Say No to Crack
In an effort to restrict the spread of crack, I read that Saudi is coming down hard on boys wearing saggy pants… Now I am not totally with that decision… But I am happy they are cracking down on them… But I also wished it was the parents who were doing the disciplining not the hay’aa…
I will not talk about long hair, since I, once upon a time sported the eighties haircut like Turbo from ”Break Dance” the movie, but I do get bothered with the long unkempt hair that the young guys… “undo” their hair in…. however, I get annoyed when I see a group of them… and they all seem to have the same style… No individualism whatsoever! isn’t that what cool is all about? being able to be unlike the crowed? where people try to imitate but they will never duplicate ones own style? But what should I expect, we/they all wear the same style (thobes with minimal variations on theme)… A characteristic of many religious societies which can be seen in orthodox Jewsand Mormons with their magic underwear, priests, nuns, monks in a monastery, the Amish… you get my point I guess.
I do however think that sagging pants are way cooler than this… But that is just me, you know what I’m sayin?
There was a disscussion at SaudiJeans, where Khaled says that they warned them, therefore it is ok that they arrested them… well, not all laws, even the ones that are easier to enforce are carried out.
I am unhappy that they are doing this and happy at the same time. Unhappy because I do not think that dress code should be enforced… happy because… well, because I hope they will target kids like the ones here which Souma talked about…
Now the thing is… and this is for those of you who have not been to rural areas… pants are not considered modest or “Islamic”, and many in the military think it is Haram to wear them, and had it not been a requirement they would not wear it… and you want them to tolerate the showing of underwear?
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Aug 28, 2009 @ 10:41:54
I haven’t been around for a while to see for myself, but in general I don’t like the idea of setting too many rules. The more rules you set, the more rules will be broken, and that doesn’t help one’s reputation or credibility. I also don’t agree with the idea that you can achieve social ideals by authoritarian means. I don’t think it works. People, particularly youth, just rebel against them.
I also agree with you on the individualism issue. Man, it really bothers me how we seem to lack in originality. You can see it everywhere. The “Barnie’s syndrome”, I call it: If something ‘works’ for someone, everybody copies it blatantly, and pretty soon it’s EVERYWHERE.
Aug 28, 2009 @ 12:01:45
Pants are immodest? Why? Because they show that people have legs? That’s interesting.
Another great post…thanks for keeping us up-to-date.
I hope your Ramadan is going well and you are enjoying lots of yummy dates. (The food, I mean.)
Aug 28, 2009 @ 15:09:05
you know, since i read that in the papers i’ve been thinking: why do we keep saying “no”? how about for once we let those children run amok, make their own mistakes and learn the error of their ways? it may take a whole generation but it could be the solution. it may even give them a sense of individuality which this gargantuan sandbox lacks.
*whispers* they might start thinking for themselves, God forbid!
exempli gratia: when i was 21, i had purple hair for a couple of months, then up to 23 i had blue/green hair until 2 months ago, i chopped it off. 2 years of blatantly inappropriate hair colour. people did point, stare and ask me if i were born with that colour (i am blinded by the brilliance of my country-folk) but this was my space to make my own mistake/statement and to learn from it. i miss my blue hair, but its overdue now, i grew out of it. i guess if these children were given that space, they’d grow out of al kadash and that terrible fashion sense on their own. instead of it being a sign of their rebellion against codes of the society it’d only be a phase from which they learn.
P.S. you mentioned me in the post! *sending loads of love vibes*
Aug 29, 2009 @ 10:02:04
Definitely say no to crack–of any sort. I would have commented sooner but I was traumatized by the photo :{ .
Not all legal infractions result in an arrest. Most result in a warning, a series of escalating fines for repeat infractions, and eventually a fine with an obligatory court appearance, etc. In short, hauling low rise pants wearers with/without afro to a police station even for a scare tactic would be rare elsewhere, even if such style statements were illegal, unless there were further belligerence.
This topic always reminds me that where I live I,and all other women, have the right to go topless whenever we want, wherever we want, but none of us does. Social pressure (and the weather many months of the year) keep our awrahs covered. Social pressure alone handles a lot of fashion faux pas, and adolescent rebellion for most passes faster if left unchallenged.
Okay, now off to recover from post-traumatic blog picture disorder! LOL
Aug 30, 2009 @ 21:10:34
Honestly I am against it this move as much as I am against baggy pants.
I mean it is the opposite of style (the individual act of expressing oneself through their choice of clothes and outfits).
People should dress as they want.
And let’s face it, if it wasn’t for the “badly” dress, no one would appreciate the better dressed
People should eat and dress as they want, and be responsible for the consequences (of being obese or mocked)
Sep 10, 2009 @ 09:26:54
That first photo really grossed me out! I can’t imagine any young man in Saudi wearing something like that to the mosque. Instead of banning these young men from the mosque, they should counsel them about more appropriate apparrel. The fact that they are going to the mosque is a GOOD thing and they shouldn’t be kept from doing that because they have long hair or wear their pants too baggy.
Aug 30, 2009 @ 21:31:45
Thanks for the comment Sharaf, I hope you don’t feel culture shock when you do go back.
Aug 30, 2009 @ 21:32:46
Haha Susanne, yes we have a lot of dates, to eat that is.
Aug 30, 2009 @ 21:39:07
Thanks Souma… Purple and then blue hair… So that pic in devianart was u? Thanks for sharing… So the purple because it was royal or because you like O{-+> (Prince), and the blue/ green in solidarity with the Saudi national team I presume… I could be wrong.
Aug 30, 2009 @ 21:41:32
Sorry, didn’t know you were alergic to crack…
Aug 30, 2009 @ 21:47:06
Thanks for the comment Adnan, style is what it is… An expression or lack of expression.. Or just going with the flow… I think they just want to fit in… With unfitting clothes.
Aug 30, 2009 @ 21:49:17
I agree.
But I do not think people should be denied looking bad, or fitting unwittingly.
People should have the freedom to look as good and bad as they want is my point.
Aug 31, 2009 @ 03:03:54
LOL
Aug 31, 2009 @ 03:05:41
I’m sure we all have photos of us indulging in now horrific seeming fashions of the day–even in Muslim countries. I’ve seen some seventies’ disasters of the Moroccan sort!
Aug 31, 2009 @ 12:58:30
yup, that was me… no, not a bit fan of the artist formerly known as Prince. and the bluegreen was me aspiring to be a tree, being a vegetarian and all that…