Death of Swagger

by Derek Alan West
Head Writer

Yesterday I was browsing through my time line on twitter when I came across the following hash tag from an 80 year old woman trying to gain 80 thousand followers: #oldladyswag. And though it had previously occurred to me that this was coming, it confirmed what I already knew. The use of the word swagger is no longer acceptable, or cool. Not only has it become too widely used, but the terms meaning itself has just become too broad. I recently saw a guy get a cast taken off his leg after a boating accident, the first thing he said when he stepped onto the floor? "I'm done with that handicap swag!"



eli porter introduced us to handicap swag..
"he da best mayne..he did it"

*Sigh*

Here is how google defines the word swagger:

swag·ger/ˈswagər/

Verb:
To walk or behave in a very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive way: "he swaggered along the corridor".
Noun:
A very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner.

Somewhere along the way swagger became less about who you actually were and more so about who you wanted people to believe you were. People began to not necessarily HAVE swagger so much as they were attempting to ACHIEVE swagger. And how did they attempt to achieve it? By doing what other people who claimed to have a swag told them to do. They wore certain brands and styles of clothing. They used certain slang terms. They bought certain brands of cars, and sun glasses, and kicks. And then they told their friends "check out my swag!"

you can play a drinking game with how many times Lil B
 uses "swag" in a song

Now let's be clear people have been attempting to be stylish based on what other people have done, said, and wore forever. In the 80s rapper dressed the way drug dealers dressed, with the track suits and Gazelles (which are sun glasses for you 90s babies) and Adidas. I say that to highlight the fact that I'm not coming down on people for wanting to be stylish. The issue is the broad, over use, and frankly misuse of the word swagger. To have a swagger signifies ownership. It's yours. It's unique to you, and no one else has it. It's sort of like the fingerprint of your life.

when does it stop??

Now, if you walk the same, and talk the same, and use the same slang, buy the same clothes, wear them the same way, use the same accessories, get the same haircut, as everyone else, then how exactly is your swagger yours? Believe me when I say there is NOTHING wrong with being stylish. I mean let's be honest, no one wants to be considered unfashionable. Just don't make the mistake of fitting in as having swag, swagger is an attitude, not something you can buy or learn, and by definition it's not the best attitude to have anyway. There's nothing wrong with confidence, but aggressive arrogance is unappealing. Its a turn off to any women older than the age of 15.

So in conclusion what I'm saying is there is no such thing as #oldladyswag or #handicapswag or #hipsterswag or any other type of #hashtagswag. There is only swagger, and its long been known that when parents, teachers, grandparents, and older white people start using a slang term, it's time for us to stop using it. Swagger, ironically yours has expired.

On a side note I wish I had used #hashtagswag BEFORE I declared it uncool...

Feel free to comment, agree, or disagree.

Follow me on twitter @derekalanwest

THE STREET EVOL IS STREET LOVE



swag..lol