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Guns And Violence Book Review

Throughout one's life, one experiences many emotions and
undergoes many changes. Changes that are not always apparent,
changes that cannot always be reasoned or changes that reflect
greatest in behavior, ones that are dependent on the
environment. In Deanna Wilkinson's Guns, Violence, and
Identity among African American and Latino Youth, Wilkinson
studies the role of violence and guns in the construction the
social identity of minority youth.

Wilkinson studies 125 violent African American and Latino
males aged 16 to 24 in New York City, analyzing 306 violent
situations of which 151 involve guns. The social world of
these youths is characterized by violence, internalized street
codes, limited opportunities, and the availability of
firearms. Violent events are public social performances. These
performances often have serious consequences for social
identity and personal safety. Wilkinson shows how violence is
a resource for gaining/maintaining social identity
(masculinity) and status on the street. The dynamic of moving
from victim to victimizer is clearly understood in the
socio-cultural context of the street. She demonstrates the
role that guns play in "empowering" adolescents to engage in
conflict outside of age-specific groups
(http://www.lfbscholarly.com/criminal_justice/wilkinson_320094.htm).

In this book, Wilkinson identifies the reasons in the increase
of gun violence in the minority youth. Wilkinson trains
ex-offenders to be peer interviews to note the ways adolescent
males cope, adapt and in some situations overcome the hardship
of the streets. I think this was a great idea as it allows
Wilkinson and all reading her book to get a clear and accurate
picture of what's going through an offender's mind. Also, in
doing this, Wilkinson allows not only the common public to see
the cause and effect of crime and criminals, but allows the
offenders themselves to get a escape their reality and speak
their mind about them not...