Culture Of Honor Thesis
Harper High School, located in the south side of Chicago, IL, has experienced gun violence in ways most high schools never have. Over the span of a year, 21 current and recent students were wounded by gunshots; five recent students and three enrolled students were killed due to gun violence. In total, 29 students were shot (This American Life part one 0:01:08-0:01:30). Can the “culture of honor” thesis explain the problem with gun assaults that this high school faces? This essay will answer that question by examining the culture of honor thesis, including aspects of a study conducted to reflect the theory. However, the extent of violence faced by those in the Harper High School community does not entirely correlate with the culture of honor
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This code is formulated through “the lack of jobs, the stigma of race, the fallout from rampant drug use and drug trafficking, and the resulting alienation and lack of hope for the future” (Anderson 155). The code dictates that one must act tough in public in order to discourage others from attacking them. They must present themselves as having the capacity to react to violence with violence (Anderson 156). Anderson also notes the differences amongst “decent” and “street” families; “decent” families being those that hold the values of contemporary society and strive to achieve middle-class status whereas “street” families value the code of the street over main-stream societal values (Anderson 157). Anderson also states that although not all families within these communities strongly hold dear to the code of the street, they all must abide by it in public or potentially suffer the consequences of breaking the code in front of those who live by it (Anderson 157-158). Anderson finishes his work by …show more content…
A solution to their shared problems of adjustment is to jointly establish new norms, new criteria of status which define as meritorious the characteristics they possess, the kinds of conduct of which they are capable (Cohen 188-189). These social formations then act on their newly formed values; their conduct becomes reputable because it is considered non-reputable outside of the group (Cohen
This code is formulated through “the lack of jobs, the stigma of race, the fallout from rampant drug use and drug trafficking, and the resulting alienation and lack of hope for the future” (Anderson 155). The code dictates that one must act tough in public in order to discourage others from attacking them. They must present themselves as having the capacity to react to violence with violence (Anderson 156). Anderson also notes the differences amongst “decent” and “street” families; “decent” families being those that hold the values of contemporary society and strive to achieve middle-class status whereas “street” families value the code of the street over main-stream societal values (Anderson 157). Anderson also states that although not all families within these communities strongly hold dear to the code of the street, they all must abide by it in public or potentially suffer the consequences of breaking the code in front of those who live by it (Anderson 157-158). Anderson finishes his work by …show more content…
A solution to their shared problems of adjustment is to jointly establish new norms, new criteria of status which define as meritorious the characteristics they possess, the kinds of conduct of which they are capable (Cohen 188-189). These social formations then act on their newly formed values; their conduct becomes reputable because it is considered non-reputable outside of the group (Cohen