On a recent trip to the mall, I saw a young man who could barely walk because the seat of his pants sagged to his thighs. I just shook my head and wondered to myself, ‘Is this the future?’ Because if it is, we’re in a whole heap of trouble. The dress code of today’s youth is symptomatic of larger problems of what is supposed to be the future generation of doctors, lawyers, scholars and other professionals. The lifestyles and decision-making of an increasingly large numbers of young men, both Black and White, should be called into question. Oversized pants and undersized goals make for a bleak future.

The problem of boys and young men wearing their pants below their waist appears to be more than just a fad. When I was growing up, we simply wouldn’t even think about wearing sagging pants. We took pride in the way we looked. I suspect the number one reason for our pants not dragging the ground was our parents. I can’t fathom leaving or coming into my house with my pants “saggin’” and draggin’.” I suspect we weren’t influenced by popular culture as much as the youth are today. Back in the day of no color televisions and chickens in the backyard, there wasn’t the peer pressure that there is today. Can you imagine wearing your drooping pants with chickens roaming around in the backyard? Finally, there were social factors to consider. I don’t think girls would have taken too kindly to guys wearing their pants down to the ground. While Sean John and Tommy Hilfiger weren’t around, we were still quite conscious about a “look” that we wanted to convey.

Young men have succumbed to the no-rules dress code. This social phenomenon, jumpstarted by the hip-hop culture, has men behaving badly, at least from a clothing perspective. First off, the mantra for many young men is “the bigger, the better.” If your regular size is medium, then why are you wearing an extra large shirt? If your waist size is 32, then why are you wearing size 38?