mikehall12382,
Avram in MD…look up the definition of tounge and cheek
Nu?
I’m not sure exactly why my words are disagreeable. My view is this:
1.) There is nothing wrong with wearing jeans (I mean as daily clothing, not just for painting, plumbing, etc.). Jeans have no bearing on a person’s worth, religiosity, ethics, or anything of that sort.
2.) In general U.S. culture, not just Yeshivish culture, or European culture, etc., jeans are considered informal wear.
3.) In Yeshivish circles, value is placed on dressing formally according to a combination of the definitions set by the land in which we live, and what has traditionally been worn. A facet of this value is that slacks are preferable to jeans.
4.) A person wearing jeans is demonstrating that he does not share the value above in the manner defined by the Yeshivish/Chassidic/Chareidi community. Again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this.
If you disagree with anything I stated above, please tell me. I think it is possible that our debate has arisen because of a perception that Yeshivish/Chassidic/Chareidi people think that their way is the right way, and by extension look down on people who do not live the same way that they do. I do not deny that to be the case, and I do not think that it is a correct way to act. It does not mean, however, that the clothes one chooses to wear is meaningless in a cultural context.
I also wanted to point out that the “looking down” cuts both ways. It is natural for a person to feel that his way is right… otherwise he’d change his ways. Just like there are those in the Yeshivish community who look down on the MO, there are those in the MO community who look down on the Yeshivish.