#so345 Previously in the semester, we talked about how the discovery of child abuse was not necessarily that child abuse wasn't occurring, but there was a shift in how we thought/talked about it. Part of that was a shift from labeling youth as delinquents and recognizing them as victims. However, these boys are continually abused by police, the school system, and community members (peers and rival gangs), yet they are still viewed as delinquents/criminals rather than victims. (1/2)
@akr804
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@scoot051116 #so345 Your comment got me thinking about how zero tolerance policies may be contributing/related to the teacher shortage. I found an article from the National Education Association, and it points to teachers being threatened in school as a major reason contributing to the shortage. I wonder how zero tolerance policies criminalize and label children making them then behave in a consistent way with their labels resulting in poor treatment of the teachers = never ending cycle
@Argyle_ #so345 Also, this goes back to our discussion as class as a proxy for race. Many lower income people cannot afford lawyers, court fees, and more that it would take to go to trial, so they settle for less time and a permanent label that actually reinforces their lower income status. Once labeled as a convict, they have less access to resources, education, employment, etc. and suffer these consequences all while most likely being innocent.
#so345 I think labeling changed for white children, allowing them further protection from abuse in many areas of society, but for the black and Latino children, abuse from different figures of authority in the system is still a norm and seen as acceptable because of the negative labels assigned to them, often without them even deserving them. (2/2)
#so345 In Rios's Ted Talk he describes how many of the boys are like oysters, they open up when they're ready and if there is not support around, they will close immediately. This analogy exemplifies many of the comments made by boys in the study. The boys often remarked about wanting to genuinely change but not having the resources or support to actually make real change in their lives. Without systems of support and resources, the cycle of poverty and criminalization continues to trap them.
@hbren #so345 While I sadly don't have an answer to this, something larger I have been thinking about is how the criminal-legal system expects criminals to stop committing crime after they get out of prison; however, because a criminal record carries consequences like no state/federal assistance, unemployment, and more, the system makes it so criminals have no other choice but to keep committing crime to survive. The expectations and reality of the system are severely misaligned.
@Argyle_ #so345 You bring up an interesting point. I think how the "criminal" boys treat the "good" boys demonstrates how norms and deviance require context. In our context, we view the good boys more positively whereas for the criminal boys, where they've grown up with different norms and in an attempt to increase their own self-esteem and dignity, they treat those who go against the norms and expectations set for the boys worse.
#so345 Ch 7 illuminates more ways these boys are placed in double binds. They can either choose to be positively evaluated by the youth control complex and negatively evaluated by their delinquent friends, or the opposite and negatively viewed by the system and positively viewed by their friends. However, either way, these boys continue to experience criminalization and victimization regardless of their course of action. This demonstrates the double standards these boys have to try to live with.
#so345 at the beginning of the semester we talked about how deviance is associated with certain things, like night time. As I read Ch 7, Rios pointed out how the hours between 3-6 pm were the most dangerous hours because this is when youth crime, violence, and victimization occurs. This demonstrates how deviance is not just linked to behaviors, but linked to times of day where deviant behaviors are most acceptable. For these boys, its after school and before parents return home from work.