tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post5571908694052604259..comments2024-02-28T05:56:28.293-08:00Comments on California Correctional Crisis: Are We Focusing on Black Males?Hadar Aviramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15200780666976305749noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-90948604323420229652010-03-16T07:38:56.635-07:002010-03-16T07:38:56.635-07:00Thanks for that thoughtful comment, Tom. The energ...Thanks for that thoughtful comment, Tom. The energy thing certainly explains the age and gender aspect of the story, but it doesn't explain the race part. I wonder whether the cost-related nonpunitive sentiments will do anything to alleviate the racial disparity, and very much suspect they won't.Hadar Aviramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200780666976305749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-40539968344069003832010-03-15T23:38:14.787-07:002010-03-15T23:38:14.787-07:00I guess this qualifies as the ultimate "riddl...I guess this qualifies as the ultimate "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" of American criminal law, one that, as the Anderson piece pointed out, may have been in the offing for us since de Tocqueville's time.<br /><br />I was reminded of a quote by Lionel Tiger, the anthropologist, who wrote that one of the most difficult tasks for any social system is figuring out what to do with its young males. A lot of social energy and activity does seem in most societies to get put to that particular question (through sports, the military, the skilled trades, civic organizations like Scouting, hell maybe even video games) and I believe that a significant challenge faced by young men (and I will be shockingly essentialist here and say one faced with much more direct and immediate consequences by young men than by young women) is how to successfully manage constant competition for social position against other young men.<br /><br />A functional social structure allows older, wiser, more experienced and responsible men who are capable of commanding respect to teach younger men how to do this through structures that sublimate competition and teach discipline and respect through clear and well-organized roles and rules. A dysfunctional social structure, say, one in which a significant proportion of older men are dead, incarcerated, or otherwise absent; the skilled trades have been devalorized; public support of civic organizations has waned; and sports have come to be seen primarily as a route to individual wealth and glory for a privileged few rather than a means to teach shared sacrifice and achievement to many; seems to leave this task to the lowest common denominators of peer groups or not-so-responsible men.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067759626108987472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-79272489835798930852010-03-15T23:14:33.986-07:002010-03-15T23:14:33.986-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067759626108987472noreply@blogger.com