The Wire By David Simon

Most boys know they need to be “manly” to fit into this equitable world because feeling ambivalent or indecisive does not measure up to the macho image. When boys and men do not conform to conventional gender roles, they are punished and victimized; however, this punishment does not outweigh the reprisal and backlash of those who are being punished and victimized for not adapting to the norms of society. The inordinately male episodes of school shootings, bullying, and other actions of violence are largely misunderstood problems in middle and high schools. Shootings are often explained as a logical and unsurprising outcomes of anything. It is negligent and reckless to ignore the fact that it is not just males who are mainly the perpetrators, but males who have been neglected and mistreated by society. It is implied that“black kids in the ghetto” are most often the perpetrators of all violent crimes. However, this is not the case, for it is those who feel oppressed and dehumanized by society that feel they have no choice, but to lash out in order to voice their anger. School shootings are really the outcome of those who are oppressed and bullied to their breaking point. In guns, boys and men find a weapon that provides the ability to act out their revenge fantasy in a twisted way to finally receive some distorted form of respect, that they are deprived of through gender

“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.

Adolescent Black males throughout the years have been subject and victim to numerous economic, socioeconomic, and environmental disadvantages. In many inner-city neighborhoods, these disadvantages have led to an increase in violence among these adolescent African American males, especially in the educational system. Violence among African American males in schools is something that increases tremendously each year; a 2010 study in Education Week showed that over 70% of the students involved in school-related arrests or referred to law enforcement were African American students. This can be explained

The starting point of violence takes place in communities and at home--not at school. Youth take what they hear and see at home and in their communities to school. The environment in some communities and households are positive and the presences of protective factors outweigh the high risk factors. However, there are communities and households where there is a lack of informal social control and high risk factors exist more than protective factors--, which affect youth in a negative manner.

This sense of entitlement is one of the reasons that violence is so prevalent among this age group of men. Although most men believe that acts of hazing, bullying, rape, and fighting are wrong, they conform to this culture of silence because they are afraid of being shunned by their peers. “Silence is one of the ways that boys become men.” (61) They are forced to be silent witnesses because if they were to express any vulnerability, they would likely become the next target. As Kimmel says, “what happens in Guyland stays in Guyland”. (62) By silencing oneself and turning a blind eye, these young men are not only supporting themselves, but also protecting themselves. When the community dismisses these violent acts, the criminals who commit these atrocious acts are protected, which in turn “enables them to transgress again, or even escalate the severity of their actions.” (63)

The " Code of the Street" written by Eljah Anderson is an explanation for high rates violence among African-American Adolescents in Philadelphia. He wrote about poverty, lack of job, racial discrimination, rampant drug use and trafficking that leads to anti-social attitudes, violent behavior, alienation, and lack of hope for the future of the African Americas in Philadelphia.

The short story On The Bridge by Todd Strasser is about two boys, Adam and Seth, who are hanging out after school on a bridge that overlooks the highway. Seth was the character that demonstrated maturity towards the end of the story. He showed some examples of this when Adam got them into some trouble. For example, when Adam flicked his cigarette onto the windshield of a car below the bridge, the drivers came up behind them. “But suddenly he [Seth] noticed that all three guys were staring at him. He quickly looked at Adam and saw why. Adam was pointing at him.” It was this point where Seth started to question his friendship with Adam, because they had gotten into trouble because of Adam, and then he blamed it on Seth. After the men left, Seth

Throughout the article “The Code of the Streets,” Elijah Anderson explains the differences between “decent” and “street” people that can be applied to the approaches of social control, labeling, and social conflict theories when talking about the violence among inner cities due to cultural adaptations.

Part A of this paper explains the three most important sociological points Randol Contreras make in The Stickup Kids. One of the sociological points is social forces impelling low-income youth towards drug market violence that produce delinquent and self-destructive individuals. The second sociological point is the inner city violence that is almost unavoidable for the individuals growing up in such environments. The third sociological point is economic destitution that leads people to commit crimes in order to make ends meet. The author of “The Stickup Kids: Race, Drugs, Violence, and the American Dream” Dr. Randol Contreras was born and raised in the South Bronx. Contreras grew up in the Bronx during the infamous “Crack Era” when the Bronx

Rios then goes into chapter six by explaining how masculinity is both used against and used for advantage by the adolescent boys of Oakland. Society and authority figures constantly told the boys that to become a man they had to obey the rules and laws without engaging in deviant ruthless behavior. The boys felt that they had been placed in a lose-lose situation. To compensate, the boys adopted a hyper-masculine personality so that they could feel like they had some control over their lives. The hyper-masculine persona allowed the boys to feel powerful, tough, manly, and invincible to officer brutality. However, with the increased sense of defiance the boys were brutalized and victimize even more. The boys reported taking on hyper-masculine behaviors in juvenile centers and prisons to prevent victimization. Masculinity plays a crucial role in the lives of the young men on the street in connection to the biased criminal justice system that pushes the boys into

The possession and use of lethal weapons by young male gang members can also be perceived as a way for them to portray their masculine identity. In this context, Barker (2005) proposes that the possession and use lethal weapons and violence by black male gang members enables them to achieve their goals and protect their male pride and honour when feeling challenged and disrespected. However, while the possession and use of lethal weapons to protect their male pride and honour are believed to be central to gang membership and the identity of the gang members, it is likely that this is the cause of the majority of gang violence, especially black-on-black violence (Barker, 2005). Likewise, In the Dying to Belong paper, Pickles (2009) argues that violence gang culture in the UK derives from a continuous cycle of reputation and respect seekers targeting attacks on one another; which in turn is perceived as an insult to honour, resulting in a cycle of violence revenge attacks. According to Pitts (2007a, pg. 47): “to be disrespected is to be “fair game” for anyone who wants to make a name for themselves”. In addition, each young gang member’s manhood, as well as their identity and reputation, may reflect on the gang as a whole. Therefore, when one member manhood feels threatened, the gang may feel like their collective identity has also been challenged (Stretesky and Pogrebin, 2007). An example of this can be found in some of the hip-hop lyrics which reveal revenge is necessary

Preston Simmons, 14, was shot and killed by four men near the Castle Hill Housing Projects in East Brooklyn. One of them pulled a 9-millimeter automatic pistol from his waist and shot Preston twice, once in the head and once in the body, and then shot him nine more times as he fell to the snow. ' 'This kid was full of holes, ' ' said Vincent Pizzo, chief of detectives for the housing police (Sack 9). This is a common occurrence in housing projects across the nation. Even worse, the people living in these areas have no hope of things improving such as Denise Butler, Preston’s girlfriend. Denise has Simmons’ baby on the way and expects her child to live a life parallel to Preston’s in which he lived in poverty, watched his family struggle, and, as a result, felt pressure to become a marijuana dealer. ' 'If he 's still living around here, ' ' Miss Butler said of her expected child, ' 'I guess he 'll be selling drugs, will be forced to sell drugs, or will have a lot of bad habits ' ' (Sack 5). With an exception to a few who plan to “make it out,” this is the mindset of many living in these areas that are flooded with violence, drugs, and gangs. Denise Butler already expects her future child to be selling drugs...better yet, she proclaims he will be FORCED to sell drugs. With the environment she lives in and where she projects herself to be in a couple of years, she believes it will force her son to sell drugs. It is the same circumstances under which Preston found himself.

Anderson explains “the kind of home a child comes from influences [them] but does not always determine the way the child will ultimately turn out” (Anderson pg. 68), referring to the powerful influences of friends and the low self-esteem of young people. Growing up in an area where is the not many resources or wealth children are forced to learn the “code” of the streets quickly in order to earn “juice”. often times, any means of earning it, whether it be verbal or physical is supported not only but their peers but also their parents. This “becomes part of their working conception of the world, so that by the time they reach adulthood, it has emerged as an important element of public social order” (Anderson pg. 69). With little to no repercussions or negative attitudes toward this way of life they often engage in criminal activities such as theft, assault, aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, and much

The fourth episode of The Wire was about putting the wire tap to work and listening to the phone calls between the gang. They are starting to figure out what numbers belong to which gang member. The police also get another confidential informant, Omar. Omar agrees to become a witness and to help put Avon behind bars. McNulty’s boss tells him that he expects the case to be wrapped up in a week and that he returns to his real job by then. Knowing that this will not happen, he argues with his boss and leaves case files behind. Rawls goes through the files and decides to charge the people in all of them. This does not go well with McNulty and his team because they know that if they charge the people there is no concrete evidence and it will ruin the whole investigation. Daniels is able to convince Burell to overrule Rawls and not charge them. In the book

3)the movie sheds light on common universal social and human problems by explaining the ideal of masculinity as a mental self-destructive tool used to imitate the media exhibit manhood. According to the film, “The average of boy’s media consumption ranges from 57 hours per week” (The Mask You Live In; 2015) This means they spend 40hrs watching television, ranging from cartoons to action movies, 15hrs playing video games, and 2hrs watching porn. There are five types of masculinity demonstrated in the media. Firstly, the mysterious form of masculinity is an emotionless, always composed character. His disciplined composure is portrayed as strong because he does not allow himself self as strong due to his emotional. Secondly, the hero is a popular figure boys admire. The hero is also portrayed as aggressive, but his aggression is interpreted as positive behavior. For instance, Superman or batman are Marvel comic heroes, rescue the beautiful damsel in distress while simultaneously saving the town save the town in the process. The masculine form is admirer able because their aggression solves the problems of circumstance. Thirdly, the thug is also an admirable depiction of manhood. Racial minorities usually represent the thugs, typically of African American or Hispanic descent. A major highlight about thugs is their involvement in criminal activity. Their domineering character is expressed through violent aggression. Furthermore, thugs are commonly known to flaunt his sexual