Can you help me write my discussion about chapter 5 like this student discussion post that I shared on here

6/9 Chapter 5: Social Disorganization Theory

Popular culture. Juvenile Delinquency. 'Broken windows' theory and practice.

Fences and neighbors: Segregation in 21st-Century America. (Farley & Squires)

Segregation and violence reconsidered: Do Whites benefit from racial segregation? (Light & Thomas)

Inderbitzin, M., Bates, K, and Gainey, R. (2020). Deviance and social control: A sociological perspective. 3rd Edition. SAGE publication.

Student discussion post

Question 1: Shaw and McKay's (1942/1969) theory moved us away from "types of people" explanations by exposing the fact that it's not the people that's the explanation, it's the area they live in. This is because where someone lives dictates the opportunities they receive. For example, someone who lives in a really nice suburban neighborhood with a neighborhood watch will most likely have less of a need to commit acts of deviance than someone in the inner city of Chicago. This is because someone in a suburban neighborhood will have more opportunities to be successful without being deviant than someone who is in the inner city of Chicago. Not only that, but the influences in Chicago are much different than the influences in a nice suburban neighborhood. In Chicago, it's common for crime to take place, so as a kid growing up there it's almost natural to also join in on commiting crime. Not to say everyone in Chicago is a criminal, but there is much more incentive to be one than in a rich suburb.

Question 2: I think we are so focused on blaming the individual because it's the easiest answer to come to. It's also an answer that makes us feel better about our country. Nobody wants to hear that the reason there is so much crime in certain areas is because that area isn't as well taken care of compared to another area. It's unfair and Americans are not a fan of things that are unfair. So, saying that the reason an individual is poor and resorting to deviance is due to their decisions is a much easier pill to swallow than to admit that there are areas of this country that are being neglected. It also makes us feel better to blame the individual because it allows us to foolishly believe that something like that will never happen to us even though having to live in a poor neighborhood with high crime is something that nobody chooses to do and it can happen to anybody.

Question 3: In my opinion, collective efficiency helps us understand social disorganization theory because collective efficiency shows us how to combat social disorganization. The reading discusses the variables related to social disorganization, "Structural variables related to social disorganization theory included concentrated disadvantage, immigrant concentration, and a lack of residential stability" (Inderbitzin, 2020, pg 193). As you can see, one of those variables is lack of residential stability. Collective efficiency focuses on strengthening the neighborhood and bringing everyone together which leads to less deviant behavior. So, collective efficiency helps us understand social disorganization by showing us how to solve social disorganization and also shows us why social disorganization occurs.

Question 4: Wilson and Kellings (1982) broken windows theory is a theory that brings up the fact that visible signs of deviance such as broken windows, spray paint, and litter can actually increase the rates of deviance by encouraging the same behavior. This theory relates to social disorganization theory because both theories support the idea that the environment has an influence on crime.

Question 5: For the safer areas I would say the areas I am thinking of have a lot of houses close together and the streets are well lit at night allowing for good visibility. Also the streets are very clean with no trash on the road along with everyone's grass being well cut and tended. The houses themselves look almost brand new and wildlife seems to live amongst the neighborhood. The places I am thinking of that are dangerous have poorly lit streets with a lot of homeless loitering around the sidewalks as well as lots of trash on the road and sidewalks. There are barely any signs of nature, the buildings have bars on the windows to prevent break ins and there isn't really much open space.

Question 6: Some of the external factors that keep some neighborhoods socially disorganized are underfunded schools, restricted access to buying homes, racism, and lack of jobs in the area. These external factors are things that are out of the control of the citizens within the community.

Question 7: The video was very heavy. The combination of the trauma filled lyrics and clearly dilapidated buildings where people actually live was heartbreaking. The buildings were so bare and clearly there wasn't much thought or money put into them. They look like a house I would build from Legos and I am awful at building with Legos. The lyrics to me described what it was like to actually live in those buildings. From what I have heard there are lots of drug problems in these buildings and suicide and homicidal crime seems to be an issue as well.

Summary: This chapter focused heavily on how a neighborhood's environment dictates how much deviant behavior occurs. They also discussed how some people blame problems of deviance on the individual instead of their environment which to me was really interesting to read since I also saw it as an individual problem. Now, after reading, I see it as a problem a whole community contributes to and influences. A way that the reading discusses how a community's environment dictates the level of deviance that occurs is by bringing up social disorganization theory which blames the neighborhood itself for not being able to control the delinquency that is taking place. There was also discussion on how to combat this social disorganization in the form of collective efficiency. Collective efficiency is essentially a community coming together to support each other instead of waiting for someone else to support them. Collective efficiency has been proven to lower crime.

Article Summary: The first article written by John E Farley and Gregory D. Squires discusses segregation and housing. The article brings up statistics along with a few charts that show the effects of segregation and who is being most impacted. The article also explains why this segregation with housing exists, explaining that white people assume that black neighborhoods have poor schools and more crime which isn't always true. This makes them choose to live in predominantly white neighborhoods. This topic is very important and I recognize it, but the way it was set up is so incredibly hard to read and understand. I found myself reading one paragraph and having no idea what I read, so I had to read back a few times. The fact that white people are choosing not to live in certain neighborhoods is an example of social disorganization theory because they are assuming that the neighborhood wouldn't be as controlled as a white neighborhood.

This article was written by Michael T. Light and Julia T. Thomas and is about how whites benefit from racial segregation, specifically in the sense of less homicide rates. This article was pretty interesting. The article had lots of data discussing the differences in white homicide rates and black homicide rates with black homicide rates being exponentially bigger. I also really enjoyed the historical piece of segregation as it paints the picture as to why this is happening in the first place and the events that led up to it. I can apply the theory, social disorganization theory to the article because segregation creates a neighborhood that is disorganized due to lack of diversity.