By Vernalee
Alright, I know you have seen them - the big baggy pants that hang miles from their waist; pants where their behinds are exposed! Oh my! Some of them show the crack of their derriere. Hush yo mouth! I kid you not! This despicable appearance is unsightly to the viewers, but vogue to the wearers. To them, it is the “in thing;” the clothing of choice.
Somewhere, they forgot that our physical appearance speaks for us. It is the first impression that we show. So for those who insist upon showing their behinds and their colorful underwear …, allow me to share some enlightening poetry by Dr. Charles Beady, Jr. entitled – “Don’t Be A Fool for Hip Hop: Pull Up Yo Pants.”
Here we go! “Hey you —with yo pants down to yo knees. Some of us still respect our women. Will you pull them up please! You old enough and I know that you should know enough not to be runnin’ round with yo pants down to yo knees. Naw, I take that back what I just said to you. You aint runnin’. Yo pants won’t allow you to. If you move too fast they fall down…to the ground. I declare. I swear. I do not want to see your underwear. How do you do that anyway? How do they stay in that position? You must be a magician. If you spent as much time with yo mind as you do with your behind ..showing..I be knowin’, in time, you would have a bank! I do not want to see yo draws! Pull up yo pants please!”
Say it Dr. Beady! Spoken in the lingo of their language, your poem is on
point! I’m clapping my hands right now. You are definitely a rapper of the truth.
So I end by asking for endorsements. For those who have seen those despicable sagging pants with either the person’s behind or their unsightly underwear showing, and wish they would have enough decency or sense to pull them up, shout Amen! The above poem is a Excerpt from “Don’t Be a Fool for Hip Hop: Pull Up Yo Pants” By Dr. Charles H. Beady, Jr. who served as President for Piney Woods Schools for 20 years. Piney Woods, located in Mississippi, is one of only four historically Black boarding high schools in the United States. Photo reprint: www.softpedia.com; www.fountainiss.com