Most recent public comments by Katie Gallagher https://nowcomment.com/users/51153 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314377 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314377 I think this is also tied in with the capitalist trope that addicts or dealers in these situations should "pull themselves up by the bootstraps." For the people in this ethnography, they have a choice whether to enter the legal labor market or the drug market. However, the choice to enter the drug market is MUCH easier than entering the legal labor market. The legal economy has so many barriers and opportunities for failure that entering the drug market is the easiest, safest, and immediately economically secure option. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:39:12 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314373 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314373 I found this comment to be especially powerful and saddening in this discussion. Benzie is proud of his legal economy work and most of all, that his father is proud of him (his father was never involved in the drug trade). There is clearly more to the story that Benzie doesn't tell about his relationship with his father, but it reminds me of how isolating the life of a drug addict is-- that family is not always there or doesn't always know what to do. The relationship between a father and son can be especially fraught when it involves the drug trade. How do you guys think the Wire deals with issues of fatherhood? Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:32:56 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314041 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314041 I also think that the wealth drug dealers accumulate tends to be temporary because of the spending habits. As you said, they have limited options for what they can spend their money on, so it tends to get spent on material things or parties. It doesn't seem like people like Stringer Bell are likely to invest their money in the stock market or investments (like the failed condominium project), and as such, when the money runs out, new drug trades spring up to generate more profits/money. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 16:53:54 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314027 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1314027 I also think there is definitely an element of hierarchy that plays into the decision to move to from being a janitor to a drug dealer. Being a drug dealer was definitely a better life for Benzie because not only was he probably able to make more money, but he enjoys a position of relative power, prominence, and respect in the drug trade, rather being the lowest man on the totem pole as a janitor. I am reminded of season 3 here, where Stringer tries to get into the condominium market but is met with obstacles because he does not know the politics of Baltimore. Avon comments that Stringer isn't smart enough to be "out there" and isn't tough enough to be in the game. While it's not a perfect comparison, I notice how Stringer is extremely well versed and understands the drug trade, but that isn't enough for him to survive in the non-drug world. Wed, 03 Apr 2019 16:40:03 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313953 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313953 I found the web of interrelated relationships between employers and employees to be quite bizarre. While I understand the "blood is thicker than water" argument and the importance of familial relationships throughout The Wire (especially with Avon), but I had never heard of something like this compadrazgo system. It seems like the "blood is thicker than water" argument is used to justify choosing your family over someone or something (presumably a better option) because of the reliability of family ties. However, its seems like the compadrazgo systems seeks to create familial relationships in order to manipulate addicts in order make them dependent on people like Ray because now they not only have the drugs they need, but also are tied as family members. What did you all make of the compadrazgo system? Thu, 04 Apr 2019 06:17:42 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313891 https://nowcomment.com/documents/136072?scroll_to=1313891 This comment struck me because it mentions how Felix left the actual production of crack cocaine to his wife (as if cooking crack is like making any other pie in the kitchen). I noticed this because this type of patriarchal order is very different from what is displayed in The Wire (although patriarchy is displayed in other ways). Women are never shown producing the drugs in any way and are largely left out of the nitty gritty operations in the game. I cannot imagine Avon asking his sister or Stringer asking Donette to cook the crack in the show. They tend to purposely leave the women out (perhaps so they know less if they are ever arrested/cannot snitch) and take on the role of raising the kids. Why would the directors/writers have made this decision? Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:31:44 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307869 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307869 Alexander's use of the word "caste" also made me think of the strict caste system that "was" in place in India. I placed "was" in quotation marks because the caste system was actually outlawed in India, but it is still culturally very much present and a part of everyday life. There is a similar dynamic going on with Alexander's argument that while discrimination based on race is technically outlawed, it is still very alive in the US (although perhaps in different ways than the caste system in India operates today with regard to mass incarceration). Wed, 27 Mar 2019 22:55:44 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307864 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307864 This is an interesting point. I think a lot of the funding and direction of resources to vamp up things like the war on drugs has a lot to do with politics and elections. Politicians make promises all the time and are usually punished or rewarded at the ballot box for their ability to fulfill those promises. A politician can claim a victory in fighting the war on drugs by showcasing the amount of resources it directs towards the movement, which voters recognize. Tue, 26 Mar 2019 01:13:01 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307848 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307848 Productivity is of the highest importance in capitalists systems and as such, it is easy to see how abuse vagrancy laws and hiring-out of prisoners to plantations could be spun as good for the economy and good for freed slaves. Who doesn't love lower unemployment, right? It is easy to see how a number of these laws can be dressed up to be portrayed as good for the economy and African-Americans, but in reality, operate as another system of oppression. Additionally, the laws that allowed plantations and corporations to hire out prisoners are very much alive and functioning today. This reminded me of sequences in the documentary 13th that demonstrate how big corporations use prison inmates as essentially free labor. Tue, 26 Mar 2019 02:27:26 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307846 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307846 Alexander claims here that any new consensus must begin with a dialogue/conversation about the conditions of our criminal justice system and understanding the New Jim Crow. I think that's great and important. However, the problem with these conversations is that more often than not, the decision to partake is voluntary and many will simply choose to not engage in a seemingly daunting and uncomfortable topic. For so many people in the country today, it is easy to do exactly what Alexander did years ago when she saw the flyer about the criminal justice system being the new Jim Crow; call it crazy and move on with your life. Even in this class, I would estimate that everyone in the course is interested in social issues and wants to learn and engage with these topics. But again, we chose voluntarily to take this course, and perhaps the people that need to engage with these topics the most would steer away from this course based on the title or course description. Tue, 26 Mar 2019 00:26:31 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307843 https://nowcomment.com/documents/134033?scroll_to=1307843 Reading this sentence reminded me of some of the themes that came up in the Netflix documentary "13th." Specifically, many of the experts who were featured discussed how once people go away to prison, people in the outside world simply forget about them-- as if they almost cease to exist in our world. I remember thinking about how shocking and true that seemed, that once people go to prison they essentially have no voice, power, and are cut off from society. I think this is one of the causes for the lack of attention and urgency surrounding the criminal justice system. Tue, 26 Mar 2019 00:08:09 -0400