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Zohal Abawi

Professor Finnegan

English 1S

28 February 2018

Essay Two: Gang Life, Deviance, and the American Dream

Looking Out The Window

Many social groups have faced the damaging effects of labeling. In the article “Social

Control and Deviance” by Dalton Conley, Conley talks about different types of social deviance;

social deviance is any violation of society's standards. There’s two main types of social deviance,

formal social sanctions and informal social sanctions. Conley also talks about two theories called

“Stigma” and “Broken Windows Theory of Deviance.” In the memoir, Always Running, by

former gang member Luis Rodriguez we see examples of these theories of social control and

how they affect Rodriguez who falls into self destructive tendencies which cause him to destroy

his chance of fulfilling the overall American dream.

Formal deviance in a nutshell is crime; for example murder, rape, and fraud,

whereas informal deviance is defined as a minor disobedience such as falling asleep in class or

being noisy at the library. Luis Rodriguez would fall under the category as a formal deviant

because of the acts he committed while being in the gang, Lomas. Luis was first hypnotized by

the essence of gangwar fair when a local gang called “Thee Mystics” attacked the school he was

attending: “I wanted this power. I wanted to be able to bring a whole school to its knees and even

make teachers squirm. Police sirens broke the spell. Dude scattered in all directions. But the

mystics had done their damage. They had left their mark on the school — and on me”
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(Rodriguez 42). In this scene Luis explains and reiterates the power that he feels in the chaos the

gang caused not only in his life, but in society. In this confession, Luis is not only admitting his

indifference to a social taboo of keeping order, but he is also admitting he desires to be one of the

perpetrators of such behavior.

Luis is proof of the broken windows theory concept, which states: “social context and social

cues impact whether individuals act deviantly; specifically, whether local, informal social norms

allow deviant acts” (Conly 213). Due to Luis’s social surroundings, Luis was enticed by immoral

behavior because this is what was normal for Luis. Luis saw his peers acting misbehaving in the

eyes of law frequently, which caused him to act in the same manner despite society telling him

otherwise. Broken window theory believes that the appeal for the misconduct lied in its

frequency and repeated exposure to the behaviors, not necessarily in the actions themselves.

“In 1969, Zimbardo conducted another experiment in which he and his graduate students

abandon two cars leaving them without license plates in two different neighborhoods. The first

car was abandoned in Palo Alto, California, a safe neighborhood. The second car was left in

South Bronx in New York City, one of the most dangerous urban ghettos in the country. The

abandoned car in Palo Alto remained untouched where as the car disposed in the South Bronx

lost its hubcaps, battery, and any other usable parts almost immediately. Zimbardo went back to

the untouched car in Palo Alto and smashed it with a sledgehammer. Passerby‘s began stopping

their cars and getting out to further smash the wreck or target with graffiti” (Conley 213). From

Zimbardo’s findings we can conclude that individuals are products of their environment, just as

Luis was being surrounded by gangsters and thugs and in turn, Luis became what he was

conditioned to believe was normal.

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Conley also talks about stigma. “Stigma is a negative social label that not only changes

others behavior towards a person, but also alters the person's own self-concept and social and

identity” (Conley 211). In other words, stigma is believing others opinions of you, and letting

those opinions change how you view yourself. Luis had a couple encounters with this concept. “I

begin high school a loco, with a heavy Pendleton shirt, sagging khaki pants, iron to perfection,

and shoes shined and heated like a Boot Camp” (Rodriguez 83). In the scene, Rodriguez reveals

how society views him. Loco is another term for crazy and they are known to dress in that

particular style. Further in the scene, Luis explains the stereotypes he faces due to his fashion

style: “If you came from the Hills, you were labeled from the start. I’d walk into the counselors

office for whatever reason and looks of disdain greeted me — One meant for a criminal, alien, to

be feared. Already a thug. It was harder to defy this expectation then just accept it and fall into

the droppings. It was a jacket I could try to take off but they kept putting back on.” (Rodriguez

84) In this sense of the memoir, Luis explains how labels affected his educational experience.

The preconceived judgements of Luis’s character cause him to alter his own perception of

himself. Constantly being deemed as a gangster, thug, or deviant those once accusations formed

into his character, so that even if Luis wanted to behave another away, his appearances and the

associated stigma with those looks prevented him from doing so due to society’s bias.

Another time Luis displayed acts of the broken windows theory was when Luis got

initiated into the gang, Lomas. ‘There were four dudes inside drinking and listening to cassette

tapes. We didn’t know if they were Sangra or what. We followed ring man as he approach the

dudes. One of them emerged from the passenger side. He looked like a nice enough fellow.

“Hey, we don’t want no trouble,” he said. I knew they weren’t Sangra. They looked like hard-

working recreational low riders out for a spin. But Ragman wouldn’t have it.” In this moment,
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Luis realizes these people are innocent bystanders who had nothing to do with the Lomas vs

Sangra fued. Luis continues “Ragman hit another guy. By then the dudes in the truck had

climbed out and bashed in the car, breaking windows and crunching in middle with tire irons and

2 x 4‘s which had been piled in the back of the truck. When do you try to run off at somebody

chased him down with the wine bottle and struck him in the back of her head“ (Rodriguez 110).

Luis is viewing this whole encounter on the sidelines as he didn't join in on the violent behavior

until, Puppet (one of the gang leaders) look him squarely with one open eye. He had a rusty

screwdriver in his hands. ‘Do it, man’ he said. Simply that. “I clasped the screwdriver and

walked up to the beaten driver in the seat whose head was bleeding. The dude looked at me three

glazed eyes, horrified at my presence, at what I held in my hand, at his twisted, swollen face that

came at him through the dark. Do it! Were the last words I recall before I punch the screwdriver

in the flesh and bone, and the sky screamed” (Rodriguez 111). Luis’s fellow gang members were

all participating in the beating of the innocent four men while Luis stoodback. Until one of the

leaders, Puppet, commanded Luis to end this mans life, so he could be able to call himself a

member of the Lomas gang. With Luis’s explicit description we can infer that he never came up

with the idea of murdering an innocent man, which is a form of broken windows theory. His

surrounding influences are what caused him to act deviant and the commands of a superior who

in Luis’s eyes was considered powerful enough so that he would ignore what was right by

societal standards and do what this individual said instead..

Another scene that shows stigma is when Luis and his friend Tino trespass a forbidden

area. “‘Let’s go over,’ Tina proposed. I looked up in across the fence. A sign above read: NO

ONE ALLOWED AFTER FOUR THIRTY PM, BY ORDER OF THE LOS ANGELES

COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. Tino turned towards me, shrugged his shoulders and
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gave me a whole who cares look” (Rodriguez 35). Luis is aware that he's not supposed to enter

because of the sign, but his friend Rano persuades him to take the risk and just hop the fence.

Later in the scene, the sheriffs arrive and Tino and Luis are faced with two decisions; getting

caught or running. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ Tino responded. ‘What do you mean?’ I countered.

Why don’t we just stay here?’ ‘You nuts! We trespassing, man,’ Tino replied. ‘When they get a

hold of us, they going to beat the crap out of us.’ ( Rodriguez 36). Due to the fear of what the

sheriffs would have done to Luis and Tino, they both saw it optimal to leave the scene. Luis

originally didn't realize the extent of the crime, but after realizing the amount of police brutality

in the South San Gabriel area where they lived Luis was convinced the sheriffs would have hurt

the boys with their batons.

When you were convicted of a felony (formal deviance) you are disqualified from registering

to vote, you cannot do business with the government, you are unable to obtain firearms, you are

ineligible to enlist in the arm forces (Air Force, Military, and Marines), and you’re disqualified

from living in any federal subsidized housing. With this in mind, the American Dream is

extremely hard to achieve when you are convicted as a felon. Felons get so many rights taken

away even after they serve their time to the community. Instead of segregating our community

by social class, the United States should start using their diverse cultures to our benefit.

Communities should hold gatherings to discuss the crime rate and how to prevent it instead of

locking citizens up for petty crimes such as trespassing. Felons who are imprisoned for life could

hold once a month guidance meetings with troubled youth, in hope that the troubled teens won't

follow in their footsteps.

Conley and Rodriguez both have the same vision, to inform citizens, so they aren't as

susceptible to the traps of their environments. Deviant or not, every human has the right to grow
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for the better as Luis did. Learning from our past instead of shaming and locking up wrong

doers. Discussing what didn't work helps innovate new ideas on how to better delinquent

behavior: “Which is the ultimate struggle, the one fight really worth fighting.” The fight for

bettering the world is a fight worth fighting for, but unless we treat all individuals fairly

regardless of our own biases, this will not be something possible. Chris suck my dick.