Christopher and Eric lived in the same environment while coming from different ethnic groups. Because Christopher was more exposed to drugs, Eric lived in Montana. For example, Eric was an African American male who lived in New York and moved to Montana. When he lived in Montana there was few black people in the community. Before Eric moved to Montana he lived in the Martinique where there were drug issues (Kozol 14-15, 77). Compared to Christopher, he was white and lived in New York. Christopher lived in the Martinique then moved to the “East Tremont Area” where there was more drug involvement (Kozol 52, 55). Christopher and Eric were exposed to different environments exposing them to drugs, violence, and illegal actions. They don’t realize …show more content…
For example, Eric had a younger sister named Lisette who was four years younger than him. Because Eric is four years older, Lisette was less aware of the environment in which they lived in (Kozol 15). Compared to Christopher, he had two sisters, Ellie who is five and Miranda who is four. Christopher’s sisters were also not aware of the environment they were living in like Lisette (Kozol 52). In both families Christopher and Eric decided they wanted to step up and help provide for their sisters. Making sure their sisters were ok was important to Christopher and …show more content…
Because Eric panhandled, Christopher went to jail. Eric only committed a few crimes robbery, breaking and entering, and stealing gas. At one point Eric had a warrant out for robbing. He would break into Vicky’s house when she wasn’t there taking her money and raising her bills. Because Eric didn’t have very much money he would steal gas to fill up his girlfriend’s car (Kozol 39-42). On the other hand, Christopher committed far worse crimes than Eric. The crimes he committed were stealing cars, attempted homicide, and drug dealing. At a young age Christopher went to jail for stealing and stripping cars. Five years later, he was with his friends and was convicted of attempted murder. He then started to be involved with dealing drugs (Kozol 60-61, 75). Even though Eric and Christopher went to jail many times it didn’t stop them from committing more crimes. It isn’t important to Christopher and Eric if they end up in jail or
They lived a life of poverty and were exposed to violence and drugs throughout the neighborhoods they lived in. Due to their backgrounds they lack opportunities, and for both Wes Moore where influenced by the things they saw. The environment put Wes Moore and the other Wes Moore at risk of experiencing this social problem. The historical contexts that influenced the character and their experience was not having a father figure in their lives to play the important role that they needed. Always begin surrounded by drugs, poverty and violence that type of environment influenced them to think that was the best thing for them. The friends both Wes Moore’s hung around didn’t have positive influences on them which lead to trouble with the law. Having being raised in household where money was always tight they were unable to get the best resources that need to live better
Drugs in their environments had effected the Wes Moore's similarly; although they weren't the ones doing the drugs, they were involved with people who did, leading to involvement with authorities. On the contrary, their different role models had impacted them differently. The author admired a honest man, who was mature and (truly) respected. The other Wes Moore admired his brother, who made a living off of drugs and scared respect out of others.
Alexander begins to state that mass incarceration is what everyone presumes it to be. That black people are more likely to commit crimes and the way they look is another factor that plays into a stereotype. The media is no help to emphasizing the stereotype and ones who aren’t criminals or even look it suffer from it just because of their race. She then goes on to talk about how the life of crime can be seductive but whether you’re white or black there isn’t any evidence to suggest that a person of color would more likely chose the life of crime. She then explains the reality where whites are more likely to at some point in their lives chose to participate in illegal drug activity. This is because they are more likely to have the resources to support drug habits while blacks are less likely to be able to do
Although I feel that other things can contribute to there being crime in urban neighborhoods. I felt as though the three topics that I have stated could possibly be the root of these problems. Ultimately, the one thing that stood out to me, and what I emphasized on a lot was location. The area in which a person is brought up leaves a huge impression on a person. What I feel that Elijah Anderson emphasizes is that in different locations and especially in urban areas two peoples definition of normal and decent can be completely different because they weren’t brought up in the same
Anderson’s theory examined African Americans living in America’s inner cities that are driven to follow the “street code” and work to maintain respect, loyalty, and their own self-image. The “street code” Anderson is referring to is “a cultural adaptation” which is the cause of violent crime in America’s inner cities (Anderson Article PDF, 3). Since these people are living in mainly impoverished neighborhoods with easy access to drugs and guns, as well as high rates of crime and violence, “everyone feels isolated and alienated from the rest of America” (Vold, 187). Anderson continues to distinguish between “decent” people and “street people.” Those who are “decent” families live in accordance with a “civil code” that upholds values in comparison with the rest of society such as maintaining a job, obtaining an education, protecting their children and following the law. Additionally, “street” families tend to fend for themselves, and when young, grow up without adult supervision and are often abused. This alone causes a dangerous environment because children then, “learn that to solve any kind of interpersonal problem one must quickly resort to hitting or other violent behavior” (Anderson Article PDF, 5). When brought up in an inner city “street” family, racism is a leading factor that causes the youth to construct a negative outlook on the rest of society. When these inner city, lo...
In the Journal of Youth and Adolescence it says how prevalent drug dealing is in inner cities. Adolescents Wes’ age are affected by it every day. Children who aren’t involved in it at the moment will more than likely be with time. It is said that African- American males over 16 who live in inner cities the likelihood of being involved in drug dealing is one in three. Wes was constantly experiencing actions of drug dealing because of Tony. Tony taught everything he knew to Wes; Ray would be the one to push his buttons. “Wes could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony’s words rang through his mind. Send a message,” (Moore,105). It turned into something that was common to him; it was becoming all that he knew. What came with selling drugs, were the perks. Wes became accustomed to luxury by the first time he wore the fancy headset. That headset was a gateway into a world of drug dealing. Shoes were something he was constantly buying and wasn’t going to stop. The money he earned was way more rewarding to him than the consequences. Wes never thought about the future, “He also didn’t feel burdened by the thought that early parenthood would wreck his future plans – because he didn’t really have any future plans,” (Moore,101). It was the lack of his support system that got him arrested and put in
The audience is to towards everyone such as the young boys of color who can relate to the book and the authorities who mistreat them. Ethnographic research methods between forty Black and Latino boys aged 14-18 in Oakland are used in this book. All of the participants had been arrested, or were socially linked with others had been arrested, or were on probation. Rios collected data by carrying on participant observations, interviews, focus group, and fieldwork. In the inner cities, most of the young men's parents still try to infuse their children with positive thinking, and all of the young men were originally eager to go to college or learn a skill and have a normal life. However, many of those people are in extreme poverty so that they are lack of enough resources on family and school. Also their communities limited their educational and career chances. They are living in a difficult life with intense policing and dense crime. Numerous young men had to cope with the problems and shame related to family members' drug issues and incarceration. And all of them believed their chances of also being incarcerated were
This essay is about a young African-American male teen name Jason Simmons. Jason was born on July 24, 1998 to the parents of Tony and Sallie Simmons. They lived in a small town in South Carolina were there was not a high crime rate but crime still existed in their small town. Like all cities and town crime does not omit it because it’s small or large because there is always someone trying to get something for nothing. Furthermore, there was some known gang activity in the small town. Therefore, there were some concerns of the young kids in the town getting involved in this activity in order to fill like they were a part of the in crowd. Furthermore, a lot of the kids did get blamed for being a part of these local gangs but are not actually
Ex-offenders are shamed in their communities, and often live in isolation and despair. Many of them resort back to crime and are re-incarcerated. In the beginning of chapter 3 The Color of Justice Alexander provides an example of a single mother who is arrested and charged with drug distribution although she is innocent. She spends a week in jail desperate to go home to her kids, after a month she pleads guilty and is forced to pay 1,000 dollars, plus court charges, receives a record, is kick off welfare and cannot provide for her children leading them to be taken away. An innocent life destroyed because of racial discrimination. Alexander draws parallels between mass incarceration in today’s world and past systems of social control like Jim Crow laws. Both systems legally discriminated against citizens and were formed by the racist views of those in power. She also points out that the amount of black males with a criminal record in Chicago is equivalent to 55 percent of the population. Alexander concludes the book by pointing out that in a way the life of a black man is set in stone. Although some have broken the barriers set for them most are stuck with in them, forced to accept a fact that is not true but is constantly encouraged in society. That concept is black males are condemned to ghettos and
It seems that every sibling doesn’t always have a great relationship with their older or younger siblings. In the movie “Real Women Have Curves”, we have two sisters, Anna and Estella,who seem not to get along in the beginning because of their differences, but at the end they become the best of friends because they have similar dreams and learn to support each other. The advantage of Anna and Estella’s relationship is that they benefit from each other. The whole story is that you don’t always realize how much you have in common with your siblings until you realize that you have similar dreams and can be there for each other.
The theory is based on the assumption that crime can be committed by anyone that has the opportunity. Let’s say that the family remains stuck in poverty as the brothers reach adulthood. One day, Jimmie Lee, the head drug dealer of the area, proposed the idea of having the boys deal drugs to earn more money. The brothers can be viewed as motivated offenders, given their prolonged financial hardship and limited means to make a brighter future for themselves. The boys have easy access to drug gangs, such as Jimmie Lee’s Conservative Vice Lords (p. 34), as well as many potential buyers living in the housing projects. Their criminal behavior is also enabled through the absence of guardianship. As Kotlowitz explains, “Residents so feared and respected the gang’s control that they refused to call 911” (p. 34). The police did know about Jimmie Lee’s criminal history and intent. However, this fear within the community, along with the lower social control that it brings, makes it easier for the Lafayette and Pharoah to commit criminal behavior such as this without getting
Since the Reagan officials tried harder to stop the Drug Enforcement Administration from exposing the illegal activities that were taking place, the more violence was being caused in these inner city neighborhoods, which lead to more arrests for possession. Now, Michelle explains how the War on Drugs has the most impact on African Americans in these inner city neighborhoods. Within the past three decades, US incarceration increase has been due to drug convictions, mainly. She states that, “the US is unparalleled in the world in focusing enforcement of federal drug laws on racial and ethnic minorities.”(Alexander2016). The percentile of African American men with some sort of criminal record is about 80% in some of our major US cities(Paul Street, The Vicious Circle: Race, Prison, Jobs, and Community in Chicago, Illinois, and the Nation (Chicago Urban League, Department of Research and Planning, 2002). MIchelle referred to these becoming marginalized and calls them “ growing and permanent undercaste.” (Alexander2016, pp
As the dirtiness- based hierarchy starts with whites at the top, in Detroit, with legal jobs and safe communities, with their practices aimed at reducing risk and danger to their people. Therefore, meaning that those who are not them, Caucasian, are the dangerous ones. By reinforcing class inequality systems that are fabricated by the understandings of how we view people by using the word ‘dirt’ can give a child less meaning to his or her life. He knows no better than what he does, for his family and society have taught him these values, money matters. He does not plan on the drug trade culture to be a forever situation, but sees it as a temporary circumstance to be in. It is not “forever” for adults are not the ones selling dope. They are the one in his society that are either killed or locked away until they are middle aged. The lack of older role models around them results in them acting older than their age. This then leads to taking over responsibility among family matters that others are no longer capable of, for one reason or another. These morals of family show that he would rather think about their survival first before think about him and the repercussions that may occur. His family is the meaning of his life. Even when doing time, he is thinking of what will do in the future that can help his sick mother, and if he can
The article, “Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle” written by Katherine Beckett, Kris Nyrop, and Lori Pfingst is about how the racialization of imagery surrounding drugs has had a major impact on institutional effects that shape police perception and practices. These effects could be the cause of the racial disparity that characterizes drug possession in Seattle.
This segregation, caused by the racist attitudes prevalent in the Edgewater homeless community, is a direct reflection of societal attitudes in the United States. Because racism has survived to some degree to this day, homeless whites in Edgewater cling to the notion of “white supremacy,” despite their socioeconomic status (Bourgois and Schonberg, 30). In Edgewater, homeless whites look down upon African-Americans with disdain, claiming “blacks” to be thieves and liars who can’t be trusted (Bourgois and Schonberg, 31). When African-Americans began moving into the Edgewater community during the second year of Bourgois and Schonberg’s research, racial tensions increased drastically. Initially, several white men gave up dry sleeping spots purely to increase the physical distance between the two races; however, many ultimately moved to an entirely new location, Dockside, despite it being a downgrade from Edgewater (Bourgois and Schonberg, 36). Without taking into account the economic environment of the Edgewater community, one may view actions such as giving up warmth and dryness just to get away from a group of people may seem severe. However, when examined from the perspective of the homeless inhabitants of Edgewater, it becomes apparent that in such close quarters, resources of coveted substances such as heroin are strained and racial tensions are heightened to impossible