The Street History of El Barrio

The topic covered in the chapter is the street history of El Barrio. Key arguments depicted in the chapter center on the oppressive colonial history of Puerto Rico, the aftermath of Puerto Rico's transfer to US control, Puerto Rican hardships in New York, social marginalization in East Harlem, the Italian invasion of East Harlem, and poverty, substance abuse, and crime in East Harlem. A key argument is that Puerto Rico’s status as a locus for political control led to the mass migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland US in the 20 th century. Puerto Rican immigrants in New York were vilified since they carried venereal diseases, according to medical experts and were inferior in their native abilities as per government reports (Bourgois, 2010). The collapse of the manufacturing sector in the 1970s and 1980s pushed the Puerto Ricans living in New York to work in the underground economy. Another argument is that there is rampant abuse of drugs such as heroin and cocaine in East Harlem since they are easy to come by given that street dealing and visible substance abuse are the norms. 

The author has conceptualized primary concepts in the chapter by providing an agreed-upon meaning for specific concepts. A primary concept is the transformation of Puerto Rico's economy through the expropriation of farmers' lands. The author uses the term jibaro to describe the farmers whose lands were taken over by the US. He conceptualizes this primary concept by explaining its meaning and why characters use the term to describe themselves. The author informed the study by observing and interacting with research participants in their real-life environment. Bourgois interacted with participants, including Primo and Caesar, Puerto Ricans living in East Harlem and engaged in either drug dealing or substance abuse. He also obtained data through observation given that he was a resident of East Harlem and lived next to a crack house. Bourgois explains how he observed substance abuse and drug dealing practices in the area where he lived with his family. He analyzed the data by paying attention to patterns, similarities, and connections from the notes made from observations and interactions with the participants. The author concludes that even though the mafia’s influence reduced after 1990, there was an emergence of a powerful ideological legacy that violence and crime pay. The recurring financial scandals occurring on Wall Street reinforce this view. The ethnographic data collected by Bourgois limited his abilities to address the research problem effectively. The author made personal observations and, in this case, was biased in presenting their views on the social phenomena. Inaccurate conclusions derived from the observation meant that he could not answer his research question accurately. The author’s findings may have differed if he had collected data from another sample. Bourgois lived near a crack house and managed to collect data from his confidants, including Primo and Caesar. If he collected data from another sample, he might have collected it from individuals who had different experiences and views compared to his confidants. Bourgois effectively conceptualized the primary concepts in the chapter by showing their relevance to the research problem. For instance, he conceptualized the concept of jibaro and showed its importance in the pursuit of respect by Puerto Ricans selling crack in East Harlem. The arguments of the study are similar to those of other articles since they reinforce the notion that crime and violence pay. The interactionist theory of crime is a theoretical framework that could be applied to the study. The framework can explain why visible criminal behavior and substance abuse promotes further crime and substance abuse. Based on the lack of a theoretical framework and the use of only ethnographic data, I disagree with Bourgois’ conclusions. 

Reference 

Bourgois, P. I. (2010).  In search of respect: Selling crack in El Barrio . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.