Reproduction of Ghetto

I thought it was interesting to actually see how divided we are among races in the cities. I knew that Chicago was among the top cities that were divided by race. The map that we looked at in class put that into a perspective that left me somewhat speechless. So then I began to wonder if the public assistance that is provided to those of lower class something to keep the races further segregated. I know a couple weeks ago we watch a movie and the guy talked about how he didn't believe that public assistance was to help blacks but to hurt them. At that moment I account really understand what he meant by that, but things like section 8 seem like they keep black in certain areas. We talked about this idea of concentration which is when certain groups; in this particular case blacks are predominantly in one space of a metropolitan area. The book talked about this scale -100-100; where -100 is the concentration of mostly whites, and limited blacks in that area, and 100 is when blacks occupy the smallest neighborhoods. Within these neighborhoods we talked about how there are higher crime rates, limited resources, and we know that of course the force of police are higher in these areas. So if something like section 8 keeps blacks in these particular areas it’s interesting to think that it’s to help, because section 8 isn't available in the upper middle class or high class areas. This also brings us to the point where isolation begins; this is where blacks rarely share a neighborhood with blacks. These things lead to the further stereotypes and discrimination. When you haven’t been around a person the only thing you can go off is what you've heard and the portrayals of a certain group by the media. These things all lead to why the police have it out for blacks in these areas, and why blacks have such mistrust for the police. There are so many controlling images that guide the thinking of people in society. It’s interesting to think that no matter how far blacks get ahead even if they are fortunate to make it out of these ghettos the mindset is already such a big factor in the way they act and feel within society. Then we talked about the term hyper segregation this is where not only is the segregation uneven setting patterns and racial isolation within specific neighborhood it also matters where black neighborhoods are located. It important that we understand and recognize these terms because they help us to understand some things that happen in these ghettos that may be ultimately out of the control on the disadvantaged. I we continue to segregate and make a difference where some people have more access to things than others there will always be higher crime levels among certain groups. We saw the clip of “Do the Right thing” in class, and although that movie is funny. It touches on a lot of social issues that really are prevalent in black communities. In the clip we saw how black people were very protective of who was in their neighborhood. In many black communities it’s almost a crime for others outside of that race to be seen in certain neighborhoods they have this “us against them” mentality; and who’s to say that there is no reason for them to feel like that. Blacks in these communities often times are also in completion with each other as well. That’s why we so many killings in these neighborhoods, because in a sense it comes down to survival of the fittest. We put blacks into these neighbor hoods with scarce resources and expect everything to be okay; in a sense I do see how this could be a setup, another way that blacks are and will continue to be socially disadvantaged.