Gratuitous Cranky Llama Posting

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. James Lileks:

I hate, hate, hate the term “pimping� as a synonym for “increasing the superficial exterior aesthetics.� The origins of the word are not exactly mysterious; it refers to those fellows who use force, threats of force, and crude psychology to make drug-addicted women walk the streets and service panhandled men in cars in dark alleys. But somehow we’ve gotten away from that. I wouldn’t be surprised to read a story about a new Papal tiara, and learn that Benedict had “pimped out his rainments.�

A-men, Brutha.

And get a load of this example of mainstreaming Lileks digs up: Pimpfants:

About Us Pimpfants... it's more than a name, it's a movement! Our clothing bridges the generation gap between parents and kids, allowing babies and tots everywhere the opportunity to hit the playground with fresh gear and street cred.

Jesus. Mary. Joseph.

But what the hey, it's just a warm-up phase. Soon, the little darlin's will be graduating to clothing with lettering on the seat of the pants, all the better for Michael Blowhard to ogle. (Yips! to Rachel for that link.)

Does anybody see a pattern here? Anybody? Bueller?

What amazes me the most about all this is the number of parents who actually seem to encourage this sort of thing, as if they believe tricking out the younger generation in pimp 'n ho coture is somehow a good thing.

Nostalge de la Streetcorner, I suppose.