JeremyS

#so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

When people are deprived of resources and chances to succeed, they make the most out of an any opportunity. If more institutions and people realize that boys like the ones in the study have potential, other than being destined for prison, we can change their lives #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Rios gives us hope at the end of a depressing study and indictment of US criminalization of young minorities. Throughout the whole book we have been talking about the boys as if they have no agency. Self-fulfilling prophecies, structural forces, and complexes all make it #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Feel like we can do nothing to help the boys. Rios says the boys themselves can be the solution. When people with power recognize that the boys have potential to change, their life chances increase significantly. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

My question would be how can the boys get out of this double bind situation? JT is made fun of, and ostracized for acting lawful, but he would likely be a criminal otherwise. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Schools treat kids like JT as criminals because the people that he hangs out with are criminals. JT is guilty by association even though he is doing the right things like getting good grades, not getting arrested. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

It’s not surprising that even the boys without any felonies are still treated as if they committed a felony like their friends. The police don’t really care as they stereotype all of the boys as criminals and brutalize them. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

The descriptions of the boys hanging out together and using misogynistic language reminds me of how me or my friends talked in high school. If you tried to do or say something against the norm you were made fun of just like the boys do to each other in this chapter #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

The concept of being a “man” has done nothing but harm men. The police, boys and other people in institutions perpetuate toxic masculinity which the boys recreate in everyday interactions #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

The description of how police treat the boys and insult their masculinity shows how cowardly the police are in these neighborhoods. They demean kids just for their own sense of manhood, projecting how much more of a man they are compared to the boys #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Resistance identities are interesting because they explain why so many kids turn to crime and gangs instead of getting an education or a job. When they are constantly rejected from traditional avenues, a new identity is formed with their friends. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Institutions don’t recognize that the boys Rios is following are still boys. They make mistakes, have different values, and sometimes fail. But, institutions view them as dangerous adults that will commit a crime at any moment. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

The boys like Ronny constantly seek validation from others like any other teenager. When looking for jobs they are disrespected and others are scared of them based on assumed criminality. When faced with that the boys turn back to their friends who they share a bond with. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Rios makes the point that even well intentioned people participate in this criminalizing system. The nicest teachers and social workers still have the police and prison as a threat to the boys. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

I thought Deandre’s case was the most interesting. He tries to do everything right, he applies to jobs, goes to school, and avoids trouble. But he still is punished for failing classes and hanging out with his friends. Every institution marks the boys as criminals #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

And threatens them with punishment. There is no room for leniency or help for them to meet unattainable goals. It’s frustrating to read how Deandre tries to overcome his terrible circumstances and still ends up arrested. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

I also thought it was interesting that Tyrell was perceived as a threat because of his height. That reminds me of how Trayvon Martin was murdered just because he looked “threatening”even though he was a child and his killer was an adult. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Their lives and how they respond to institutions that fail them. As the author points out we have to change social contexts that provide the boys with actual resources to lift them out of poverty #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

I like how Rios criticizes academics by saying that they only present them as pathological and have negative responses to institutions. I agree with Rios as people from these communities are often dismissed as criminals out of necessity. Instead we should focus on #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Your life. Not just the psychological or emotional impact, but economically when people are taken away from communities there are less workers. To compound, that when they are released finding a job is even more difficult due to criminal stigmas. #so345

[JeremyS @JeremyS16729088]

Collateral consequences is a important concept that I think people don’t really consider. When politicians talk about reducing crime it’s only about crime rates. There is no consideration of how a community or family is impacted when 32 people you know are removed from #so345