My two-cents worth and then some. An online journal by LP Brown.

Browsing Category The Way I See It

A Message to Young Men: Put a Belt On It

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Beyonce popularized a hit tune telling all the single ladies to “Put A Ring On It.” Meanwhile, well-intentioned people all over are wishing for an anthem that would convince young men to wear a belt and stop sagging their pants. 

General Larry Pratt came close to doing that when he appeared on American Idol, during its 9th season in January 2010. He wowed the judges with his clever song “Pants on the Ground.” While the catchy tune went viral on the Internet and brought the 62-year-old Pratt overnight fame, apparently the message was lost on the youths.

There is nothing sexy, cool, or attractive about young men wearing their pants drooping off their butt. Hip hoppers are no exception. I have been told that “saggin” as it is called, originated in prison where men are not allowed to have belts and some want to show that they are sexually available. The inclination of some young people to follow any trend, even if it equates them to criminals, is just another sad saga in a morally bankrupt society.

Well, saggin may be “in” outside the prison walls, but mature people think that it shows ignorance. Furthermore, it has to be as much a pain in the butt for young men to constantly struggle to hold up their pants as it is for reluctant witnesses to see their drawers, and in some instances their bare behind. And Jimmydee creepers! Don’t let them bend over while the pants are sagging. What do youths think is so cool about being prison chic?

When my adolescent son was growing up in the 80’s, I would often scold him about wearing his cap turned backward. “It makes you look like a thug,” I told him more times than he cared to hear. He’s a grown man now, and God knows that I appreciate the fact that my challenge of trying to keep him from conforming to negative peer pressure was minor compared to the challenges that nurturing parents face today.

Numerous states including Louisiana, Virginia, Florida, and public venues nationwide have attempted to institute anti-sagging policies that ban men from wearing their pants below their waist and exposing their underwear in public. Some people oppose criminalizing the practice, because they believe that the proposed law targets a particular group — black men.

Last Wednesday, a University of New Mexico football player was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport over the issue of his saggy pants. Reportedly his mother said: “He was attacked for three reasons – his clothing, his skin, and his hair.”

In my recent discussion of this issue with a few acquaintances, some opined that saggin is practiced by people who are immature and have no self respect. Then, a member of the group temporarily halted the discussion when he said there is a double insult when you spell the word saggin backwards.

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Upside Down and Inside Out

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Baby Boomers think back about three or four decades. When we were younger didn’t the world seem to be a simpler, more rational place? Granted, our youthful generation produced dramatic social change, fist-pumping militants, barefoot hippies, and psychedelic drugs. Ours was a tumultuous yet evolving culture that led pundits to predict that because of the recklessness of our generation the world was going to hell in a handbasket. Look at the world today. Now look back at the days of our youth. Now look at the world today. Tell me is the basket half full or half empty?

The point is that overall today’s society seems ten times more out of sync than it was back in the day. The 21st century cultural landscape is muddier than the Woodstock Festival. Normalcy, privacy, and civility are things of the past. Call the present the go-along-to-get-along society, because there is a lot of denial and pretending going on. People are pretending to accept things that in their heart they feel are morally wrong. Political correctness rules over common sense, and PC has virtually annihilated the spontaneity of “call it as you see it.” The trend now is to pretend that you don’t see something inappropriate or unethical even if it is in plain sight. You can no longer call a spade a spade, offer a prayer in a public forum or use the world God without offending someone.

Violence and iniquity is spreading like blood gushing from a gunshot wound, and overreaction has reached new heights, from body scanning before plane trips to jostling in the office. Jokingly say to a co-worker, “Pal, if you borrow my stapler again without returning it, I’ll kill you,” and you are liable to find yourself snatched outside your cubicle, thrown flat on your belly, hands cuffed behind your back and swat team rifles pointed at your head. Don’t try to explain that you were only kidding. Don’t blink. Don’t sneeze. Don’t even inhale.

Thanks to texting and technology, even the English language is convoluted. Decades ago, when people thought of a mouse they visualized a creepy rodent scurrying across the floor. Now unless your home is infested with the critters, the tech savvy immediately think of a pointing device used to direct images on a computer screen. Proper grammar and spelling have become a hodgepodge of gobbledygook. We — used to be spelled w-e, not Wii. Now, we is still us, but Wii is a video game console. Who would have thunk it?  Yes, I said thunk. Thanx u. 

Boomers, look at the world today. Now look back at the days of our youth. Now look at the world today. Tell me is the basket half full or half empty?

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Duck and Cover

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In light of the tragedy and ongoing crisis in Japan, I doubt if I am the only Baby Boomer having flashbacks of Duck and Cover drills held in grade school.  Duck and Cover was a regularly practiced exercise of civil defense taught to school children during the 1950s and 60s. It was based on the probability that a nuclear attack was a clear and present danger that could occur in the United States at any time. There was even a film produced about Duck and Cover that used an animated turtle to show kids how the exercise would protect us in the event of a nuclear attack. Our instructions were that if we saw a bright flash of light we should immediately get beneath a table or huddle against a solid wall and cover our head with our hands.

Perhaps the whiz kids had it all figured out, but I doubt if I was the only average student in class who disbelieved that such an apparently insignificant action would save our lives during a nuclear attack. Theoretically, ducking and covering would provide protection from flying glass and falling debris, but we were also told that the radiation resulting from the nuclear bomb could incinerate us. What the hey?  If a bomb was powerful enough to blow to smithereens our school or any other building, how would merely cowering on the floor in a fetal position save us?

The government purported that Duck and Cover was an essential procedure for saving our lives. Certainly some preparation is always better than none at all. But to this day, as much as I remember the drills, what I remember more was that whenever our class practiced or even discussed Duck and Cover, for days afterward I had terrifying nightmares and disturbing daydreams.  

As I watch the continuous broadcasts about the explosions at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, not only do I imagine, but I also feel the desperation and fear engulfing the people in Japan. When it gets to be too much for me, I turn off the television. I’m sure that the people who live in those areas devastated by last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami probably wish that they could turn off their present reality just as easily. They have already lost so much; family members and friends, their homes, and now they are facing the threat of a nuclear meltdown. It is a calamitous situation that is too disturbing to consider feasible, yet too plausible to deny.  And it is not only the people in Japan, but people in other countries who are now looking for – and hoping not to see – a daunting radioactive cloud. Duck and Cover and Pray.

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One Woman’s View of the Women on “The View”

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“Take some time to enjoy The View.”  That is the signature sign-off line on the popular morning talk program that has broadcast for 14 seasons.  Two Baby Boomers, two Generation Xers and one Pre-Baby Boomer make up the diverse group of five engaging women who regularly co-host the ABC morning talk program The View. 

Before I continue, let me interject that I am not hooked on television, and therefore am definitely not a soap opera or game show junkie, but I confess that I do enjoy looking, listening, and learning from the talking heads on The View, a program that is informative, entertaining, and is always laced with a healthy dose of humor. 

Some might argue that women in general are competitive, catty, drama queens who dislike other women, but I believe that many devotees of The View – men as well as women – would ask, “What’s not to like?”  If I were a paid TV critic, I might not be writing this blog, but since I am not, I am free to give my two cents on the women of The View, as well as a little background on each of them.  A devoted fan, I give the show two thumbs up and five stars.    (Click continue reading to see more.)         

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Between the Pages of the Book

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Have you ever seen someone that you like, but something about that person annoys you to no end?  Such is my dilemma.  The person who shall remain nameless is an Oscar winning Hollywood personality who appears on one of my favorite daily TV programs.  So what is it about this actress and fellow Boomer that drives me crazy?  It is her appearance.  Yes, I did say it!  Now I will say this – I have no problem with her physical appearance, because barring cosmetic surgery, weaved hair and fake nails, the appearance of most women is what it is.  But a Hollywood celebrity, who even has a star on the Walk of Fame, could dress more appropriately on television, instead of appearing on the program everyday looking like an adult-sized Raggedy Ann doll.   

Certainly, I know that we should not judge a book by the cover, so if you are mentally lashing me with wet noodles, understand that I am merely expressing something that other people think, but may not say aloud; that Ms. Walk of Fame’s attire is a turn-off.  I am not suggesting that she should dress up daily in stiletto heels and a designer dress, even Oprah doesn’t do that.  Well, on second thought, Oprah does.  But when a popular performer is on television, she could certainly dress appropriately.  It would surely beat sauntering on stage in a baggy shirt or sweater over top faded, albeit trendy jeans and odd looking shoes.  The latter of which she has said are designer shoes, including Pradas.  Still, her overall attire is not exactly business casual.  Many Google employees dress down, but not ridiculously.

In answer to the unasked question – nobody made me the fashion police.  And wardrobe aside, I am quite fond of the actress, because regardless of the fact that her appearance screams unsophisticated, homeless, high school drop-out, she doesn’t wear those shoes.  She is quite articulate and extremely intelligent, and what I most admire about her is that she speaks her mind.  She put the C in candid.  And anyone who dislikes what she has to say – or what she wears, myself included – well that’s just too bad, isn’t’ it?  As I have often heard her say on the TV program, she doesn’t “care what people think.” 

Granted my opinion isn’t worth the soles on her Rick Owens shoes.  And the adage is true that clothes don’t make the man – nor in this case the woman — nevertheless the unspoken rule in our society is that people are expected to dress appropriately, particularly at their workplace.  In urban vernacular that means represent!   Although the object of my discontent could easily win the award for worse dressed woman on TV, don’t be fooled by her unflattering appearance.  She is a smart cookie.  And while her fans may object to my own frankness about her on-camera wardrobe, unlike WikiLeaks, I do not anticipate that my post will incur worldwide outrage and cause me to go into hiding.

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