# I got my hand down my pants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 12, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776 "2004-02-12T02:44:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/21 "2004-02-12T07:55:18Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > What’s the deal with black guys anyway? I know they like to grab their crotch a lot, well fine, if that’s what they want to do. But there was this one young black guy I would see in the city, about once a week, standing just around the corner from my apartment. He would stand there with his hand planted firmly down the front of his pants. What the hell is the deal? I was going to try standing there doing the same thing one day, but I was sure a white guy would be arrested rather quickly for such behavior. Al Bundy did it quite regularly in front of his teenage daughter and appears to have avoided jail time. Douche. If you don’t grab your crotch a lot, it can only because there’s nothing there to adjust. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/22 "2004-02-12T08:01:10Z")
To be honest I have never noticed a black guy grabbing his balls in the street so your observation appears to be flawed somewhat… You also appear to be a complete fuckwit as well. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/23 "2004-02-12T08:03:28Z")
In a fruitless attempt to address the OP, maybe the guy had his hands down his pants because that’s where he had a gun stashed? ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/24 "2004-02-12T08:05:25Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > To be honest I have never noticed a black guy grabbing his balls in the street so your observation appears to be flawed somewhat… You obviously live in a cave and don’t come out much, and that’s probably the best thing for you to do. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/25 "2004-02-12T08:11:34Z")
> [@dutchboy208](#): > > If you don’t grab your crotch a lot, it can only because there’s nothing there to adjust. I’m thinking that’s what their motive is. It’s like white folk have this stigma about all black guys have big dicks, so when one of these dick-grabbers is doing his thing he’s basically saying to whitey, “Yeah, I got a big dick”. Can anyone think of any other reasonable explanation? ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/26 "2004-02-12T08:18:07Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > You obviously live in a cave and don’t come out much, and that’s probably the best thing for you to do. Actually I live in Brixton, S.W London possibly the most multicultural borough of London. I have honestly never seen a black man grabbing his balls in public. Maybe it’s an American thing? Maybe he is known as a ‘bad egg’, you know, one of those total fucking embarrassments to a race…much like yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/27 "2004-02-12T08:21:44Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > I’m thinking that’s what their motive is. It’s like white folk have this stigma about all black guys have big dicks, so when one of these dick-grabbers is doing his thing he’s basically saying to whitey, “Yeah, I got a big dick”. Can anyone think of any other reasonable explanation? Perhaps he’s learning to sign. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/28 "2004-02-12T08:27:21Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > Actually I live in Brixton, S.W London possibly the most multicultural borough of London. I have honestly never seen a black man grabbing his balls in public. Maybe it’s an American thing? Maybe he is known as a ‘bad egg’, you know, one of those total fucking embarrassments to a race…much like yourself. Oh, OK, all you need to do is watch MTV for about 30 seconds then. This may just be an American thing, I hope we have spared the rest of the world from this obnoxious behavior. I see many people here are uneasy with this subject, and I can sympathize with you, it’s not something that’s easy to talk about. I was just observing that it this is a disgusting behavior favored by many young black men. I have black friends, none of them are dick-grabbers, at least not when I am around. I guess I need to ask them what the deal is with this phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/29 "2004-02-12T08:28:11Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > You obviously live in a cave and don’t come out much, and that’s probably the best thing for you to do. Tell ya what, my friend… why don’t you crawl back under your rockkk, and come back when you have a clue. I’d really suggest you cut your racist losses right now, and fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/30 "2004-02-12T08:37:47Z")
> [@Cerowyn](#): > > Tell ya what, my friend… why don’t you crawl back under your rockkk, and come back when you have a clue. I’d really suggest you cut your racist losses right now, and fuck off. The vast majority of dick-grabbers I have seen are young black men. Does anyone live in an area where dick-grabbers are prevalent and they are not mostly black? Just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/31 "2004-02-12T08:42:36Z")
Huh. I’m white and I have my hand down my pants right now! Wait. I’m not wearing any pants. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/32 "2004-02-12T08:45:33Z")
This thread is very racist and I am offended. As a white male, I feel I should be able to grab my package in public anytime I want! I demand equal crotch grabbing rights! Next time I am grabbing my crotch in public and the man tries to oppress me, you can bet your sweet (insert color here) ass that me and my crew are gonna fight back. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/33 "2004-02-12T09:12:56Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > I see many people here are uneasy with this subject, and I can sympathize with you, it’s not something that’s easy to talk about. I was just observing that it this is a disgusting behavior favored by many young black men. I have black friends, none of them are dick-grabbers, at least not when I am around. I guess I need to ask them what the deal is with this phenomenon. Oh sorry I missunderstood, you mean that dick grabbing thing that rappers do? WTF are you getting your knickers in a twist about _that_ for? Jesus man I have bigger worries in my life than to worry about what is essentially a fad. Also I note that you say none of your black friends do this and I assume that the only time you generally see this is from rappers on TV and that maybe a small percentage of black youths emulate this behaviour? It seems to me that you are smearing an entire race based on a the actions of a very few people. This a bit like me saying all white people are neo-nazis because I’ve seen some white kids doing that once. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/34 "2004-02-12T09:20:47Z")
Marky Mark. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/35 "2004-02-12T09:24:07Z")
I’ve been known to stick my hand down my pants at times too. Does this mean I’m part black? Is it contagious? Do I need to be quarantined? ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/36 "2004-02-12T09:27:31Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I’ve been known to stick my hand down my pants at times too. Does this mean I’m part black? Is it contagious? Do I need to be quarantined? If you do it walking into a room of strangers, yep, you got it, better get rid of it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/37 "2004-02-12T10:54:35Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > Oh sorry I missunderstood, you mean that dick grabbing thing that rappers do? WTF are you getting your knickers in a twist about _that_ for? Well I can’t say exactly what percent of young black men have this affliction. I am thinking one is too many, but from my observations it’s many, not just a few. Anyway, I don’t lose sleep over it, it’s just annoying. I guess what brought the pit thread on was this … I went to a basketball game tonight, and this affliction was prevalent. I used to live in Chicago, where it seems they have this problem too, but it’s even more common there. It just kind of grinds my gears when some guy is walking towards me holding his dick. It’s obnoxious, annoying and insulting (anything else?). Like … he doesn’t plan on using that thing on me does he? Kinda funny, but not really. Another example: I was at a college football game. The game was about over and I was standing outside the arena looking in, watching the last few plays. There was a young black guy standing there and we started bullshitting about something. Then these two young ladies walk up and start talking to the black guy, and he proceeded to put both his hands down the front of his shorts while he’s talking to them, and they weren’t offended! Maybe it has become socially acceptable that there are a certain percentage of young black men that play with themselves in public? I don’t know, maybe they aren’t conscious of what they are doing? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/38 "2004-02-12T11:26:10Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > The vast majority of dick-grabbers I have seen are young black men. Does anyone live in an area where dick-grabbers are prevalent and they are not mostly black? Just wondering. The only people I’ve ever seen doing this were white (and it was a function of their general lack of social graces). I’ve only ever heard this behaviour stereotypically applied to continental Europeans, particularly Italians; for example, from the UK SF comedy series _Red Dwarf_: > [@](#): > > [sub] **Kochanski:** Kryten, hi. What’re you doing here? What’s wrong? > **Kryten:** I’ve been classified as a woman. > **Kochanski:** A woman? Why? > **Kryten:** Well, because I haven’t got a [whispers:] penis. It’s a space corps directive to prevent gender ambiguity in jail. What’s that saying? ‘If you’ve got nothing to swing, you can’t be with Bing!’. > **Kochanski:** Well, what happened, did you lose it? > **Kryten:** I was never issued with one, ma’am. Why would I need one unless somehow I lost both my arms and there was an emergency situation to write my name in the snow?! > **Kochanski:** So you mean you’ve never had a steak pie, peas and chips then? > **Kryten:** I think the phrase is ‘meat and two veg’, ma’am. The only mechanoids to be issued with genitals were the ones created to work on Italian starships. It was thought they could acclimatize themselves better if they could mimic their Italian crewmates and stand around cupping themselves all day.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/39 "2004-02-12T11:27:36Z")
I just think you should be careful to draw a distinction between _black_ people doing this and _people_ doing this. I realise from your experience that it is mainly black youths doing this but it is unfair to criticise an entire race based on the behaviour of a few. You would have got much less criticism if you had just mentioned that _anyone_ doing this is unacceptable. I am ashamed of the behaviour of many different races behaviour but I also realise that it is not confined to that race and is certainly not an indicator of the entire races behaviour. Put it this way the vast majority of black people I have encountered don’t do this and some white (or any race) people exhibit this behaviour as well. Essentially what you should be saying is that you don’t like seeing people openly touching their genitals in public and that you have noticed that it seems more prevalent amongst black youths, you would then be asking a valid question without coming across as racist. By the way I agree with you I would be offended if _anyone_ did this. ---
**Author:** ![Joachim\_Pieper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Joachim\_Pieper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joachim_Pieper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776/40 "2004-02-12T12:16:00Z")
Interesting thread. Some guy passes comment on some sort of behaviour which is (usually, to be fair) seen when young black guys do it. (And italians - external and internal cupping issues here). And then twenty people jump in to demonstrate how not-racist they are. Hugely enlightening. Is Brixton really that multi-cultural? Or do you mean that a lot of black people live near you? Is that the same thing? Cheers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-my-hand-down-my-pants/228776.md?page=3)