There’s Only One Label for ‘Tag’ Rags

* I can’t decide who amazes me more, the “Tag Rag” clothes makers claiming they’re not appealing to taggers and those who would identify with them, or Dana Parsons, who believes them. The fact that “tag” might be slang for label is a nice coincidence but anyone with an ounce of sense can clearly see through that. The style of the clothes, the age group appealed to, the gang “hand signals” employed by the model in the ad, are all very clear indications of the manufacturers’ intent.

And no rational person is suggesting that clothes dictate behavior. Parsons grasps for straws to knock down this and other theories that he and the clothes makers fabricate. The simple truth is that by making and advertising clothes like theirs, they glorify and glamorize those they copy. Remember: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Shame on the “Tag Rag” people for influencing impressionable youth and glamorizing taggers and gang members, and shame on Dana Parsons for being so gullible.

RANDY SMITH

Yorba Linda