Education and undies

I’ll admit that boys who walk around with low-slung pants and exposed boxers look like major tools. That applies both to the “suburban urban dude” and the “tight pants Emo wimp.” I also hate being forcibly exposed to the thongs of my female classmates. \nDespite my own personal views on the issue, I’m still baffled by the good people of Atlanta, who decided to a hold a public hearing centered on exposed undergarments. \nThe meeting revolved around a proposed ban on low-hanging pants or any other clothing that exposes the wearer’s undergarments. The brain behind the ban is an Atlanta city council member, C.T. Martin, who serves as deputy chairman of the Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee. \nMartin deemed baggy shorts to be one component of an apparent wave of bad behavior sweeping Atlanta’s youth. If the ordinance is put into effect, violators will be fined for displaying their unmentionables to the innocent eyes of the law abiding citizens of Atlanta. \nIf you think that’s ridiculous, let me point out that the city of Delcambre, La., has already enacted a similar ban. Violators can be fined $500 or sentenced to six months in jail. \nThat’s right ladies. In Delcambre, your thong can earn you a hefty \nprison sentence. \nI’m not sure whether to laugh or to be outraged that taxpayer money is being used to develop and enforce ridiculous authoritarian dress codes in multiple cities. \nIt’s downright irresponsible that out of the myriad problems that plague his city’s young people, Martin chooses to put his time and energy into creating some sort of bizarre underwear task force instead of focusing on more relevant issues such as drug prevention or mentoring programs. \nFor those who are convinced that rebellious teenagers and their boxers are the hot button issue of the decade, take a look at some dismal statistics. \nThe average national SAT scores hit an eight-year low in 2007. \nAs of May 2006, 63 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 couldn’t find Iraq on a map – and that’s after three years of U.S. involvement and 2,400 military deaths.\nMiss Teen South Carolina was recently asked at a beauty pageant why she thought one-fifth of Americans (yes, one-fifth!) could not point out the U.S. on a map of the world. \nShe answered, “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some ... people out there in our nation don’t have maps and uh, I believe that our, ah, education like such as in South Africa, and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uh, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., or should help South Africa, it should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for our children.”\nSomebody actually allowed this girl to progress through the public education system while cities around the country were focusing on their teenagers’ underwear.