As IF Times

Local Tenn. Bar Accused of Implementing a ‘Horrible and Discriminating’ ‘No Thug’ Dress Code – Right 180 News.

There was a time when the classic ” No shirt, no shoes, no service” sign was hung up at the entry to restaurants and that decree was accepted and followed.   Generally in an harmonious society, people try to get along without creating too much fuss around themselves.  As the virus of narcissism has infected society at large, the notion of blending in has been supplanted by the need for self expression, as in “look at me, I’m special”.

As most people who have been raised on the Mr. Rogers credo of ‘you are special’ are unaware of, if everyone is special, then no one is.   When people adopt a manner of dress, it says much about not only who they are but also who they identify with.  It’s not just a matter of deciding to wear the head bandana that day because of bad hair.  Nobody wears  their hair in a Mohawk as a means of self expression.  It’s about shock value and a need to draw the attention of other people.  In a similar vein, but less in your face,  we’ll see people who aspire to be part of the Harley Davidson tribe wearing their standard jeans, boots and black leather costumes.  They don’t do it to be individuals, they do it to be part of the tribe.

It’s amusing to see that the writer of the above linked article describes Tennessee’s Bar Louie policy as “horrible and discriminating”.  Really? If you were in said restaurant with your family noshing the daily special, would you want to be seated next to people who looked like they modeled for the FBI most wanted poster?  Apart from the Harley crowd, most normal people don’t dress like thugs and outlaws unless, well, they were thugs and outlaws.   This is the same syndrome that was addressed during the initiative to clean up New York city back in the 80’s and 90’s, called the broken window theory.

The theory was that broken windows and graffiti be fixed and cleaned up in neighborhoods as soon as possible as a tonic for crime and squalor.  It was theorized that one broken window attracted more broken windows (and graffiti) which was an implicit acceptance of crime in that area.  Showing no tolerance for even one broken window demonstrated a commitment to keep the unsavory elements out of the neighborhood.   When you have people in gang regalia frequenting restaurants, you have essentially the beginnings of broken windows.

It’s unclear to me why restaurants shouldn’t be able to dictate their own policies of dress.  In many places today, a tie is still required.  If customers don’t have one, the establishment will loan them one.  If gang wanna be’s don’t have regular clothes, then perhaps they can be offered burlap sacks to wear whilst dining.   Or they can go the to Biker bars, where the gang look is coveted and encouraged.

link ‘Pants on the ground’ goes viral: Top five Larry Platt covers / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com

So cool that a brotha editorializes on the goofy trend that is still the rage among youths. As the article alludes to, the origin of low riding pants derives from prison where no belts are allowed and wearing of pants this way signified, to put it tactfully, availability. Somehow, this manner of dress became fashionable when these young men got back on the street, since this gave them ‘street cred’. Typically, these were low level criminals and it made some sense to convey this image, since this let the other posers on the street know that they had legitimate tough guy status and better not to mess with them.

Like many antisocial signals, this fashion statement found favour among posers, among ‘rap artists’ and consequently into the mainstream through music videos and publicity photos. It’s particularly amusing to see clean cut young white or Asian kids in leafy suburbs all over north america adopt the fashion preferences of their rap heroes; as if they had empathy with the ghetto lifestyle, living in comfortable suburbia and driving mommy’s Lexus to chill at the mall.

Adults are no less vulnerable to illogical fashion dictates as well of course. Among women, the idea of having a tattoo across the small of their backs, referred to as a ‘tramp stamp’ seems to be so popular that tattoo artists are practically mainstream in their profession. In the Midwest, you can see these places pop up like nail salons in the malls. In the old days, a greasy guy named Spike or Carlos did the painful deed in a filthy back room. The unlucky ones would get a free dose of hepatitis with the new ink. Nowadays, moms can get inked alongside their daughters while someone serves them iced tea.

Men are just as amusing. The Harley Davidson company has managed to propagate the idea of the freedom loving rebel on a motorcycle. Of course, being a rebel these days is much more convenient with large multi level corporate stores selling all things involved with the Harley lifestyle from clothing to jewelry, to baby clothes and even motorcycles. The formula for clothing is fairly consistent however, leaning mainly to black t-shirts, jeans and of course black leather.

It looks like everyone can show their individuality… in a me too kind of way.