Summarize Victor Rios' background growing up, where is he from etc
Grew up in Oakland, CA
Former gang member
Saw one of his best friends
... [Show More] murdered
(smiley 14 yrs old)
Abused by police and viewed as a criminal
His friend smiley shot by a rival gang
The murder of smiley coupled with negative interactions with the police forced Rios to reflect on the larger picture of youth violence and criminalization
developed a "social imagination"
He had a positive interaction with a police officer and teacher who influenced to change his lifestyle and pursuit a college education:
UC Berkley--graduate school
UC Santa Barbara --professor
What were Rios' views growing up of the police?
Rios had indifference in law enforcement
didn't seem to care about his friends well-being
Why does Rios say that the state is not absent from the lives of the poor?
The state had not abandoned the poor; it had re-organized itself by placing priority on punitive institutions. e.g. the police
they are continually present to surveil, to arrest, and to incarcerate
What political party supports punitive state policies?
Tea party members e.g. Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan
Tea party members support punitive state policies more than general public
support for punitive policies corresponds with beliefs of racial superiority
What are some of the punitive policies that Rios mentions in the book punished?
*Mandatory min
*trying Juveniles as adults
*use of capital punishment
*Street and terrorism enforcement & prevention act--longer sentences for offenders recognized as gang members
*Prop 21
Does Rios believe that social institutions treat blacks and latinos (and other minorities) as criminals long BEFORE they engage in any criminal behavior?
Yes, he uses smiley as an example in the preface and other examples throughout the book.
Smiley is judged by his clothing/mannerisms
Also spider in chapter 4
Spider was attacked and went to the hospital [he was never involved in a gang]
He was treated like a criminal by association and put into the gang member system California had
What does Rios mean by YOUTH CONTROL COMPLEX?
Young men in this study found themselves in situations in which their everyday behaviors and styles were constantly treated as deviant threatening, risky and criminal.
YCC includes:
1. LAW ENFORCEMENT (blacks are much more likely to be searched [ 3x] arrested [2x] and prosecuted than whites///blacks are [6x] more likely to be incarcerated for drug use than whites.
2. SCHOOLS (blacks are more harshly disciplined and expelled for similar behaviors than whites)
3. BUSINESS ( clothing styles assoc w/hip hop)
4. MEDIA (disproportionate focus on crimes committed by blacks/latinos movie the 13th).
What is criminalization?
the process whereby styles and behaviors become rendered deviant and are eventually punished
What is hypercriminalizaton? Who does Rios use as an example of hypercriminalization?
Involves CONSTANT
punishment//the individuals everyday behaviors are criminalized making the individual feel:
stigmatized
outcasted
shamed
defeated
hopeless
Rios uses SLICK as an example in chap 1 (eating a burrito and being called on by the police when they were not doing any criminal activity, just simply eating).
What are the arrest and incarceration statistics for black, latino and whites?
1/3--black
1/6--latino
1/17--whites
What are the consequences of being arrested/incarceration?
damages your chances in school (college)
employment
state welfare
What does George Herbert Mead say about the "self"?
For mead the sense of self does not develop in a vacuum
It develops through
social interaction
the self has a character which is different from that of the physiological organism proper.
The self is something which has a development ;it is not initially there, at birth , but arises in the process of social experience ...and in relation to other individuals within that process.
Who is Jose is punished?
Latino youth
mother often away at work (maid)
lived within a public housing complex
Jose felt stigmatized at school after getting arrested in the 3rd grade (Rios recounts Jose receiving a citation at school for talking disrespectfully to his high school teacher)
Jose also felt police would not assist him or his family.
Overpolicing/underpolicing paradox (milk incident)
Police neglect "minor issues" within housing complexes
--LEADS TO MISTRUST OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
Jose said police were aggressive and attacked him at age 12 leading him to loose trust in law enforcement
Like Tyrell, jose was involved in drug usage, selling and violence
He also felt that probation officers were no help
--unrealistic advice
--leaving him with the "code of the street" [Show Less]