Reddit reviews Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
We found 3 Reddit comments about Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Note - The previous comment contained a list of "statistics" with links to why black people commit more crimes.
This is fallacious logic and an attempt to use base statistics without understanding or evaluating the statistics on a critical level.
TL:DR - Assuming black people commit more crimes, or "racially profiling," is a terrible cycle based off of fallacious logic and spurious data.
Spend even a little time in sociology and you will learn very quickly that the statistics behind male black arrests in the United States (1 in 4 black men have been in prison) and white male arrests is ridiculously skewed.
The notion of "stereotypes exist for a reason" is an unreasonable argument. Naturally, if you GO LOOKING FOR CRIME you are going to find it. That's the inherent nature of why there is racial bias to begin with. There are also less police officers patrolling areas that are dominated by whites which leads to a significantly smaller statistics regarding white crime.
Want an awesome book to read? The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison.
Want to talk about more forms of racial profiling in the justice system? Powdered cocaine, predominantly used by those who are more wealthy and likely to be white carries a minimum sentence of around 1 year. Crack cocaine, known to be predominantly used by those who are of a lower socio-economic class and typically of color, carries a minimum sentence of around 5 years.
Part of the problem is that many neighborhoods that fit under a certain "cultural stereotype" fit into the sociological description of "anomie." Anomie is the state in which one lacks "social norms." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomie
"Anomie arises more generally from a mismatch between personal or group standards and wider social standards, or from the lack of a social ethic, which produces moral deregulation and an absence of legitimate aspirations."
Want another great book to read? Check out Gang Leader for a Day:
http://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/B004E3XDFI
The stories told in Gang Leader for a Day are similar to those seen in The Wire and to my own upbringing regarding friends who essentially "live black."
In essence, racial profiling finds "more crime" among black individuals because it associates the actions that take place in projected neighborhoods, drug selling and usage, and poverty-like situations with breaking the law. Whereas if we actually targeted white collar crimes, police would be patrolling factories and businesses.
"For the same criminal behavior, the poor are more likely to be arrested; if arrested, they are more likely to be charged; if charged, more likely to be convicted; if convicted, more likely to be sentenced to prison; and if sentenced, more likely to be given longer prison terms than members of the middle and upper classes." - Jeffrey Reiman
"And yet, the problem with racial profiling is precisely the misguided use of statistical discrimination in situations where there are potential feedback effects. The problem is that our customary and ordinary forms of rationality, our “odds reasoning,” our daily uses of statistical discrimination are leading us astray. Race is the miner’s canary that signals—or should signal—the larger problems of statistical discrimination and profiling. And until we properly understand the problems of statistical discrimination writ large, I fear that we will make little progress on racial profiling. " - Julius Kreeger, speaking at Harvard
If people want to know what it's like on the south side, this book is pretty good http://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/B004E3XDFI
This is fallacious logic.
TL:DR - Assuming black people commit more crimes, or "racially profiling," is a terrible cycle based off of fallacious logic and spurious data.
Spend even a little time in sociology and you will learn very quickly that the statistics behind male black arrests in the United States (1 in 4 black men have been in prison) and white male arrests is ridiculously skewed.
The notion of "stereotypes exist for a reason" is an unreasonable argument. Naturally, if you GO LOOKING FOR CRIME you are going to find it. That's the inherent nature of why there is racial bias to begin with. There are also less police officers patrolling areas that are dominated by whites which leads to a significantly smaller statistics regarding white crime.
Want an awesome book to read? The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison.
Want to talk about more forms of racial profiling in the justice system? Powdered cocaine, predominantly used by those who are more wealthy and likely to be white carries a minimum sentence of around 1 year. Crack cocaine, known to be predominantly used by those who are of a lower socio-economic class and typically of color, carries a minimum sentence of around 5 years.
Part of the problem is that many neighborhoods that fit under a certain "cultural stereotype" fit into the sociological description of "anomie." Anomie is the state in which one lacks "social norms."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomie
"Anomie arises more generally from a mismatch between personal or group standards and wider social standards, or from the lack of a social ethic, which produces moral deregulation and an absence of legitimate aspirations."
Want another great book to read? Check out Gang Leader for a Day:
http://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/B004E3XDFI
The stories told in Gang Leader for a Day are similar to those seen in The Wire and to my own upbringing regarding friends who essentially "live black."
In essence, racial profiling finds "more crime" among black individuals because it associates the actions that take place in projected neighborhoods, drug selling and usage, and poverty-like situations with breaking the law. Whereas if we actually targeted white collar crimes, police would be patrolling factories and businesses.
"For the same criminal behavior, the poor are more likely to be arrested; if arrested, they are more likely to be charged; if charged, more likely to be convicted; if convicted, more likely to be sentenced to prison; and if sentenced, more likely to be given longer prison terms than members of the middle and upper classes." - Jeffrey Reiman
"And yet, the problem with racial profiling is precisely the misguided use of statistical discrimination in situations where there are potential feedback effects. The problem is that our customary and ordinary forms of rationality, our “odds reasoning,” our daily uses of statistical discrimination are leading us astray. Race is the miner’s canary that signals—or should signal—the larger problems of statistical discrimination and profiling. And until we properly understand the problems of statistical discrimination writ large, I fear that we will make little progress on racial
profiling. " - Julius Kreeger, speaking at Harvard