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Assignment #3 Ear Hustle
Social disorganization theory is a developed by Chicago School, the theory states that a broken society which is ineffective of social control results in a malfunctioning integration of groups. This was the case for Tommy Shakur Ross, he lived in a broken community and was surrounded by gangs and crime his entire life. After an incident where Ross was approached by a gang member and asked where he was from (which is a way to intimidate someone). Ross felt like he needed to be part of a gang to be able to survive in this society. Ross then began to affiliate himself with a gang member in order to be recruited into the “Eight Trey Gang”. Ross would take part in crime activity such as grand theft auto and assault. Ross did not only felt like that this was a way to survive but he also was ambitious to be glorified as a gangster also known as “ghetto fame”. One day on September 2 of 1985, Ross shot and killed a rival gang member. This man was called Stanford Bursey and his gang wanted vengeance for his murder. Just four days later Ross mother and brother were murdered. Ross wanted retaliation but was arrested September 15. He was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. Today, Ross regrets killing Bursey and takes responsibility for the death of his mother and brother.
Short Assignment #4
I do believe that banning traffic stops will bring positive changes to justice due to the fact that police may stop people on their way to work can it can create frustration for people on their way to work that don’t seem to be a threat to their job or community they drive through, many people go through stop and frisks already and already dealing with it in their car on their way to some place can seem like an issue. Even though it’s a smart thing to stop someone during a traffic stop and search if they have any weapons, it can seem repetitive to stop plenty of cars when they could possibility have nothing, it just shows how much the police want to be sure nothing happens, but for me, I do think banning traffic stops can be a good thing but also a small bad thing if the person plans to commit a crime with something bad in their car.
Short Assignment #4
Do you think we must rethink how we enforce traffic laws in cities and suburbs? Do traffic stops accomplish their task of deterring unsafe driving?
It would be effective to rethink how traffic laws should be enforced in the cities and suburbs because present efforts are not effects for protecting pedestrians and drivers. In addition, current traffic laws increase traffic and often, frustration. As the New York Times article mentions, Black drivers are more likely to get pulled over than White drivers, which means that the use of traffic stops to administer justice is an unfair process. There should be an improved focus on equity and protection for the whole community. If there is risk of the police action causing any harm and if not taking action will not cause significant harm, it would be better for the police to not act.
Do you believe banning traffic stops like in Philadephia, Los Angeles, Seattle, etc, will bring positive changes to the justice system and the affected communities? Write your thoughts on this question.
The ramifications of banning traffic stops are unknown and seems risky as a result, but it is worth a try. The current approach of traffic stops slows down traffic, causes people to learn where the stops are and avert them, and results in members of minority groups disproportionately held responsible for some type of crime in a manner that is reminiscent of stop and frisk. I think that the fact that Los Angeles has banned traffic stops is a good idea for this particular city because the police force likely spent a lot of human and financial resources on these efforts when they might be better spent performing other tasks to help the community. Given the presence of cultural differences between the cities that might implement the traffic stop bans, it is possible that the bans will be effective in some states and not others. It would be necessary for each state to launch a related program to determine if this approach could be a success, starting first at the local level. For example, bans could be tried in Albany, NY before New York, NY, which has a much denser population.
Assignment #4
Sofia D. Avila
12/16/22
I do believe we must rethink how we enforce traffic laws in cities and suburbs because they do not accomplish their task of deterring unsafe driving. Instead, they reveal more racial profiling and decrease the sense of trust and safety communities feel towards officers. The enforcement of traffic laws specifically minor traffic stops ineffectively decreases unsafe driving and instead has increased the fatalities involved in these interactions. The increased fatalities from traffic stops result in a decrease in trust and safety which only fuels the number of fatalities as individuals will feel at risk when stopped. Individuals are more likely to become paranoid or aggressive, which can go deeper into racial disparities.
“the risk of escalation created by disproportionately stopping Black drivers — exacerbated by pre-existing tensions between the police and Black residents — was a greater threat to public safety than the traffic violations.” – Cities Try to Turn the Tide on Police Traffic Stops, The New York Times.
This same article, states how some police unions and officers argue that “pulling over cars to search them is an essential weapon against serious crime”. This statement is contradicting itself, the minor traffic stop due to a vehicle’s broken tail lights, expired registrations, or window tints should not suggest officers be able to use probable cause in searching a vehicle. This is the stem of racial disparity, distrust, and life-threatening interactions.
Banning traffic stops in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, etc, is in a way controversial if we are thinking about all traffic stops. I believe that in order to bring positive changes to the justice system and affected communities we would need to reform traffic stop protocols. Focusing more on individuals who are speeding, recklessly driving, and other more dangerous infractions would primarily deter unsafe driving. While stopping vehicles for minor infractions should not be enforced as heavily, officers should also be limited as to when to enforce probable cause that would lead them to search a vehicle. Cities and schools should also focus on educating individuals about their rights as a way to feel more secure when presented with these situations. Officers should also learn how to properly de-escalate situations in order to solidify trust and safety among communities.
Assignment #3
Sofia D. Avila
11/25/22
After listening to the “Ear hustle: Episode 2: Misguided loyalty” podcast, the theory that would apply to explain Tommy Shakur Ross’s involvement in gangs and crime would be Merton’s Strain theory. This theory explains how societal structures can pressure individuals into committing crimes, Merton proposed a typology of deviant behavior defined by culturally defined goals and the institutionalized means available to achieve these goals. There are 5 categories in total, and 4 remain within a system which are conformity, ritualism, innovation, and retreatism. The 5th category falls outside of the system which is rebellion, this is the category which Shakur falls under. Rebellion in Merton’s Strain theory is when an individual rejects culturally and society-defined goals and actively replaces them with unacceptable ones.
To start, as Shakur was explaining early childhood life, he had both parents growing up and was one of the middle children among 5 siblings. His mother was a nurse and his father was a Baptist minister, so he grew up going to church. His parents wanted him to become a minister to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he wanted to do other things which eventually led him to resent going to church. Here we can see that Shakur is being presented to institutionalize cultural goals placed by his parents to follow his dad’s footsteps in church. As he started to resent the church and misbehave, his father would discipline him which resulted in him to further resent church and authority. One day when Shakur was ordering food from a taco stand, he was approached by three gang members who attacked him and took his food. Shakur felt humiliated and powerless, this encounter was what drew his attention to gangs.
At the young age of 13, Shakur started becoming close with one particular person who was affiliated with a gang called Eight Tray. With more exposure to gang culture, Shakur became more and more interested in joining. Applying Merton’s Strain theory, Shakur was becoming more interested in the societal structure of “togetherness” and culture in gangs. He rejected acceptable cultural and societal defined goals placed by his parents and replaces them with the cultural and societal goals in gangs, which are seen as unacceptable to overall society. Shakur would be exposed to more delinquent activities when he joined Eight Tray such as selling drugs or driving lowriders, this exposure would result in Shakur engaging in school fights, stealing cars, and snatching purses. His established goal in Eight Tray was “ghetto fame” where he wanted to establish his position in Eight Tray by doing the same level of crimes or beyond. He earned his name “Joker” and wanted to represent them by protecting the name of Eight Tray and upholding his reputation as Joker. These were the true societal structure of gangs, the pressure would result in Shakur committing crimes in order to achieve his new goal of representing Eight Tray.
In the year 1992, at the age of 19, Shakur would shoot Standford Bursey who was a part of an enemy gang of Eight Tray. This encounter would forever change Shakur’s life as his mother and younger brother were shot and killed as a form of retaliation for killing Bursey. He would be arrested and convicted for the murder of Standford Bursey only 4 days after hearing the news of his mother and younger brother, he served 31 years in prison.
Merton’s Strain theory properly explains Shakur’s involvement in gangs and crime. In the beginning, Shakur was conflicted with his own personal goals matching up to the goals his parents wanted him to follow. Applying the rebellion category of this theory suggests how an individual will tend to rebel if they undergo stress caused by inconsistency between their culturally defined goals and accessibility to the means required in achieving those personal goals. Shakur did not have the accessibility to establish his own personal goal because his parents wanted him to follow a goal they already established for him. When he would misbehave, his father would discipline him as a means to straighten him out to follow the set path they had for him. This influenced his rebellious behavior as he would reject these culturally and society-defined goals and actively replaces them with unacceptable ones by joining a gang. The true societal structure of Eight Tray would put pressure on Shakur in order to represent and withhold his reputation by committing crimes.
Assignment 3
will choose influence and social categorization theory. That means when someone has negative experiences and they want you to do the same, that puts you in a difficult situation with them. Which makes them commit crimes. This is what happens when we hang around with some bad people at a younger age and they make your life dangerous which separates gang boys from the family and their community.
At the beginning I want to mention the family because family is one of the most important things for a young kid. Family should tell them the good side and treat them as proper good people. For example Tommy also had pressure from his family to be like his father even though he wanted to play football and go against their expectations, which I believe all added up to Tommy, thinking it would be a good idea to join the gang team. This line proves that if his family treated him goodly then he would never think about joining a gang.Tommy said that he had issues with authority due to his father beating him. He also said that he wanted to fit in with the other guys in the gang who had nice things and shiny cars and, in order to do so, had to commit crimes to prove his faithfulness to the group. He also got bullied at a taco stand when he was 13 and wanted to toughen up by joining a gang.
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