, or mine, and the possibility that the clothes they wear could be a factor. That is just not the case and I have seen plenty of examples that prove it.

Bill
There is no problem with freedom and free thinking. You just need to be prepared for what is out there and how you may be preceived by the public. I believe in it too. I have a daughter who decided to get a bunch of piercings (lip, eyebrow, tragus)she found out real quick that though it didn't change who whe was it did change how others looked at her. I am just saying that if you want to dress like hoodlums then be prepared for what society is going to thing. Right, wrong or indefferent.

We teach our kids by example and I have always told them not to judge a book by its cover. If I didnt do that I would have missed out on many great friendships. People who dress for success find success and people who dress in what society stereotypes as thug wear will be judged accordingly. It is just the way it is and we have to learn to deal with it. I have never been a conformist but I also don't purposly put myself out there to stand out in a negative way. I guess since you aren't getting my point we will just have to agree to disagree. Have a good one.

lwest,

I get your point quite clearly, and although you are clearly wrong I will agree to disagree. Take care!!!