Andy De Los Santos
After listening to “Ear Hustle: EPISODE 2: MISGUIDED LOYALTY” I realized that Tommy Shakur Ross’s story that he told in the podcast fits into the Strain Theory. Particularly in the “Innovation” response. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles in the 1980s, he was exposed to very few opportunities for success and was seduced by the temptation of gang life, seeing it as a means to achieve fame and recognition, although through illegitimate means. This reflects an innovation in his response to societal strain, as he adopted deviant behavior (joining a gang) to achieve culturally prescribed goals (fame, recognition) when conventional means were not readily available to him.
However, as the podcast reveals, this decision to pursue fame through gang involvement has had lasting negative consequences for Tommy Shakur Ross, illustrating the pitfalls of deviance as a response to societal strain. Despite his initial perception of the glamor associated with gang life, he now realizes the price he has paid for his choices and wishes he had never earned the kind of fame that came with his gang involvement.
