Most recent public comments by Kaitlin Luzik https://nowcomment.com/users/51109 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318606 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318606 The drug trade is very organized and operates much like any business. I think that The Wire does a decent job of showing the drug trade as a business. It does not just show the crime, murder, and addiction that surrounds the trade. It shows the business side of things. Stringer Bell is a good example of how The Wire shows that the drug trade operates much like a business, with Stringer attending university economics classes to learn more about how to operate his trade efficiently and effectively. Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:36:37 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318601 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318601 I find your point very compelling. I think it would be a very different picture to see the game through the point of view of women. I believe It would completely change the outlook on things. Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:34:07 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318598 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318598 I agree, women play such an integral part in the game and they are rarely touched on in The Wire. especially when it comes to sexual assault and abuse. There is a little bit of commentary on women as mothers but very very little and they play such an important role as well. Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:31:44 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318574 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318574 The game does not treat women with respect. As seen here it was seen as macho and manly to display sexual conquests, women who were typically addicted to drugs and abused but put up with it becuase of their habit. We see this in The Wire as well. Especially in party scenes where there is a lot of drugs and alcohol involved there are women who are treated like animals. They are drugged and raped and then not given another thought. This point in the article reminded me of the scene when Avon Barksdale has a party in his basement. A woman overdoses and the men treat her so poorly, dispose of her body by wrapping it in a carpet, and do not even think about it again. Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:21:26 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318539 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1318539 This is the case for many people who are addicted to drugs. With no place to go they return to the only people who will take them in, family. In The Wire we see this happen, but on different terms. Bubbles is sick of living on the streets and being addicted to crack. He returns to his sisters house to live in the basement and try to get clean. His sister is apprehensive of this and does not allow him upstairs, due to events that she refers to in the past. She at one point mentions how the last time she let him upstairs she came home and her entire kitchen was gone, because Bubbles had soled her kitchen items to pay for his habit. Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:14:30 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307729 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307729 I agree with you that the media can have a large impact. I think it is important to note how once we shift the way we talk about real world issues it is our duty as citizens to take action. It is simply not enough to just talk about and raise awareness for structural inequalities. Mon, 25 Mar 2019 19:39:41 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307725 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307725 This comment reminds me of the popular narrative about "the American dream." If you dream it you can achieve it and as long as you work your hardest you can achieve everything you have ever wanted. The American dream is an inaccurate vision of a life that is not possible for so many becuase of the barriers in place in our society. Barries which Alexander speaks about in her article and we see throughout The Wire. Mon, 25 Mar 2019 19:35:28 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1306722 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1306722 I find this point very insightful. So often we hear these great success stories in the news. What we often fail to put into perspective is how that one success stories is, like you said, amongst so many tragedies. I think The Wire does do a good job of telling the whole story. Sun, 24 Mar 2019 21:03:31 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1306667 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1306667 Alexander talks about how during the Reconstruction era former slaves were arrested and sent to prison for minor crimes and forced to work off their debt in convict leasing. This convict leasing system was just another form of slavery. Poverty and lack of access to quality education inhibit many members of the community from living their lives. Stuck with things like debt, collection fees, child support, and unfair drug treatment poor communities are subjected to high incarceration rates. Incarcerated for issues such as failure to pay collection fees is similar to former slaves being sent to convict leasing systems, continuing a legacy of slavery just as Alexander says. Mon, 25 Mar 2019 20:38:54 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1306662 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1306662 Alexander argues that the position of the freedmen in the 19th century is not much different from that of felons freed from prison today. Prisons are not helping prevent crime and they make situations worse for felons freed from prison. Ex-offenders often return to prison and while they are out they are seen as second class citizens. They face intense stigma when they are released from jail and and face many impediments to entering back into society. Mon, 25 Mar 2019 21:59:23 -0400