Watching the video, when Rios says "Grit alone isn't going to cut it," it shocked me. Not because it is a foreign concept but because so many people believe that if you put your mind to something you can do it. The members of social control in these communities don't understand that that only gets the boys so far. Going back to his analogy of the oyster, you can try so hard to open up but until you are given the resources and space to do so you will close yourself again. Resources matter.#so345

A connection I made was to the Reiman and Leighton chapter when rios states that the boys "were being systematically punished for being poor, young, Black and Latino, and male." This is a direct function of overpoliciing in communities that cannot afford legal consel. Changing policing levels in these communities would remove this punishment for being dealt unfortunate circumstances. This practice is institutionalized through the system and bringing attention to it, may change it. #so345

A connection that I made when reading Chapter 7 was the relationship between dignity, acts of resistance, and criminalization. Searching for dignity is often done through acts of resistance which warrant labels and further criminalization of the boys. What I found interesting was the role these boys also play in the criminalization of their race. By telling those who "act lawfully" that they are acting "white" they further criminalize their race. Do they understand this? #so345

One last thing I noted and caught my eye was the connection between dignity and the idea of becoming a "real man"/masculinity. The system continuously dug at the boy's masculinity by making statements that stated they were not "real men" hitting at their dignity. My question is what good do the people saying this thing is going to come? On the other hand, do the boys use their acts of resistance to gain respect as a justification for becoming a "real man" in their eyes? #so345

The major concept established in this chapter, hypermasculinity, can be connected to the concept of double-bind. The boys struggle with obeying authority figures and losing respect on the streets or disobeying the authority figures, gaining respect, but being punished. Why is it that there cannot be a mix of both? Does this have to do with the mechanisms of informal social control itself or the behaviors of the boys? #so345

A connection I made was to the reading on police brutality and how the police are almost taught to be violent. Rios explains how police are taught to establish violent policing in high-crime neighborhoods with masculinity. If police were "taught" differently do you think policing would differ? Would the boys equate police with different stereotypes? We have seen the importance police play in this neighborhood so how would changing the police behavior change the boys? #so345

The concept of "code of the streets" is exemplified in the last section when discussing the racial groups between the boys. Each group understands the unspoken rules of keeping their distance and not fighting to stay alive. They recognize that even though the methods by which they experience criminalization are different they are all still experiencing it. They hold each other accountable keeping everyone in check while trying to avoid the police at all costs, creating their own system. #so345

In this chapter when Rios is explaining Spider's interactions with the cops he specifies the cop as a "White man." He could have just said the man but felt the need to add in his race almost signifying the racial injustice. I started noticing that any interaction with a cop in the book thus far has been with a White male officer. Why do you think he feels the need to specify the author's race? Would there be a difference in policing/punishment if the police force was diverse? #so345

Punishment, although often thought of as a simple thing, is actually very complex. Rios shows this when he discusses the panopticon in relation to these boys. The boys are given no breathing room and are almost over-policed and over-watched that nothing is working. It would appear that too much punishment does no good at all but instead reinforces the bad. Where is the line drawn? Do the police even care that their punishments aren't working? #so345

A key concept/idea I saw throughout chapter 3 was that the boys often engage in delinquent behaviors as neutralization techniques. They feel like they have to do things to protect themselves from other dangerous boys, for financial gain, or for other personal reasons. They may know that what they are doing is wrong yet they feel that it is okay because they "have to" to stay alive. How do we change the boys' views on their actions so they stop engaging in deviant acts? #so345