Everyone has a personal preference for dress. I’d rather not see anyone wearing spandex tights as if they were jeans, but I can’t say that it harms anybody. Which is why when 20-year old University of New Mexico football player Deshon Marman was harrassed by a US Airways employee, interrogated by the airline captain, and eventually arrested by police over his choice of wearing sagging pants, it provoked alarm and outrage across the country.
But what is even more alarming is that, while Marman a fully-clothed African American male was arrested over sagging pants… Days later, this unidentified man was allowed to board and fly on a US Airways plane without incident, though several passengers complained about by his dress.
See his controversial outfit below:
Regarding this “cross-dressing” incident, US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder told the Associated Press:
[sws_blockquote_endquote align=”” cite=”” quotestyle=”style03″]We don’t have a dress code policy. Obviously, if their private parts are exposed, that’s not appropriate… so if they’re not exposing their private parts, they’re allowed to fly. [/sws_blockquote_endquote]
Is sagging pants a national security threat? Does it endanger the lives of passengers or crew?
It was clear that Marman’s pants did not affect the safety of other passengers, nor did it compromise the crew’s ability to safely complete the flight. Instead, it seems the incident was just another case of power-happy individuals wanting to exert authority over helpless others –who disproportionately happen to be young, black, and male.
Marman’s mother says the situation between her son and US Airways never should have escalated this far…
Sagging pants is just one of many vestiges of hip hop culture, which is not exclusively practiced by black men, though black men seem to take the brunt of the heat over the fashion trend.
Upon his arrest, Marman’s official charges were suspicion of trespassing, battery of a police officer and obstruction after refusing to leave the plane on the captain’s orders.
His real crime: traveling while black, male, wearing dreadlocks, and having the build of an athlete.
Sagging pants may be a harmless trend for someone who doesn’t fit this profile, but in Deshon Marman’s case, his style of dress was scrutinized more carefully than his boarding pass.
Before I say anything, do they have a picture of the boy in the so-called saggy pant?
You don’t need a picture of the boy in saggy pants? why? at least it cannot be as bad as the white man cross dresser, can it? Let’s stop trying to help white people thing we don’t think they are racist… they are! And this is just a serious case of racial profiling… indeed a black muscled guy insults the masculinity of the white man.
Wow, wow, slow down a squeak! Your foundation for the last assertion is crudely unintelligent and primitive. No white man’s masculinity is insulted by a pack of black guys running after a piece of leather ball a white amn throws around.
Marman shd sue the heck outta them. This is nonsense. Absolute nonsense, and no need to look for a picture of him in saggy pants? This is an afront on hip hop culture.
Lol… not that I’m aware of.
This was just an isolated case of a bunch of flight attendants looking for approval and respect. They happen to be white so I don’t think it has anything to do with race.
Though when I look at eh cross dresser, it confuses me how he was able to get on the flight. Maybe this crew do not suffer from the same ‘Recognition Sickness’ as the other guys do.
In any case, Deshon Marman should sue that airline, big time – pay them in their own coin.
How did the old white cross dresser get on the flight and the black boy arrested for saggy pants? One word… racist m8therf**kers!
Why is everything about race, black, white? why? Can the cops ever arrest a black man for actually doing something wrong? And sometimes it entails black men disrespecting authority and not being politic about confronting authority.
Yeah? Authority? Where are you from? Alabama or something where white folks wake up one morning and are like, “heey, check this out… let’s drive all the Mexican farmers and laborers outta town – it’s gonna kill our economy, but hmm, let’s do it anyway, ‘cos we can!” You mean that kind of authority? These bunch of capitalist pigs?
Who told you that the Popo arrests black people for doing the wrong thing? The last time I checked black men go to prison for nothing. NOTHING! Yes, I said it.
The thing is the America judicial system is f*cked up for black people but as long as there is that tiny black middle class who are damn as the word can be, America is cool for us all. Well, when the shit hits the fan, we’ll all see how astray these middle class black folk and their white friends have led us.
Just what if the white cross dresser happened to have escaped detection or attention? what if he wasn’t belligerent and cantankerous and what if he was amiable and respectful of other, the captain of the plane, the co pilots, the air hostesses… just waht if this white man was civil?
You are in your right mind, right?
I don’t think Charles is in his right mind.
I cannot believe that he’s being held in jail over this.
I belieeeee daa! O o oh, stop acting all unknowing… you shd know about what the juducial system in this country is like.
This is really stupid. I don’t think sagging pants did any harm to anybody. This is purely an power drunk person freaking out that a young black boy would not give him any mind. It’s the return to the “heey, boy” kinda attitude towards black men.
I don think it goes that far… I think this was a bad decision on the part of the US Airlines employee.
It’s a simple case of a white person not liking something about this black boy and for that matter wants to discipline him and show him who’s in charge.
A typical case of white people being racist at best. They just can’t stand a black man who doesn’t acknowledge them as ‘master’. White people need to get off their white horse, whatever it is.
I am white and I’ve never ridden a horse let alone a white one. What are you talking about? Please, can you grow up a little bit? Not everything a white person does against or to a black person is racist, you know. We are human beings too and we make mistakes. You act like all white people are out there to get black guys into jail — if this is what you think, then let me tell you — it is simply not true!
Some of us feel your pain too. Please, whenever you come to FilmClique to say something, be civil, this is what we know filmclique for.
Sometimes it all comes together. This is exactly how our young black men pick up criminal records. Over absolutely nothing! No wonder more than 70% of black men between the ages of 16 and 25 have criminal records. Over stupid over stuff like this that has absolutely nothing to do with them.