Linked to this ingrained notion of image are three major problem areas: drug use, sex, and the interpersonal exchanges between blacks and whites. These problems in turn spring from the combination of a culture that has grown up too quickly and therefore lives in a state of adult-childhood. Said perpetual childhood creates two very distinct and generally uncompromising social groups competing to live in the same area.
The culture of “getting high” in Northton has led a community of elders who work mostly blue-collar jobs for long, hard hours and enough pay to get by become a community of the younger generation making easier and higher salaries. There is an apparent competition that is perceived in the blacks to become as successful as their white Village counterparts. Given the economic situation of Northton, however, youth are unable both financially and oftentimes mentally to attend a college that would lead to white-collar employment. Youth of Northton are forced to bypass college (and possibly some of high school) physically and mentally. By the time they are teenagers, many of them will already have assumed the role as a secondary head of household (either in conjunction with a single parent, or as a young parent themselves). As Anderson notes, “[g]rowing up prematurely, many cannot handle the stresses of adult life and thus become crime-prone, aggressive, and generally unpredictable” (77). Drugs are a plausible solution to Northton youth for both the mental state in which the high puts them and the financial status that dealers easily achieve.
The social problems in Northton are intrinsically linked; drugs are often used as a means of income for a young father, an escape for a young mother. They breed violence in the forms of uncontrollable behavior resulting from “the high” and turf wars. “Dealers tend to have certain corners and spaces ‘sewed up,’ marked off as their own territory and may prevent other dealers from selling either at a particular corner or even in the general area. At times these corners are bought and sold, leading to turf disputes and violence to decide who owns them” (85). Actions performed both while high and while in withdrawal from the high are spastic and impetuous.
These actions and characteristics of the user-cum-addict, particularly when perceived under the settings of crack houses, are not only a problem in terms of the welfare of the Northton community. The drug culture is one of the main factors that have led to the negative views Village residents take to Northton, particularly since the Village is affected by Northton’s activities; “spillover from Northton in the form of drug addicts and panhandlers has a dampening effect on the desirability of the Village community” (28). This encourages extra policemen to patrol the area and adopt a “guilty until proven innocent” mindset. There are initial reasons that lead the youth of Northton to become first-time users (and ultimately addicts); peer pressure being the main umbrella for the youths’ various justifications. Crack and cocaine can be-and often are-perceived in this sense as the ultimate candy.
It is this same child-like mentality that has shaped the sex culture of Northton youth. The use of drugs initially can feed into the politics of sex in numerous ways. Sex can be an exchange for or-in the case of cultivating new customers-an introduction to drugs. Prostitutes, in contract with their dealers, will often bring rock cocaine into a client session to enhance the experience. The highly addictive nature of cocaine leads to a tremendous high for the first-time user who then experiences a heavy crash that leaves him in search of the next high. As the process continues, the drug culture rapidly grows. Profession notwithstanding, a female addict will prostitute herself for the drug when she cannot afford it, an offer that is often gladly accepted by her dealer.
While familiar with the tenets of sex, with the wants and needs of their partner, the men and women ultimately play through the give-a-little-get-a-little relationship with a naiveté. Anderson notes that the universal concept of manhood is nearly impossible to achieve in the Northton community due to the lack of jobs that allow a man to sustain a family. “Partially in response, the young men’s peer group emphasizes sexual prowess as proof of manhood, with babies as evidence” (112). While a child can be a hindrance on a man’s social life, the “notches on his belt” are worth it to him in the end, whether or not he remains an active force in his child’s life. Women give the Northton man much sought-after bragging rights, which in turn elevate his status within his circle of friends.
“For a variety of reasons tied to the socioeconomic situation, their goals are often diametrically opposed, and sex becomes a contest between them…. Many of the girls offer sex as a gift in bargaining for the attentions of a young man.” (113). The barter of sex on the woman’s part attempts to secure a man who can eventually become a husband, a father, and a provider. While the young men of Northton are more accepting towards the notion that the typical American dream of a solid, self-supporting family is not attainable, young women still cling to this dream. While each side plays to win this game, it is generally the more realistic aim of the man’s part that wins in the end.
The woman may end up pregnant, a consolation prize for her and proof of manhood for her counterpart. She may be consoled by the fact that her partner’s good looks can contribute to a beautiful baby, allowing her to remain in competition with her circle of friends and their children. She may take a child to be her mark of womanhood, much like the man takes the act of sex to be his mark of manhood. She may simply be content to now qualify for child support and welfare, most of which will be spent on expensive clothes for the child as a means of enhancing the infant’s image.
However, this immaturity again creates more problems than these youths are equipped to handle. “As boys and girls try to use each other to achieve their own ends, the reality that emerges sometimes approximates their goals, but it often brings frustration and disillusionment and perpetuates or even worsens their original situation” (113). The man can argue that the child is not his, financial-not to mention emotional-support is eluded, and the woman is left without enough funds or sense to raise the child on her own. If there is no support within the mother’s family, this can become a dangerous situation for both mother and child. Even if she remains with her partner during and post-pregnancy, the father is generally unable to live up to the mother’s expectations, despite all initial claims to the contrary.
The decisions made by the white residents of the community in terms of how they interact with their black neighbors are predetermined by their personal knowledge of them (particularly in the aforementioned areas of sex and drugs). The danger that many white upper-middle-income residents perceive is noted by the police force-mainly white-who view the streets accordingly. Again, the “guilty until proven innocent” mentality comes into play, making those blacks who have no connection to the drug/gang culture of the streets as much a suspect as those who are involved in gangs and drug trafficking.
Those blacks who are well-educated must display this outside, in terms of wearing suits, carrying briefcases and books in plain view, and securing at least one type of identification card that tells the public they are backed up by a school, union, or company. Such measures may not completely ensure their sovereignty from the police, especially if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The further removed from their “blackness,” the more likely they are to get along in society, which can cause many blacks to feel a loss of connection to their roots. The exchange is not entirely even, either. While many middle-class blacks attempt to assimilate themselves within the white culture of the Village, they still face prejudices and misconceptions on the part of their white neighbors.
These three areas of focus in the Village and Northton are not merely topical. Rather, they are deeply rooted in the psychological makeup of the city’s residents, making these all the more difficult to solve or cope with. While there is hope for the child of a broken home or the survivor of a drug addiction to make something more of their situation and future, they still face the perception both of their peers and the surrounding “outside” groups. The solution, if there is any plausible solution, will only be realized after passing through several generations that are receptive to change.
Source:
Anderson, Elijah. StreetWise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community. Chicago; University of Chicago Press: 1992.
