East Harlem: El Barrio

According to Philippe Bourgois, East Harlem during the 1980s was suffering from structural violence. He believes that the social issues and the lack of money minorities had at this time, led them to find violence and drugs as their way out of these obstacles. For example, Bourgois mentions how Ray lacked “cultural capital,” which means that he did not have the knowledge to participate effectively in society. Ray did not know how to read or write and therefore had to use drugs and violence to earn money and respect from others. As the head of drug dealers, he felt socially and economically powerful that his lack of education was no longer an obstacle for him. Caesar and Primo also during a conversation with Philippe, point out an important reason for why people do violence and crime in East Harlem. Caesar says, “We’re never going to inherit nothing, unless we hit the Lotto.” Primo responds, “You have to do good for yourself in order to achieve, and you have to achieve in life in order to get somewhere. If you lay back, its cause you want to lay back, and then you want to cry out for help later. The struggle’s harder for the poor, but not impossible: just harder" (54). This dialogue represents the desperation people in East Harlem with economic struggles had in the 1980s. This desperation persuaded some of the poor to get into drugs and violence because it was the guaranteed way to get fast money.

Money however, was not the only reason why people entered the business of drugs and violence. Bourgois also from personal experience realized how welcoming the atmosphere is to work for a drug dealer. He says, “Ray’s followers did not remain loyal to him solely out of fear and violence. Some of the older members of his network genuinely liked him. He was capable of reciprocating friendship" (27) .In addition, Bourgois mentions how having a privileged relationship with Ray made him feel good and secure. Being part of this drug business made Bourgois feel accepted in the neighborhood because he was no longer an outcast. When Bourgois first moved to East Harlem he struggled with racism and police brutality. He was profiled as a white drug addict and the police did not understand why somebody of his skin color would be there. People had the belief that whites were not supposed to be in African-American or Latino neighborhoods unless they were drug addicts or undercover cops. This is another example of how racism led people to seek a sense of belonging in the community. The racism going on caused people to become isolated and feel unprotected because even the police would beat up black muggers with a smile on their faces. Therefore, joining gangs and selling drugs was a way to feel united with others.

One argument Bourgois  brings forward  In Search of Respect is that East Harlem was not violent and full of crime just because of the ethnicity or social class of its inhabitants but because of other factors as well. As Janes Jacobs says in The uses of sidewalks: safety, city danger has nothing to do with minority groups or the poor but with deeper social problems. East Harlem has dealt with the arrival of immigrants that have discriminated each other, with gangs that demonstrated drugs as easy pay, and has received Puerto Ricans that had to abandon their cane fields in order to work in the city. What Bourgois is trying to inform his readers is that El Barrio did not consist only of criminals but also of people that due to racism or economic struggles got stuck in this cycle of violence and crime.