General Platt audaciously gave voice to what many Americans — especially older African Americans — denounce, but seethe silently about for fear of violent reprisals. It’s a question that many features on the topic do not answer. Dr. Michael Pratt, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based psychiatrist, provides a glimpse into young men’s line of thinking on the subject.
“[What] I will say is that I think African American males have struggled to establish an identity in this country. And that this particular uniform, or outfit, or style of pants is something that they can own. So what I see in the embracing of this style [is] that [it] is something that is unique to them,” says Pratt, who works in St Joseph’s psychiatric emergency room. He offers the theory that, back in the day, rap music was exclusively black-owned, before its influence bled into the larger society in the 1990s “So they’ve lost ownership of that. And so what is, in fact, theirs? Not property, not respectability, not Wall Street, not really anything, except for style.”
Pratt says sagging pants are an induction into an unofficial fraternity that provides identification and solace, similar to white biker gangs. “If you look at bikers and how bikers dress, it’s unique. But they own that. They have a sense of pride and identification … and [that] gives them a sense of belonging and a sense of value.”
Dr. Darryl Townes, a Savannah, Ga.-based psychologist, says he’s discussed the social phenomenon with colleagues in the Association of Black Psychologists. He calls sagging pants youthful rebellion against the status quo. “[The] style has been transformed into something that represents counterculture,” Towns told www.thegrio.com. “It’s in our communities. It’s in the hip-hop culture.”
Some clinicians and social scientists also believe young blacks’ gravitation towards the sagging pants fashion statement is a response to a faulty sense of identity that is “prescribed by our culture,” and something that we have to “redefine.”
“I speak clearly and I try to behave … in a certain way and people say, ‘Well, you’re not really black,’ ” explains Pratt.
‘Pants on the Ground’ Writer Larry Platt Appears on ‘The View’; Brett Favre Chants Song
Former “American Idol” contestant Larry Platt is a civil rights activist whose disgust with young men wearing their pants below their hips led him to make a song, “Pants on the Ground,” that is burning up airwaves nationwide.
The 63-year-old Atlanta resident’s song — although rudely dismissed by “Idol” judge Simon Cowell — has thundered into the national consciousness and landed him an appearance on the popular daytime talk show “The View.” Even NFL quarterback Brett Favre, chanted “Pants on the Ground” with his teammates after his Minnesota Vikings upset the favored Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Jan. 17.
It’s not like the famously dour Simon Cowell couldn’t see it coming, either. “You know, I have a horrible feeling that song could be a hit,” Cowell said drolly, in his notorious monotone voice right after he critiqued Platt.
What Cowell must have immediately discerned is that the song’s chorus would be infectious enough to sprout wings and takeoff. He was right.
“Disrespecting Dr. Martin Luther King with your pants on the ground,” Platt, aka the “General,” coos as he chants that popular line for rolling out. “Disrespecting the Civil Rights Movement with your pants on the ground.”
General Platt is not alone in his extreme aversion to seeing the low-riding pants that are preferred by some young black men. But it wasn’t until Platt witnessed a man taking the concept to a ridiculous low that the song’s unforgettable lyrics began forming in his head.
“I was walking one day and [saw] a guy with a baby bottle in his mouth, and he had his pants on the ground. And that’s what gave me the inspiration,” he told Sherri Shepard of “The View.”
By Terry Shropshire
