Tuesday, October 23, 2007
UPDATED w/photos: Dallas minister threatened for fashion policing as new billboards target baggy pant offenders
Updated 11:36 a.m., October 24, 2007
Pullem' Up Billboards
(Click photo to see entire gallery)
Pullem' Up billboard on 45 N & Lamar
The City of Dallas will unveil a pair of billboards on Tuesday (Oct. 23) in an attempt to change the fashion habits of those who insist on wearing their pants low and baggy.
This comes after local pastor Milton Traylor Jr. of Praise Cathedral Ministries was threatened earlier this month by Zundray Bethany, who pulled a gun on the minister at a Mesquite gas station after Traylor suggested that Mr. Bethany pull up his droopy drawers. Bethany was later arrested by police.
posted by JM
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Aaron Johnson says:
NO! Don't allow them to stop! Those baggy pants are often the only reason Dallas' finest are able to chase them down after a crime. It's hard to run with a pair of jeans around your ankles.
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rawlins Gilliland says:
Warning: Seeing pants post butt / pre-knee, one may or may not recognize what is or isn't an actual gun.
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
incognato says:
Seems to me that pulling a gun over fashion is a little below the belt.
Anonymous
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott says:
Can an intrepid Pegasus News staffer find out:
(i) How much the city paid to have the billboard signs designed;
(ii) How much the city paid to have the billboard signs manufactured;
(iii) How much the city is paying (per week, per month, or whatever) to rent the billboards for the signs.
I would really like to see an accounting on this. Is it a few thousand bucks? Tens of thousands? More?
Anonymous
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins says:
scott, i talked to Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway who said the designs came from the folks at <a href="http://www.hiphopgovernment.org/">Hip Hop Government</a>, and will appear on 17 billboards, all donated by Clear Channel.
The billboard designs, as well as an accompanying rap song, will be unveiled tomorrow at noon at a press conference at City Hall.
Staff
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Michael Davis says:
A couple are already up at 35 & Illinois and 45 & Lamar.
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rick Yost says:
I used to be bad about telling anyone I saw wearing their hat backwards, "Hey, you know your hat's on backwards?"
Okay, so I have sick sense of humor.
In light of the apparent increased sensitivity of people wearing certain articles of clothing improperly, I may stop doing that.
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Miller says:
I agree with Aaron on this. And Rawlins.
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
James Scott says:
After reading some of the slogans it looks like they're using, I may actually start wearing my pants below the knees. I feel like an old codger supporting a billboard announcing: "Don’t Be Lame Elevate Yo Game".
Surely they could have done better??
Maybe something a little more to the point..."You look like a freakin' idiot. Pull your pants up". Or, "Nice underwear, jacka$$".
I guess that's why I'm not in marketing.
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren says:
James, you sound like April. She's been saying for weeks that the best solution to this problem would be to pay a bunch of white, middle-aged plants to start walking around town in saggy pants. The trend would die within a week.
Staff
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rawlins Gilliland says:
Strictly thinking in terms of 'Equal Time' rebellion:
I think the girls should rebel...maybe by wearing their skirts over their heads or their tops drape-sagging to their waist...as a show of socio-solidarity with da guys who fearlessly advertise their ass to strangers like free-range chicken breasts at Whole Foods. .
Just a random thought before midnight..............
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren says:
NPR coverage: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...
Staff
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Alex Bentley says:
Okay, I know they want to try to "relate" to the kids who would dare commit such a fashion travesty, but could somebody explain to whoever designed these billboards that pushing together the words "pull" and "em" makes no sense and, even if it was, the apostrophe should go before "em", not after, as in "pull th'em up." What letters are you replacing after "em"?
Staff
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren says:
Ugh. All due respect to Dwaine C, but now that I see the billboards, I can't help but rant about what a lame campaign this is.
The billboard, Alex's well-put grammatical problems aside, SCREAMS of square adults trying to speak "hip kid." This is reminiscent of every lame pamphlet we were ever handed in middle school telling us to "Just Say No."
All we're doing here is giving the baggy pants crew a good laugh. Again, I think <a href="http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/oct/23/dallas-minister-threatened-fashion-policing-billbo/#c16814">April</a> has the right idea.
And if what we want is people to pull their pants up, why is the image of someone sagging? I guarantee you that with the average billboard attention span, most of the target audience will leave with a better impression of saggy pants than before they saw it.
IF you believe that saggy pants need addressed (which I'm still not convinced of), there has to be a better, more genuine way to deliver the message.
Staff
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
I vote we just release the hounds everytime we see sagging pants. If they can out-run 'em still, kudos, but I imagine they'll trip over themselves and presumably learn they're lesson.
Obviously they don't care what "the Man" thinks about their pants. Simply the fact that there's a campaign encourages their terrible, terrible fashion choice.
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rawlins Gilliland says:
April's right! The 'here's my ass' audience would look at middle aged Middle America showing their aged baggy asses wearing the baggy pants 'look' the same way a vegetarian would a can of Vienna Sausages or a Swanson's 'Hungry Man Meat Eater' frozen dinner.
Second tier thought: If da guys realized that their ass baring was (shall we say) not offensive to gay males............... Jus sayin.......
Verified
2 years, 1 month agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
Literal LOL at "Don't Be Lame, Elevate Your Game".
At what point do these actually get offensive? I entirely agree, but it's a fashion choice. Wondering how long it takes for these to get either defaced or burned.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Stephanie Hindall says:
I wonder why there's no discussion about why kids do this. According to some social expert or other on NPR (Does that pass the reference test?), the baggy pants come from prison culture. When a convict is sent to prison for the first time he is stripped of all items including his belt. When he has to do his inagural "glory walk" across the yard to his cell, his pants sag below his skivvies. So long as it feels good to be a gangsta, I suspect this trend will continue - fly billboards be damned.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Tom Peal says:
While were at it, lets target those little fat a-- teenage girls who wear gym shorts that say "PINK" across their hiney.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
OpusthePoet says:
Government has as much business in policing fashion statments as it does policing political statements or religion outside of Council chambers (where religion doesn't belong)
Opus
Anonymous
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
They're not policing anything, they're throwing money at advertisements under the ridiculously false impression that anybody who sags actually cares.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
Oh, and they wear belts while they sag Tefi - while that very well could have been the origin wayyyyy back in the day, these days it's simply a common display of hardness (if you will). Because, you know, when your pants are below your butt...obviously you break all the rules.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa_R says:
Is anyone else hearing the chorus to a certain song about signs? Rawlins, I can assure you that gay men do not find this trend appealing... even the suggestion is ridiculous and insulting. "Sagging" has been annoying the crap out of me for years now, but not because I find it offensive. It's just irritating to me in its impracticality.
That said, a campaign such as this has a snowball's chance of making any impact on the saggy-pants situation. However, having seen the ad that reads "Goin' around showin' your behind to other dudes," I see that it has a good potential for giving a well-needed boost to urban homophobia. Good job, guys!
Anonymous
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
I want to hear the accompanying rap song.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rawlins Gilliland says:
Teresa, can you let loose of the political correctness a second and have an ironic laugh?
The point is,...mine and others... the very guys who flaunt this look would probably be the first to jump on a guy looking at their bare ass...(which they supposedly are exposing in the name of 'cool' trend hip rebellion.)
My bet is:The second that a guy thinks he's impressing other guys who are oogling him, the minute he reverses his (shall we say) sense of style accordingly. THAT is how it works with men. Trust me; I've been one for decades.
Get it? Showing your ass? Don't show yours. Lighhten up.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rick Yost says:
It's hard to be original now-a-days. It seems like it's all been done.
Doing things decidedly wrong is the new thing.
Don't you know Fruit-of-the-loom and Hanes both love this new, boxer rebellion.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rawlins Gilliland says:
Yo Yost: In brief, you bet your ass they do.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal