Analysis Of Robert Garot

The author, Robert Garot spells out several less talked about sociological and psychological elements that incite gang foundation, violence, and prevalence. Which span from “street warrior” titles to the innocent adolescent that is forced through oppressive outside forces, and individual demographics that leads inner city youth to participate in gangs in schools and on the streets. He separates his explanations by analyzing political environments and academic communities. Starting from the historical context and linking it back to contemporary issues of imperfect political ideas, Garot tells how strong socially created labels only increase the problem. At the end he stresses for others to look at his research carefully to study gang formations,

From these short interactions he gains that an important spark that leads these youths to minor gang activity is their alienation in school. The following chapters inspects school rules, daily routines, student interactions among themselves, and their relationship with administration and teachers. Garot (2010) summarizes that since school wear is heavily regulated, it is not what you wear, but instead how you wear your clothes. Everything stylistic additions from hairstyles, jewelry and clothing can address gang involvement. The author’s explanations line up with one aspect of the Differential Association Theory. As criminal behavior can be observed, learned and copied, usually the younger students will find older students as role models by virtue of hanging out with the older student’s crowd (Conklin 2013). Detailed in the Differential Association Theory, the community and school is a major factor where one can learn the adornments of what a criminal may look and act like. It is hard to deter this in students as it usually hard for instructors to differentiate what dress is linked to gang behavior. Students have

Here he takes the time to explain the dynamic social forces of street survival pertaining to location, clothing, and gang association. Immediately he makes it clear that avoiding gang members is never an easy thing, and not seen as dangerous. It is “non-negotiable” Garot points out (p.90). These youth are constantly proving themselves by older students or even adults, to be “hit-up”. In these situations the youth must validate street wits and know-how (Garot 2010, p.91). The second concept of the Differential Association Theory states that “criminal behavior is learned through interactions with other persons in a process of communication . . . verbal or non-verbal,” (Conklin 2013, p.188). Older gang members pass on these skills and techniques of crime to younger school children, prefacing it in a way that they would need to know these things to survive. In many of these cases the children believe this, and see these criminals as protection and ones to rely on. It is at this point where Garot does not convince me at all. The author uses the second section to tie a narrative of a few minority boys as evidence of this persuasive gang initiation and rituals. Nowhere does Garot explore the other possible avenues of other positive leadership, or attempted to