and Gentlemen...

Man: Hello Miss
Dude: Yo shawty!!

Man: You look lovely today
Dude: DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man: (to a friend) She looks nice
Dude: (to his boy) I'd hit dat

Man: May I speak to you for a moment?
Dude: Lemme holla atchu fu a minute!!

Man: May I take you out for a cup of coffee sometime?
Dude: Lemme take u back tah duh crib!

Man: Would it be alright if I called you some time?
Dude: Shawty lemme get dem digits!

Man: (in response to a lady* saying no thank you to something) Ok.
Dude: Why u gotta play a brotha like dat?

Man: neat slacks (or jeans), nice shirt, a jacket if needed and outfit appropriate shoes, all in the correct size
Dude: saggin' jeans (see internal dialogue) tee shirt and tennis shoes, all in sizes too large

How did things get this way?

Where have all the gentlemen gone? What happened to the days when men were men and carried themselves with dignity and class? The days when men stood up and handled their business.

At every turn all I can see are dudes, no men, just dudes.

Do we remember the Salt n' Pepa song Whatta Man??? "A body like Arnold with a Denzel face? He always has heavy conversation for the mind? Never disrespectful cause his momma taught him that? He's not a fake wannabe tryin to be a pimp, he dresses like a dapper don, but even in jeans he's a God sent original...?" What a man that would be, if one could be found.

{Internal Dialogue}
Crack is whack like Whitney said. If I have to see one more cartoon covered behind as I am out on the street I don't know what I am going to do. Why oh why has this become such a hot trend? How is wearing your pants so low down that you have to waddle like a gimpy duck in any way cool looking? Do they not have a mirror at home to see how stupid this style looks? Again, underwear is meant to be worn underneath your clothing. There is no reason for me to know that today you decided to wear your Daffy Duck boxers, or God forbid the perpetrator is wearing tidy whities at the time. I mean do these guys even know the origin of what that style comes from? Or wait, do they even care? I don't know. I just shake my head at the whole situation. My cousin sent me an email that made a good point; the word saggin written backwards... NIGGAS, and to me that is just how I see dudes who subscribe to that fashion trend.

So that begs the question, how did males go from men to dudes? What precipitated that change, and more importantly how do we reverse it?

**please refer to the prior post entitled "Ladies"**