Code Of The Street Essay

2083 Words9 Pages

Inner city neighborhoods are often thought of as a place of violence. People appear tough, and they act against others before others can act against them. While their way of life may seem odd to those of that did not grow up in the inner city, I believe that the code of the street acts as informal social control. How an individual acts or looks can have serious consequences, and sometimes those consequences can be deadly. The code of the street is simply a response to unemployment, available jobs that pay less than living wage, and a general lack of hope. Whether or not a person demands respect in public or not can determine their “juice”, or self-image, as well as their safety. As we will see in this review, even those from “decent” families …show more content…

33). The code of the street emerges when the influence of formal guardianship, such as police, disappears and people begin to feel a sense of personal responsibility for their own safety. When we think about the amount of violence these people experience or witness, it would make since that a sort of fight or flight reflex would kick in. In this case, the residents seem to choose to fight, mostly because they are lacking the ability to get away from their …show more content…

Decent families tend to focus more on the future. They tend to accept mainstream values more often and attempt to instill those in their children. Parents from decent families tend to be stricter, but only because they are aware of the danger that lurks around their neighborhood, and they do not want their kids going down the wrong path. I found it interesting that while they are stricter, they will buy their children more expensive things, even if they cannot really afford them, just to try to keep the temptation of the street away. Anderson states that a single mother runs most decent