I think the Power & Light District is a really sweet hangout in Kansas City.
I’ve only been there once, but from what I saw, it’s a cool place.
Where else can you go out to eat, bowl a couple frames and see your favorite band, all in a few blocks? Not many places.
Yes, it’s a good thing Kansas City has a place where anyone can go and have some fun.
Or can they?
Well, it really depends on how you dress.
Or at least it used to.
Last year, when the Power & Light District opened, a dress code was enforced.
Yes, an actual dress code. Treating people like grade school children with basically uniforms.
People weren’t allowed to go into the businesses in that area if they were wearing bandanas, work boots, ripped or baggy clothing.
I consider this silly. Why those in charge felt that people wearing these clothing items shouldn’t be allowed in still kind of puzzles me.
But the bigger issue with these restrictions wasn’t with what was being prohibited, but whether or not this dress code was unintentionally being discriminatory of certain races.
While officials of Cordish Company, the developer of the Power & Light District, keep saying their rules weren’t meant to discriminate against people, it’s difficult to imagine they really believe this.
And really, it’s not even about race, because any person could wear bandanas or ripped clothing, but it’s more about the type of person they think is wearing those clothes.
A person wearing baggy pants could be the nicest person in the world, you know, would help an old lady cross the street, but some people already have an idea in their heads about whom that person will be based on his or her clothes.
And everyone is guilty of this, even me.
Another problem with just one dress code for the entire Power & Light District was that it didn’t allow any of the businesses to have a say in what clothes should be prohibited.
And it was thought that these businesses weren’t enforcing the dress code fairly, letting some get in, while others couldn’t.
And really, how hard is it to check people for those clothes? There’s no reason for it to be a problem of making sure everyone is following the dress code.
With these issues in mind, the Kansas City Council passed a new dress code for the Power & Light District.
Now businesses can choose what to ban.
Businesses are allowed to prohibit undershirts and control the length of exposed shirttails.
They also have the choice to ban sports apparel, except for sporting events. <br/>But it still seems unnecessary to me.But it still seems unnecessary to me.
But it still seems unnecessary to me.
So I’m going to insert a cliché phrase here: it’s a free country. People should be able to dress however they want.
It would be one thing if this was high school where we had to enforce a dress code to make sure girls didn’t wear skirts too short or guys sag their pants too low.
But most of the people that hang out there are adults, and probably have been for quite some time.
So for them to create a dress code for adults who are capable of dressing themselves, well that’s just ridiculous.
I realize the Power & Light District is an upscale place, and the developers want the people to match the atmosphere and for it to be a safe environment, but in all reality, some of these restrictions seem discriminatory.
I may not necessarily agree with people's fashion sense, but I'm not going to tell them they can't wear something. They should be allowed to wear what they want, baggy clothing and all.<br/>&#160;