Sydney

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

@nsb45678 Nicole, I completely agree. The language we use to describe these young people is an important first step in changing public perceptions.

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

Rios brings up the important point that to address the issues of the punitive system, we need to listen to the voices of those it oppresses. Most importantly, these kids should be allowed to be kids like their White counterparts. That leniency is often taken for granted. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

The idea that these boys endure a slow social death throughout their lifetimes due to criminalization and punishment is disheartening. This slow social death beats down many young men into accepting their criminal label and accepting their fate of being incarcerated #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

@dorothy49754814 I was thinking the same thing. Crime is used as a way to express masculinity among peers, but it also leads to your masculinity being threatened by authority figures. It is an incredibly difficult dilemma that these boys are in. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(2/2) willing to face punishment if they can resist the system that criminalizes them. On the other hand, non-delinquents value their freedom more than their dignity; they are willing to be submissive in order to maintain their freedom. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(1/2) The concepts of freedom work and dignity work are central to understanding the path one decides to take- delinquent or non-delinquent. Delinquent individuals value their dignity more than their freedom. They are #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(2/2) they are often victimized and seen as snitches. There is no way for them to act lawfully without still facing criminalization and victimization. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(1/2) Non-delinquent boys are in a lose-lose situation. No matter how much they prove their innocence, they are seen as criminals. They are also expected to stay away from their delinquent friends and family. However, if they distance themselves from these people, #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

@Carissa15665580 Carissa, I also found this interesting. All I could think about was the mass shootings in our country and how many white men are quick to take up arms. It is interesting how society sees Black men as criminals when it is clear who is putting society in the most danger. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

It is interesting that Rios didn't quite understand why the boys were pessimistic about reporting police brutality until he tried reporting a police officer. Institutions of control have constantly proved that they do not care to help these young men- only criminalize them #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(2/2) "masculinity" that police officers, teachers, and others believe they should subscribe to. Thus, they have to use the resources they are provided with to prove their masculinity-- which is hypermasculinity. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(1/2) It is interesting that in attempts to make young men conform to the "ideal" of masculinity, institutions often push them further into hypermasculinity, which breeds more crime and violence. Marginalized young men do not have the means to achieve the ideal #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

The boys had to create their own alternative social and cultural capital because they were criminalized in the mainstream. Not only are they criminalized in mainstream culture, but also because of the alternative culture and social capital, they have created in response #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

It is interesting and disheartening that young Black men feel that they need to overcompensate around white women, and, in turn, this overcompensation is seen as disrespectful by some. There is no way for them to behave without being criminalized. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

Probation officers setting high expectations for the boys but not helping them reach those goals in any way is reflective of the entire criminal justice system. People are expected to rehabilitate in a punitive system that lays roadblocks on the path to rehabilitation #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

The justice system is so entangled in these boys' lives that it is impossible for them to escape their label, even in their families. Their parents are told they are doing something wrong and take a punitive approach in response, continuing the cycle of criminalization. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

@JCB_2022soc Josie, this is a really good point. I also thought there was an unfortunate irony in the fact that these boys would join gangs to escape victimization, but being apart of the gang would lead to further victimization by police and rival gang members. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(2/2) their life decisions are also largely ruled by the overcriminalized/underpoliced context in which they live. To blame these boys alone for any crime they have committed is to blatantly ignore the forces of society that direct their everyday behavior. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(1/2) When Rios discussed Tyrell's life and decision to deal drugs, he said, “breaking the law was his decision, yet his hand was largely forced by overdetermined structural conditions.” This statement emphasizes that while the boys in this study have some agency, #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(2/2) Though the punitive system only worsened the issue, people still saw these "high crime rates" as a reason to continue a punitive system instead of a rehabilitative one. #so345

[Sydney @SydneyGso345]

(1/2) A moral panic was created through the media misrepresentation of the issue of crime in Oakland. Once the moral panic had been created, the criminal justice system had an excuse to criminalize and incarcerate young people of color. #so345