Reading Response 09/22

Structural violence clearly stems from the powers held higher up. I was baffled after reading the encounters Philippe had with the police as wells as how the police responded to situations in El Barrio. I think there are many factors to take into consideration when discussing what leads to structural violence. It would appear as though income and the people in the neighborhood (or associated with the neighborhood) play a part their respective parts in contributing to structural violence.

El Barrio is a neighborhood in which an assortment of drugs are being bought and used. This plays a big part in structural violence because it's illegal which forces the police to be in and around at all times. It doesn't help when there are crack houses in the neighborhood with people abusing drugs. Nobody wants that in their community but it was a source of income so they had no choice. Not only do you have drug users in the neighborhood but you get the behavior that comes along with the drugs. We constantly hear everyone talking about this wild attitude you have to have in El Barrio to earn your reputation in the streets. A perfect example of this is when they talk about how crazy Ray is and how he raped an old man. This kind of attitude is a bad example for the kids growing up in the neighborhood. Everybody suffers when this kind of behavior is preached.

  When Caesar tells Philippe about the two muggers who were beat down, I was disgusted (Page 36 and 37). The police are the ones who are supposed to protect and serve the people but in the instance, they are taking turns beating up two muggers. But this is all part of the vicious cycle that is El Barrio. Two people steal jewelry from a woman and beat her up which is that wild lifestyle that these people live, only to have karma head right back in their direction later that day. Nobody wins in situations like this and it's a shame because they're better ways to handle situations like this but everybody thinks force is a the quickest, easiest way for people to learn when it's not. At the same time there is still a lot of good in the neighborhood.

Early in the story we find out that Ray gave money to a friend in need. Candy (the recipient) was very appreciative and felt that Ray did these things out of the goodness of his heart. We also see Ray trying to set up "clean" businesses, which is a sign that he really does want to do the right thing in his heart but, again, this viscous cycle of the street life has him caught up in the wrong things. This really is a tough one the people with good intentions because at the end of the day reality takes over and we see this in the next chapter with all the gang fighting with the Italians. In neighborhoods like this is seems that everybody suffers.