Most recent public comments by Anna Phillips https://nowcomment.com/users/44217 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314314 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314314 I think a big part of why the economics of the drug trade aren't addressed more in mainstream media is because people like to think of anyone involved in the drug trade is unintelligent or incapable of holding a regular job. The media reinforces that idea by making the drug trade seem like a collection of loosely related illegal actions rather than as the structured business it really is. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:03:07 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314300 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314300 I think the Wire suggests that Stringer's business-focused approach was idealistic and overambitious, as it ultimately led to his downfall. Stringer's attempted bribes to Clay Davis did not end up working, and the complex web of lies he wove to get himself ahead ultimately got him killed. By the end of the show, Avon is far better off than Stringer. I wonder if the wire used Stringer to demonstrate that no matter how smart and tactical you are, the game still has certain limits. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 20:42:55 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314288 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314288 It is interesting that the media generally portrays the drug trade, particularly during the crack epidemic, as a lawless, subhuman mess rather than the vast, organized institution it really is. As Bourgois and the wire show, the drug trade is a massive, carefully run institution just like any legal business. However, the media focused on images of individual addicts and dealers to scare the public rather than focusing on the larger organization. In a way, focusing on the expansiveness and structure of the drug trade could have scared the public even more by revealing how vast a network it really was. Perhaps this choice was made to propagate the idea that the types of people involved in inner city drug trades - generally poor African Americans - would not be capable of organizing and running such an elaborate organization and successful business. Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:36:37 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314268 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314268 It is interesting that the wire does not include any dealers or anyone in Avon/ Marlo's organizations with a serious drug addiction. As shown by Bourgois, dealers themselves are not immune from addiction, and in many ways are more prone to it. However, in the wire the dealers and addicts are distinctly separate. Bubble is entirely removed from the operations of the game, and none of the dealers seem to struggle with any addiction issues. I wonder why the wire decided to draw such a distinct line between the true addicts and the dealers, as it seems those groups would overlap. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 20:23:21 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307784 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307784 I think that affirmative action is the focus of so many civil rights groups because its goals are so easily identified, quantified and achieved. Heartfelt stories of inner city kids overcoming insurmountable obstacles and getting into Harvard or diversity statistics at top universities are uplifting and promising, and allow Americans (even those working to fight racism) to ignore the more systemic, institutionalized forms of racism imbedded in our society. Because it would require an entire overhaul of our political system, judicial system, laws and fundamental social structure to mitigate the racial caste system, and because so many of the issues are not easily quantifiable, even civil rights activists are attracted to instead protecting affirmative action, which has a fairly insignificant impact (compared to other changes that could be made), but easily achievable goals. The strong focus on affirmative action highlights the concept of ignorance is bliss, as focusing on affirmative action allows activists and policymakers to suggest that America is overcoming racism without actually having to make major changes. Tue, 26 Mar 2019 01:55:12 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307776 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307776 The idea of "black exceptionalism" propagating the racial caste system was manifested by the election of Trump. Prior to Trump's election, the election of Obama was framed by many as the definitive end of racism in America. While Michelle Alexander (writing in 2010) spends a significant amount of time convincing the reader that Obama's election did not have any impact on the racial caste system, Trump's subsequent election very clearly proves her point. I think if she wrote this book now she wouldn't feel the need to emphasize this point so strongly, as many more Americans today innately recognize its validity. In a way, Obama's election justified a rise in racist sentiments and discrimination - if America could elect a black president, there clearly were not any underlying racial issues, and thus claims of systematic description were seen as unfounded, and people's personal racial prejudices could be ignored, since they did not reflect the views of the majority of the nation. Trump's elected highlighted that this assumption was inaccurate, and revealed the rampant racial prejudices (or at least racial indifference) running through rural America. Tue, 26 Mar 2019 02:42:27 -0400