Opinions on Society, sociology homework help – Excelsior Writers | excelsiorwriters.com
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Read each paragraph and give me your opinion do you agree do you disagree with those 4 paragraphs one for each part and if you agree or disagree why or why not soc
1.Massey discusses spatial mobility and social mobility as barriers to success and equality when referring to racial segregation. The idea of spatial mobility should not be a new idea to anyone. When we consider public housing, we can start here to get a history of why and who lives in these “block homes”. According to housing statistics from www.clpha.org in 2007, “36.5% of public housing units were in tracts with more than 40% poverty, 50% were in majority-minority neighborhoods, 37.6% with more than 80% minority residents” (CLPHA, 2007). Although this is seemingly an outdated statistic, the statistics is related to housing facilities and does not also include families in housing elsewhere on housing vouchers or as part of the “Section 8” program which provides low-income rent assistance. Low-income housing assistance has been around for some time and is not a new concept. It was secured in law in 42 U.S. Code 1437f. An article submitted to the Economic Policy Institute in 2012, by Richard Rothstein, explores the racial segregation in America by looking at New York City. Richard discusses how privately built communities would screen potential residents for education, number of family members, and limiting approval to married couples. This project, the Woodside project, opened in 1949 and as a result of the above-mentioned stringent criteria to be approved as a resident, was 92% white (Rothstein, 2012). What Massey means by spatial mobility as social mobility is that through segregation and closed societal groups in a small or confined area, there is less integration and available resources, being the social mobility, to those being segregated geographically, or spatially. When this occurs, the majority groups can position better schools, jobs, transportation, and other limited resources we see in conflict theory, away from the less desirable areas and create an area where the majority group can thrive without equal competition for resources. Another example of this would be a predominately minority held section of a community having access to a liquor store, gun shop/ pawn shop, or check cashing or “payday” loan business, but not to nationally ranked schools of excellence, business centers, or transportation hubs to get to other locations. As a result, the poorer communities have greater access to guns and alcohol or means of which to be trapped financially through ridiculous loans with astronomical interest rates not thought of when only applying for to be able to pay the next month’s rent. But, they do not have access to better jobs, better schools, public transportation, and as a result get trapped in their community and remain reliant on others. This allows the dominant majority to maintain control because they control the resources. If the “job core” or “work assistance programs” are on the opposite side of town from the communities where these services are needed and those individuals to not have access to transportation to get the services, then there is an obvious problem. Easy solutions could be to utilize tax revenue for public transportation to these locations or move these job location services to the center of these poor communities where they can be easily accessed. Simply providing the services, knowing they cannot be easily accessed, is “colorblind” in my opinion and a “visual effort” only to make those providing the services feel better. Real solutions take community integration and ideas from all angles, especially from those receiving and those providing the services. As stated above, when specific racial segregation takes place, the entire community pays a price. Clustering in communities furthers isolation and segregation. Our textbook states that this, “isolates a minority group from amenities, opportunities, and resources” (Gallagher, 2012). The way this affects the whole community is that as a result of less opportunity and available resources for a portion of a city or socially clustered area has to be made up through social support services. If better integration took place and all groups had access to equal services and resources, then there would be less of a burden on a smaller group to provide for all. This idea of segregation has persisted since early in human history and is a stagnating problem based on conflict theory and the struggle between a dominant class to control limited resources. As a result, without community activism and a cohesive group of persons from all economic and racial backgrounds seeking change, there will not be any real, visible change at more than a snail’s pace.
2.When Massey references “barriers to spatial mobility are barriers to social mobility” he is referring to societies claim to “color blindness” when in reality, there is a significant issue with segregation. Massey further notes that the spatial mobility of a group is as important to the socioeconomic well being of the community as it is to the labor force. Patterns of segregation are different from one minority group to the next in that most minorities (black, Hispanic, and Asian) are predominantly prevalent in urban environments. However, the ratio of each differs from one city to the next. This is termed as clustering, which means minority areas adjoin each other spatially (Gallagher, 2012). The consequences for these patterns of clustering, centralization, and concentration is that it prevents the diversity of other areas and further perpetuates segregation. Clustering, centralization, and concentration also “…isolates a minority group from amenities, opportunities, and resources that effect socioeconomic well-being.” (Gallagher, 2012). One solution that has been implemented in the Chicago area in an attempt to reduce crime and violence while increasing spatial mobility for minorities was the destruction of the Cabrini Green housing on the North side of Chicago. Cabrini Green was home to approximately 15,000 low-income residents and was plagued with gang, weapon, and drug related crimes. In 1999 the proposal was made to destruct the housing and displace the residents to other offered housing options throughout the Chicagoland area. While this plan seems in favor of Gallagher’s rationale, there was significant push back by the residents of Cabrini Green. Some argue that while Cabrini Green was dangerous, “Living in Cabrini Green isn’t what ruined her life-it was leaving it” (www.equalvoiceforfamilies.org). The goal of the Chicago Housing Authority was exactly what Gallagher mentions to reduce clustering, centralization, and concentration. Robert Chaskin, an associate professor at the University of Chicago adds, “It’s about addressing the problems created by concentrated urban poverty but it’s purely a spatial and housing solution to what is a much more complex set of social and economic problems” (www.equalvoiceforfamilies.org).
3.The Race on Trial film exposes a common, but hard to solve practice in courtroom across America. Before getting into the finer points of the discussion requirements, I can personally attest to this seemingly unfair practice. As a detective for a police agency I am privy to a close relationship with my county District Attorney’s office due to the relatively small size of the surrounding agencies. I can personally say that I have never seen a sentence handed down to an individual or plea deal presented to the defense based on race. However, as is mentioned in this film, there are considerations for criminal history and strength of an investigation that translates into a presentable case for the prosecution. Because of enhancements in sentencing, these factors are all relative when a guilty verdict his handed down and punishment is accessed. Although I understand the points presented in the short film, I do tend to side with the District Attorney, Martha Coakley, when she disagrees with Judge Severlin Singleton. There is a very true factor though and that is the difference between a court appointed attorney and a retained, highly respected trial attorney. The difference between the two could very well be probation or incarceration. A court appointed attorney carries a much busier client base and received much less pay compared to their well-established counterparts. Because of this, the court appointed attorney seemingly works fast to plea bargain the majority of his or her cases and not always in the best interest of the client, resulting in what’s best for the attorney and not the defendant who could quite possibly defeat a charge in a trial with a devoted legal team. A retained trial attorney, paid for every single piece of scrap paper, will spend vast quantities of time to craft a defense because his paycheck and reputation depends on it. Also, in the short film, both defendants had completely different criminal histories, and yes, race. Intent to distribute rather than possession is considered a worse crime against society. The idea is a dealer destroys families while an individual addict is only responsible for his or her actions and damage to their individual family and friends. I disagreed with the sentence in the case for the defendant with the intent to deliver cocaine charge, but I am disagreeing from Texas. In most cases, a first time offender is offered a lengthy probation. I think this was more the fault of his attorney not working the plea deal to the best of his ability. The second defendant, with multiple possession cases, should have had a sentence of incarceration and mandatory drug rehabilitation. Again, and as stated, each case is handled by a different prosecutor and defense attorney and these relationships between the two are dynamic, and result in different agreements. There may be better sociological theories to relate to Race on Trial, however the theory of culture of poverty seemed to resonate with me. It was discussed that defendants who can afford an attorney prevail in legal cases where a free, or court-appointed (tax payer funded) attorney, will not necessarily have the same success. That general idea of hopelessness relates to minority communities as well. In communities where an individual lives a life of crime, such as the drug dealer in the film, this may be the only thing this individual feels he can do to feed himself and/ or his family. Jail time becomes a regular part of the routine for most minorities who end up in the criminal justice system due to a lack of opportunity in good paying jobs, failure of the educational system to not only teach, but motivate students, forcing them to fend for themselves in a community with limited resources. The acceptance of a court appointed attorney and incarceration are only part of what has to be done to return home and potentially continue the same criminal behavior due to a lack of resources. However, a defendant who beats their charge with a better attorney has no criminal conviction and can return to the job market to continue a similar lifestyle as before and possibly have nothing but a memory of the past behavior with little effect on his or her livability. Stereotypes also play a role. Is a drug dealer really different that a drug abuser? Dealers sell to make money and commit a crime by doing so, but abusers commit robberies and burglaries to get money to feed their habit. Both perpetuate crime.The solution would be an active District Attorney who checks regularly with their subordinates to ensure that pleas and cases going to trial follow some sort of pattern of fairness. I believe in discretion, but oversight is necessary. Also, judges noticing patterns of inequality such as Judge Severlin Singleton felt he observed, should be willing to bring these issues to the forefront. Mandatory sentencing was a mistake and should be done away with, returning the discretion to the courts and juries who hear these cases. Fairness does not seem to be that hard of a goal, but perception of what is fair is a very blurred lineBottom of Form
Bottom of Form4.The film I chose to use for this assignment is the Institutional Discrimination film. In this film, Bryan Stevenson illustrates discrimination in penitentiaries across the United States as disproportionately representing the African American population. This relates to the urban underclass seen in many highly populated cities across the United States. Bryan mentions that in cities such as Los Angeles and others similar in population, the overwhelming sense of poverty adds to the destructive environment for black males. This is reflected in the incarceration, probation, and parole rate of black males. Bryan further notes that the criminal justice system is set up such that poverty ultimately leads to guilt and wealth leads to innocence. Bryan does not suggest exact strategies to cure institutional discrimination. He does however suggest a number of ideas to correct institutional discrimination starting with the juvenile justice system. Bryan mentions that he represents numerous children in trial and is appalled that a 13 year old can be tried as an adult. Bryan cites a specific example from one of his court cases in which he presented a motion to the judge that his “child” be tried as a 70 year old business executive. Being that a 13 year old can be sentenced to life in prison without parole, Bryan transitions his presentation into the utilization of the death penalty. He points out that the death penalty results in one out of nine deaths, one is a wrongful conviction. This is followed up by the analogy that an airline would never utilize planes if one out of nine were projected to crash. Applying this presentation on the topic of institutional discrimination is somewhat of a challenging task. I feel that the best point made during the presentation is with regard to children. The best way to cure a disproportionate prison demographic is intervention at an early age. Avoidance of a criminal lifestyle that is a direct correlation to the environment one is brought up in has everything to do with the life decisions that can ultimately result in incarceration. The glorification of criminal lifestyles by the media add to the challenges of our youths and present an outlet for social media popularity rather than opportunity
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