Crist opposes droopy-drawers bill

Gov. Charlie Crist met Thursday morning with the NAACP State President Adora Obi Nweze whose group opposes a controversial bill the Senate passed last week which would suspend students who wear baggy pants to public schools.

The NAACP president says opposing such a proposal is an "easy" decision, since it disproportionately impacts African Americans and Hispanics, and the NAACP is already fighting zero tolerance policies in schools that "keep students out of schools." Crist agreed with her.

"I remember when I went to high school, people were worried about how long somebody's hair was. It really doesn't matter," Crist said. "What's important is what you learn, not what you wear... I think the (NAACP) president is spot on."Asked if he would veto the bill if it passes, Crist said, "Let's see if it comes to that." (It won't. The bill is as good as dead, as it's been gutted by a House council).

Comments

If I thought Crist was doing this from a libertarian, anti-government regulation perspective, I'd say Bravo, Governor.

But, knowing Crist, this is merely pandering.

So divided I am over the pants...

OF course he will veto it.
The NAACP has opposed it. Pandering Charlie will do anything to make himself look good.
CC = one term

what about the numerous studies have been done showing a direct relationship between appearance and performance. This isn't a racial issue, it is an academic performance issue. It is very easy to play the race card, how about showing some true leadership for the NAACP and try to help your constituency ADVANCE. There has to be some accountability at some point.

there is a reason the military shaves your head and puts you in uniform. One should reserach the history and motivaiton behind this effective technique.

Sometimes the jokes tell themselves...

[ds]

And again, terminator is 110% correct! I couldn't have said it better myself.

CC is opposing because he can't find cloths to fit him... or at least refuses to wear cloths that fit him.

[Boca Grande]

Baggy, low hanging pants are a good thing. When the little thugs run from the cops they trip and fall. I'm not making this up. It really happens.

Let's see how fast Cristi changes his position when he sees a poll saying that a majority of Floridians approve of the measure.

Now that was hilarious Boca Grande! Thanks for the laugh!

I know I for one would approve of it! Charlie will undoubtedly change his position to suit what the 'polls' are saying...

I'm sick of seeing how kids are dressing these days and I'm not that old! Like someone stated above - there is a reason why the military does what they do! Girls don't need to be walking around leaving nothing to the imagination and if the guys really realized how stupid they looked.

And it's interesting where the low riding pants originated... Easy access for the other inmates in prison. Wow. Nice that we have so many guys out there advertising that one!!!!

Good little nazis should all be dressed in neat little uniforms so they stop wasting their time with independent thoughts. What do you want from legislators, Democracy?

Conformity kills individuality. Would you actually want PARENTS to do their job by teaching their religion to their OWN children instead of trying to make the state do it? Do you want children listening to parental rules against premarital sex, instead of ditching their parents by getting the STATE to reward the promiscuous with support on welfare?

THAT's what hurts families. State officials with NO TEACHING SKILLS trying to distract us from their failure to provide teaching environments that work instead of endless high stakes tests to profit their campaign contributors.

Hair, skirt length, low slung pants, caps to cover bad hair days --- HEAVENS to Betsy -- fights about that are meant to distract us from REAL COST of unfunded Bushite mandates of NCLB that are choking education out of our public schools.

CLASS SIZE. HIGH SPEED RAIL. Don't sell our roads to foreigners. End the Jim Crow vestiges which still keep ex-felons from voting in Florida and only a few other states.

Those falsely accused of being felons via JEB's phony purge list in 2000 -- would have saved us from Iraq recession, war profiteering, insane gas prices, falling dollar, and mortgage meltdown where Bushicans got out with millions -- again -- for selling bad loans to their investors.

END JIM CROW. Let all taxpayers be responsible for good government. We don't tend to care about what we are excluded from having a voice in.

If our leaders act decent to minorities, our minority children will feel less kinship with falsely jailed prisoners.

SHOWING SOLIDARITY with bad fitting prison garb really was what STARTED the underwear exposing waistline, starting in Calif. first -- I think I recall.

Since poor minorities get lesser lawyers, get stopped more, get suspected more -- it had a bit of merit in its original intent.

I DON'T LIKE seeing underwear. Nor did I like it when my last teen's female classmates tried wearing men's boxer short OUTSIDE their pants. I didn't care if they thought it said anything about Tianeman Square chinese protests. I said NO and stuck to it. I didn't need a LAW.

12:44 - what have gas prices done since the Dems took over Congress?

How the heck did this issue become a blac or hispanic issue?

Kids should have a dress code in school. Showing your underwear or your b u t t crack is disrespectful no matter what color you are. I usually support the Gov but not on this one. Having these pants hang down is not a race issue.

[Riddle Me This Liberals]

What major world market player has emerged in the last decade?

Which market is it that is blamed for absorbing many jobs formerly held in the US?

What effect does this player's demand on fossil fuels have on the global pricing scheme?

Which US President pushed to grant this player "Most Favored Nation" trade status, and accepted large donations from many of their prominent leaders?

1:07 - No kidding. I see all sorts of kids (mostly male but believe it or not, som females!) doing this. Forget the color. Pull your pants up and dress like a normal person. If you have to hold up the edge of your waistband or walk with a shuffle to keep your pants on, GET A CLUE. THEY DON'T FIT!!!!

1:14 Just go to the mall, lil white boys doing the same thing. Joe, paul michael, sam, john, dennis.....

Black legislaors are running this bill because they understand this has nothing to do with race. Governor rethink your position

My boy ever comes home with droopy pants, I will whoop him

1:14 - I know, but the question was why did the NAACP take this position and they said "since it disproportionately impacts African Americans and Hispanics,"

1:22: Right on! Its the parents' responsibility to police droopy pants, not the State's.

My taxes haven't dropped like a rock yet! Why are you guys wasting time on drop pants, toilet paper in restaurant restrooms and $1 taxes on strip club cover charges?

Crist is so transparent! It's obvious what is going on here - he's courting the black vote for McCain. I can't believe i voted for this fake.

Hey McCain: If you pick this dope for VP you'll lose my vote.

And that, 1:33, pretty much says it all.

How about a charge of indecent exposure and a fine? We could probably make up the national deficit that way!

Get rid of the ridiculous baggy sagginn' pants!

This is the most blatant political pandering Gov. Crist has done yet. Teaching young people good habits (like dressing appropriately) is an admirable goal. Gov. Crist should truly be ashamed of himself.

Someone give charlie a party change card so he can hang out with the NAACP full time.

... why do they oppose it?

1:31: Let not your heart be troubled. Unless McCain is a total moron, his people have already vetted CC and found out about his predilictions. There's no way McCain can afford to have a questionable character as his VP. Count on Pawlenty or Sanford being picked.

[Annette]

Charlie...quit trying to be "all things to all people!" It doesn't work!

[Kay]

I personally do not like the look and support a school dress code BUT we do not need a LAW about it.
Someone earlier commented about individuality and conforming... Guess what? It is not expressing your individuality and it is conforming since others do it too!
Anyone not covering their backside in public should be ticketed for indecent exposure and the schools should tell kids "no exposed underwear" and enforce it.
Kay

[Dora]

Uuuuuugghh, why is this wasting anyone's time? this is stupid, it shouldn't even be a political issue! this is something to be enforced with school dress codes and work dress codes. It's a stupid fad, just like the whole, "popped collar" thing, it's all annoying, but it's all apart of pop culture. Who knows, in ten year the style will be to wear socks with flip-flops. Quit wasting valuable time and money on dumb issues. And no, I don't think it should be a black vs white deal, either. I see just as many black kids and white kids do the baggy pants deal or the popped collar deal.

Gary Siplin can't be happy.

Governor Crist is forging a new style of leadership that will ensure Republican victory for generations to come. Governor Crist is showing that anything is possible if you don't care who gets the credit. Governor Crist will be known as the greatest governor of all time because he is leading our state and tackling all of the difficult issues by reaching across the aisle and engaging all interested parties.

Our state has never been in better hands.

Governor Crist is going to be an incredible Vice President and Chairman Greer will be a great RNC Chair.

kay - i agree that this is generally more of a school district issue - BUT - charlie buys into the NAACP's angle and mentions nothing of local control

question is, would he oppose a school district that proposed banning saggy pants? if so, then it is clear he is pandering to the wacky and obsolete NAACP

2:44: Our state has never been in better hands?

Sounds like one of CC's pickup lines at the Metro!

Is there anyone that Crist doesn't pander to. I wish I could take back my vote. So far he has enabled everyone with a beef to burn to get the best of the state. What ever happened to conservative principles. He's no different than a Hubert Humphrey democrat.

[Spuds Buckley]

SO the housing mess and insurance mess is not as important as talking about this DUMB bill. I'm sorry I voted for you!

[George]

1:22, I guess you want to get fast tracked to DCF or the County Jail. Like most of the "law-and-order" types on this blog, your way or the highway. My guess is most of you types' kids have hit the highway. It's not 1850, it's 2008.

[JDUB]

This bill needs to pass. Girls g-strings and boys underpants are a distraction in the school. They need to be taught to conform and be respectful in this environment. They can do whatever they like when they get home but while in school the students should look presentable. Period.

George: I hope you don't have any kids. If you do, they obviously wear droopy pants and act like hoodlums.

[Gilbert R. Ford]

I am AfrAm: I find it absolutely deplorable the NAACP would even try and get a forum for a ridiculous fad such as this. I am a mentor for impressionable youth ages 13-17, male and female, AfrAm, Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian. They all wear their clothing in this manner, however it is moreso with AfrAm. youth than others! I will not tolerate this fashion statement in my groups, PERIOD! I could care less who their parents are or were they originate. Simple reason, if they want to be treated like adults I am the person to see, if they want to be treated like or dressed like "thugs" go someplace else.

If the NAACP really wants to do something noble, then tackle the Sexually Transmitted Disease rate that is ravenging the AfrAm. community. Better yet consider it an oversight that they have not put pressure on the (1) parent homes that predominantly occupy AfrAms. Still, lets tackle the illiteracy rate. Better yet, lets stop turning our heads when OUR AfrAm youth consider being incarcerated as a sign of GREAT respect. I really could go on an on, however this is a snipit of what I see NAACP and I do not possess 20/20 vision!

Gov, Crist if you really want to do something, create a group, that will help the single mom homes of our Great State of Florida!

[rick w]

NAACP State President Adora obi Nweze and Gov. Charlie Crist are politicians they go as the wind blows. If a school has a dress code fine; other wise I say let them wear them ridiculous clothes if they want unless their bare butt is exposed. I see whites wearing them blacks wearing them; if they want to look like a baby with their diaper hanging out let them. They think they look cool we laugh at them so who cares .Why do people always make something racial out of things. I see rich blacks and whites especially the professional sports athletes dressed in nice sharp suits .The only ones wearing these cloths in the professional field is the gangstra rappers black and white. Also the baggy clothes trend was not even started by the ghetto gangsters like people believe; it was started by white Australians a full generation ahead of them. But I will say one thing they do to the people wearing them no matter what color they are; it does make them look very uneducated. The NAACP does play the race card like the rednecks to show they are still of some need to be around. The NAACP is an unneeded organization that likes to create racism just like the KKK and skinheads, they all hold on to power and exert it every chance they get; we will be better off when these racists organizations fade into the past. That’s just my opinion.

Kay,

I agree, if I show my underwear, I should be fined... but wait, I don't wear underwear!

Gov. Crist, someone's hairstyle is not a good paralllel to walking around with your pants down and your underwear showing.

It is called indecency and there are laws that prohibit that.

It's insulting to women and children and revolting to look at. FL lawmakers should be proud to pass this leigislation. Anyone that opposes it has low moral standards and neats a conscience check.

The bill is a good law and there is no good reason not to sign it besides being political.

Can someone in the governor's office articulate why it's "controversial" to require a student's pants be on properly at school?

How about standards of a dress code, discipline, respect.... etc. etc. etc.

Gov. Crist, irrespective of what race does this, it's wrong. It's a matter of common decency. You are wrong on this one.

[rick again]

Gilbert R. Ford ... well put! NCAAP will never do anything about Sexually Transmitted Diseases revenging the black community because it will say there is a problem here in the black community. The spirit of MLK was lost with him. NCAAP is now just a former shell of itself; and is now just for power hungry politicians.

I wonder if Crist would think its OK if the students didn't wear anything except their unders? Isn't that the same logic as - it's about learning, not about how someone dresses?

Shallow thinking,Charlie.

Hey, I like when my wife's g-string shows...

[Nicole]

Ok I am a sophomore in college and I really hate it when guys wear baggy pants, but I don't think we should be allowed to take that right away from kids. Kids should be allowed to express themselves in anyway they choose as long as it does not effect anyone else. I know many kids that wear baggy pants and still have extremely good grades.

How many kids wear baggy pants and distract others from getting good grades?