We read an article about two different groups of boys in the same school; one being the Saints and the other, the Roughnecks. Both of the groups did the same sorts of illegal activities, be it drinking under-age, pulling pranks, and other such things. While one group was able to get away from town because they had more money to spend and their own cars to drive, the other was constantly in the town's view. It was the Roughnecks that were considered as such because everybody considered them the lower-class kids with bad habits and the kids who were going nowhere; they weren't all-star athletes and honors students. But while these boys did the same things as the Saints, because those boys were the all-star athletes and honors students, they were able to get away with their illegal activities. So why is this? Why is it that when one has good credentials and enough money, they can get away with just about anything? But when doomed to fail, one little slip up has everyone talking?
I've seen it among us Patriots as well, with the right amount of sweet gestures, smiles, cash, and decent grades, it seems like there's kids who can get away with it all. But if everyone knows you're headed down the road to nowhere, anything "bad" you do will be used against you. How do we fix this cycle of deviance? How can we as a society look past class and race to see that no matter who commits the crime, it's the same crime? Why is it that some can get away with it while others cannot?
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Hey MF,
ReplyDeleteThat photo reminds me of what the captain on the pirate ship must have been looking at for the last week. Anyway, Chambliss, the author of the Saints and Roughnecks, would answer your last question by saying that it is social class that allows the saints to get away with it. They understand how the dominant class acts and so they can play that act and the teachers, cops, and other adults who control their future see them favorably. What do you think?