Most recent public comments by Sean Dudley https://nowcomment.com/users/51072 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314008 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314008 I think we see this in The Wire via the way in which the Barksdale gang operates at its highest levels. Stringer and Avon are not blood relatives, but they treat each other as close family. We also can see this in Poot and Bodie who have such a deep connection to Wallace, but become so deeply connected to the Barksdale gang that they betray their childhood friend and murder him. I am not necessarily surprised that this exists within the gang structure, but do find it as new information. I believe it does have a powerful effect too since it can help betray loyalties of blood. Moreso, the usage of it on addicts helps to strengthen a gang head, Ray in this case, and is a smart move within that structure. Though it is sad that the addicts become basically loyal followers of those causing them harm. It is an interesting relationship, and I wonder why I haven't heard more about it prior to this. It seems like it ought to be a top priority when combating the structure of gangs. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 16:10:03 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314002 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314002 The sentence, and paragraph at large, about it doubling "as a pool hall and bootleg bar" makes me think of Al Capone being taken down for his tax evasion. The rest of the paragraph is interesting as it shows how elusive drug dealers can be, and the difficulties in making arrests. Each of the ways in which the police, or system, stymie the place of operation are never for drug related charges. Each time they are for other violations like fire code or selling alcohol without a license. Then there are the work arounds about ownership being in the name of New York City. This paragraph as a whole makes me wonder other ways in which the system is gamed, and to what extent does it get purposefully tolerated. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 15:59:51 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313995 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313995 Though all of these activities are illegal, there is such a strong order of capitalism that can be applied to all the dealings. Over the course of this paragraph, and the few preceding ones, we see elements of a capitalistic economy arise. The competition between them is not something one thinks about when imagining drug dealers. The way that the author describes the situation with "lowered wages, reduced work hours, and lost managerial autonomy" add a sort of legitimacy to this. This trade is taken very seriously by those involved. Then the talk about commissions and permanent price changing shows the idea of capitalistic competition. That competition in a market leads to better prices for consumers, but it can also be damaging to those who already are hurt from their circumstances. It is very odd to me to think of the drug trade in such a pure economic way since it often isn't portrayed and taught that way in mass media. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:14:12 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313991 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313991 Your point about what The Wire ignores is a very important one to make. For all of its commentary, The Wire leaves out many issues of gender in relation to the gangs. We can actually see some of what is left out in the following sentence. I find the idea of "cultivating sexual liaisons" deeply disturbing. Especially in the context of teenage girls. That sentence also mentions how the women are addicted, and it reminds me of the woman who asks Omar for some heroin in Season 1 since her check is behind. It causes one to wonder how the situation might have been different if Omar were not a gay man. It is possible that the scenario was able to ignore these realities by placing it in a scene with Omar, but it was also a way of endearing the audience to Omar as a sympathetic character. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 15:47:54 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313988 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313988 I'd like to say that Avon at least was smart enough to remove himself from the day to day street affairs in many cases. As we see through out Season 1, Avon is often up in the office of his strip-club front. He does attempt to run a tight ship, but it comes down through the better and smarter work of the Police in the show. Though your note on his character flaw, a desire to involve himself in the street options, does partially lead to his downfall. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 15:42:10 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309218 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309218 Your issue about racial interactions gets to a larger point, that America is still deeply segregated. As Samantha points out, people of color are not likely to move to a small Southern town that is predominantly white where they would face some form of discrimination, be it open or secret. This segregation is rooted deeply in the housing situation that we talked about earlier this semester. In addition to many other needed reforms, there is a need for new housing reforms to combat this historical inequality. There is another issue that I was hoping we could discuss and this is the issue of Gentrification. This is important as Samantha mentions people moving to major cities for their diversity. Gentrification is essentially the process of revitalizing a city with young new people and more privatization. The downside is that it often expunges or pushes out older citizens, both in physical age and length of residence, out of the city. Often those are people of color and lower class, and they are pushed to the other poor quality portions of cities that aren't being targeted for revitalization. Another aspect of Gentrification is that it often targets white young adults, and thus can become yet another aspect of segregation. Finally, Samantha makes a point to note "ethnically diverse areas" which can also be destroyed by the privatization and overall mass branding that comes with Gentrification. This process can be seen in so many cities, including Richmond where VCU begins to buy up more and more land, thus gentrifying parts of the city. The only aspect of The Wire that hints of this process for me was in Season 2 when the docks were being built over by Condos. I hope that we get a chance to discuss this at some point in class. Wed, 27 Mar 2019 18:13:08 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309214 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309214 It is a sad reality when the success of historically oppressed groups is used to further the oppression of said group, or at the very least be used to stymie further progress. This is a thing that we've talked about in my Civil Rights class, where after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act there was a shift in the American conscious to think racism had been solved. Well we know this from watching 13th, that it was in fact not solved, and the shift politically is highly pointed out from the high level Reagan campaign member explaining their new strategy for racial issues. On that note, it is insane to me that those same things still happen now, but the public as a whole is not aware of such things. Though not surprising as it holds the power structure in place, and feeds the idea of Black Exceptionalism that you mentioned. A connected idea about racism not existing is that a White person can have a person of color as a friend and then they must not be racist. This idea was rewarded and given Hollywood's biggest honor just a month ago with Green Book winning Best Picture. Wed, 27 Mar 2019 18:04:25 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309209 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309209 I think that the media sensationalism is sadly something we still see today in lots of issues. Another important thing to note is how The Post attempted to offset the blame onto Politicians for the reason why there was such a focus on crack. This is a tricky issue as politicians do set narratives, but the media has the option to cover what they would want to. It is very much similar to what we are seeing today with Politicians complaining that the media doesn't cover certain issues or that they give disproportionate amounts of focus to one group over another. Wed, 27 Mar 2019 17:57:08 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309207 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1309207 From Paragraph 340 to the end of this one. The focus on Reagan and how he is seen in the American public eye is an interesting one, especially in the South. He is often regarded as one of the best Presidents with an appeal to all, but it in reading this it reminds me of the prior negatives about him I had learned and the new ones (to me) in which we are discussing. Reagan's usage of "colorblind rhetoric" has now become common place like the article says, and this reinforces much of the larger influence Reagan had over our politics. It is quite interesting to place him next to Trump, who as we discussed in class is very overtly leaning into white resentment, and seeing the blatant racism that rolls off his tongue. While Reagan had room for deniability, the current President holds none by anyone who is truly being analytical. It also speaks to the fact that that the Republican base at large still buys into "the emotional distress" that the article points out. I was also shocked by Reagan's decision to launch his campaign on the issue of "state's rights" which we know is aligned with the Civil War and the reframing of the issue it was fought over by the Lost Cause movement. There is lots of nuance and very lightly phrased statements often present that I have not necessarily paid much attention to due to my lack of knowledge, but am much more likely to pay attention to now. Thu, 28 Mar 2019 02:43:02 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1308326 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1308326 This is a very telling paragraph as it highlights how early the criminal justice system began to target African Americans. It is not shocking that this early on following Reconstruction that there were efforts to re-institute slavery in a legal way. The paragraph even highlights the fact that "neoslavery was evolving not disappearing." This is such a critical comment as it is still seen today, and is highlighted by Alexander's larger argument on the mass incarceration that does this. On a different note, it is also interesting to see that Mississippi was the state that did this. In my Civil Rights class we learned about the "Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission" which was created by the Governor with the sole purpose of perpetuating segregation and keeping tabs on Civil Rights activists in the state. This shows a way in which there was a focus on repressing access to equal rights for African Americans that we see denied from the moments highlighted in this paragraph. Even more, in the recent 2018 Senate Special Election, Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith was noted for comments on lynchings, and the history that Mississippi and the nation has with them in regards to the overwhelming usage against African Americans. I say all of this to show how the targeting of and racial prejudice against African Americans has just evolved, but not necessarily changed since the end of Reconstruction. Tue, 26 Mar 2019 13:59:47 -0400