Crime In The Other Wes Moore

As a direct result of his years at the military school, Wes graduated high school on time and continued his education. On the other hand, “Other” Wes did not graduate from high school. Rather than attempt to turn his life around, “Other” Wes turned to a life of pushing drugs and committing crimes, a lifestyle that would later result in long prison sentences for him. This is a result of him not receiving any effective disciplinary action from his mother or any other important role models in his life because rather than try to live his life according to any standard set for him early in life, he disregarded the law and those around him. Author Wes’s self-discipline, family discipline, and military discipline all resulted in him having a prosperous life starting immediately after he graduated. He eventually attended college and interned at the Baltimore city's mayor's office. While the “other” Wes had no discipline in his life which led it to spiral out of control. After trying getting back into selling drugs, “other Wes” committed a robbery with his brother Tony which went from bad to worse when it resulted in the death of a policeman who had taken up a second job as a security guard at the jewelry store Wes

The author Wes Moore went off to military school where negative environmental influences were cut off and he was able to receive an education, which he himself considers a turning point in his life. His entire atmosphere and the dynamics of the schools he was accustomed to were altered. Although he attempted to run away several times, there was a point after speaking with his mother that he made the decision to stop running and embrace the experience and it helped make him the person he is today. The imprisoned Moore dropped out of school and like the overwhelming majority of African American male drop outs, ended up in the system. While the imprisoned Wes may have not had access to private or military schools, he could have finished school and decided to make an honest living. Later in his life he did decided to earn a GED and learn a trade, but he didn’t make the decision to dedicate himself to turning his life around and as soon as things got difficult turned back to what he knew instead of taking path toward something more positive. He gained mentors working under Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore, and a friend in his former Captain, Ty Hill at the military school. His decision to pursue a life full of criminal activity was his alone.

“It’s a war going on. The ghetto is a cage. They only give you two choices, be a rebel or a slave” Dead Prez, ‘Turn off the Radio’, 2002. It’s an epidemic that’s happening in major cities across America; racialized black and latino youth are pipelined directly into the criminal justice system through different institutions starting at a young age. These boys are marked for illegitimate gang activity at an early age, initiating the ongoing process where they are stigmatized in every aspect of their life for their negative credentials before they even have the opportunity to prove themselves. Victor Rios, author of Punished, names this phenomenon the Youth Control Complex and shadows several youth in the Oakland area, in hopes of bringing light to these injustices. Rios, having grown up in the ghetto himself, knows firsthand what it takes to escape this inevitable incarceration; mentorship from adults who care and opportunity fueled by the individual. The Youth Control Complex effectively criminalizes these boys at a young age, however through the sociological imagination one can see that the conditions are part of larger structural and societal processes.

Wes’s decision to leave school for an easier life of street dealing guided him down a path of misfortunes. The first of many came with his violent outburst to defend his pride. After a woman in relations with Wes Moore sees her boyfriend show up to his house, he angrily punches Wes in the face. In shock, Moore “could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony’s words rang through his mind. Send a message” (104). Proceeding the attack, he grabbed a gun out of his drawer and shot the man to prove a point that you do not mess with him. He was incarcerated for six months. To no surprise, what occured later in his life was the infamous shooting of a police officer in the midst of a robbery. This landed Wes Moore in a life sentence for murder. It all started with drug dealing and ended in indefinite incarceration for murder.

The other Wes Moore took a different path later in his life. Even though his role model and older brother, Tony, encouraged him to stay in school and to stay out of the drug game; Wes did not listen. Although he tried to better himself by enrolling himself into a program and trying to get back into school, “Wes went back to school immediately after leaving the juvenile detention facility, the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson” (Moore 110), he still did not accomplish what he wanted. Wes just wanted to be able to support himself and his family but “Wes found it almost impossible to find a job to support

One grows up quick when one grows up poor; inmate Wes Moore is a prime example of how youth is pressured to deal with real issues from a very young age.Living within poverty, inmate Wes Moore believed he needed to step up to the plate and financially provide for his mother and family. However even after making strides towards an honest living through the Job Corps and vocational classes, Wes would be allured back by the money from the hustle. “The pressure was breaking Wes down. Alicia complained that he was not giving her enough money to provide for the kids they shared. Cheryl was now constantly calling him about wanting more time with the kids-which meant she wanted more money to take care of them. His mother needed more money because she was raising both Wes’s and Tony’s kids. Wes banged his fists against the top of his head as his elbows rested on the kitchen table. While at the Job Corps Center, Wes had felt his problems floating off in the soft county air of Laurel. A year after graduating, he realized they had not disappeared-they’d simply returned to Baltimore, waiting for him to come back. In his absence, they’d compounded.”(Moore 145) Wes believed that the only possible way to generate enough cashflow to help support his family was to get back into the game, start cooking dope in the kitchen, and selling rock to the crackheads on the streets. This is the kind of lifestyle that children in

Childrens are always surrounded by peers, whether it is their classmates or a teammate, there would always be peer pressure that would somehow go around and it could affect and hinder the children's growth academically and their self esteem. “The constantly broken down elevators forced residents to climb claustrophobic, urine-scented stairways. And the drug game was everywhere, with a gun handle protruding from the top of every tenth teenager’s waistline”(Moore 27). This basically shows how the crime was in Wes’ neighborhood and this lead to him going to prison. The society that surrounds Wes, attracted him into becoming a criminal.

People living in poverty are living in survival mode. There are those that sacrifice to make sure their families have what they need, but unfortunately there are a few who feel disposed to make atracious decisions in order to obtain what they feel they are entitled to. There have been multiple situations of crimes such a theft and tragically even death for those who happen to be privileged enough to have more than the underprivileged. Jermaine Malcolm with the East side Boys and Girls club stated that San Antonio has the highest juvenile crime rate (Nichols, E.). Mr. Malcolm has worked with many underprivileged children and has been a witness to their success stories.

“Which relies heavily on mass incarceration of teen offenders, is badly broken? The violence and abuse within youth facilities is bad enough, but these institutions also fail to rehabilitate the youth within them. (Mendel, p.1) Adding reinforcement that something must be done immediately to save our youth; leaving us to wonder how these effects will ultimately shape their lives for the better or the worst. There is a sense of hopelessness and despair that illuminates over these juveniles.

Poverty is defined as the condition of having little or no money, items, or means of support. In 2015, there were 43.1 million people living in poverty in the United States alone. "Crime offers a way in which impoverished people can obtain material goods that they cannot attain through legitimate means.” (Taylor, 2006). Many impoverished people turn to crimes like breaking and entering, armed robbery. and shoplifting, in order to accumulate enough money to supplement an inadequate or nonexistent income. Other crimes, like vandalism and narcotic distribution, provide a needed escape for young teens and older people living in destitute. (Payne, 2011). People stricken with poverty are in urgent need for the necessities of life. They are frantic for an escape from their bleak position. This severe desperation is the underlying cause of many crimes.

Youth poverty, not youth biology is the most to blame for youth crime. Also their environment. Within every race and community youths suffer-poverty rated two to three times higher than older adults do. It is astonishing that researchers have complied theories and claims about youths:

The crimes of today are vast and varied amongst the different socioeconomic statuses. Crimes committed by poverty stricken individuals are many times out of necessity. For example, a mother who needs to feed her children will often resort to stealing food or small, expensive items that can be converted to cash. “Poverty can lead to high levels of stress that in turn may lead individuals to commit theft, robbery, or other violent acts.”(Taylor 2006). On the other side of the coin there are also the crimes committed by the affluent. For many of the same reasons such as stress; stress to succeed or compete with the neighbours or others in the same socioeconomic status. There is also another dimension to consider that is often overlooked; the degree of violence or careless disregard of others when these crimes are committed.

Poverty is present and is an issue not only affecting developing countries, but also society in the lower classes of the developed countries. Known causes of poverty include: economic trends, availability of education, overpopulation, unfavourable environmental conditions or even widespread epidemics. There is a distinct relationship between increased crime rates and poverty. If the standard of living is low, the people living in poverty see a benefit in committing a crime because they justify the risk of getting caught with their basic needs of survival. The rate of violence from individuals from households with incomes below $15,000 was at least 1.5 times greater than higher income groupings (Statistics Canada, 2015). Any combination of factors mentioned would drastically put individuals in an unfavourable position. This is a very difficult cycle to overcome because for most families the importance of making sure their families are fed is greater than their need for an education in their day-to-day lives.

Paucity compels numerous people to live under the approved standards that a person should live in. Lack of money to address the demands of people and households compels many of the members in the society into criminal behavior. It has been evidenced that criminal behavior has the likelihood of making quick, easy money yet it is clear that it comes at a price (William, 2017). Poverty stands as the greatest indicator of societal disparities and vulnerable populations; those who live in poverty experience poorer outcomes, including higher crime rates, decreased access to resources, higher incidence of alcohol and drug use, mental health concerns, and decreased sense of security and safety. It does not stand as poverty, alone, that leads to

Teen crime is beginning to become a larger issue and threat to our society. There are many influences that affect young individuals to misbehave or act on criminality. A teens upbringing plays a huge role in whether or not they will commit crimes in their future.