In Search of Respect Reading Response

In Search of Research: Selling Crack in El Barrio by Philippe Bourgois is an examination of the lifestyle, people and culture of Spanish Harlem (El Barrio) in between 1980s and 1990s. Felipe’s five year stay at Spanish Harlem helps put the readers in his shoes and gives us an account in a world that is hardly heard of. The book talks about his encounters with drug dealers, crack houses, addicts, dishonorable police force and even gives a bit of history behind the forces that causes these things.

There are many concepts of structural violence through the reading. One of the relationships he develops while in Spanish Harlem is with Ray. Ray has almost no way of moving up in the world. Even mentioned by Bourgois, Ray had the smarts to run crack distribution yet ultimately he was naïve to the legal side of business. He failed multiple times at trying to have a successful venture. Like with the Laundromat, he was always thwarted by the legality of things. He never had the ability to acquire the needed documents to run a business. Although, even if it was possible I do not think he would of gone far, as it seems his only interest was his illegal business and having a front to launder money.

Another account is the little historical lecture on how economically unstable Puerto Rico and its effects on the generations of people later. A little while after the U.S. started its military occupation of Puerto Rico hundreds of thousands of farmers had to leave their land yet still needed to find work. Years later after World War II, many people left Puerto Rico and some settled in East Harlem. These people found work until the global economy changed again, this time the people did not have a place to ago. Still needing to eat, many of these people  resorted to illegal activities just to keep a roof over their head. Unfortunately some people like Ray, Primo and Caesar seem born into this self-destructive world. Bourgois goes on and even says “…the streets of East Harlem have always produced violent, substance-abusing felons no matter what immigrant ethnic group happened to be living there at the time.”