In chapter five of Wounded City: Violent Turf Wars in a Chicago Barrio, Robert Vargas discusses the concept of the “code of silence.” He explains that, “the code drives a wedge between police and residents” (121), such that residents refrain from calling the police in return for gang protection. My expert question focused on the role of social programs in relation to gang protection. More specifically, I wanted to hear what the class thought about the role of the basketball league in strengthening community values within the Latin Kings community. My question generated a lot of discussion about the concept of legitimacy. Certainly, social programs such as the basketball league compel eastside residents of Chicago to associate with the Latin Kings as a means for maintaining safety. In the case of the burning of Israel Palacios’ house, once it was discovered that he was the director of the program that runs a Latin King’s son’s basketball league, gang members were told not to mess with him again. This raised the question of legitimacy amongst my classmates. Would this man still be protected even if his kids left the basketball league? How long can Israel’s role within the basketball league keep him safe? If Israel were to quit his job, would he be back on, per say, the Latin King’s “bad side?” Or is his involvement in the basketball league, and therefore his connection to one of the Latin Kings’ sons, for any period of time enough to garner their trust for a lifetime? Indeed, the class agreed that trust is one of the most important values that is cultivated through these social programs. But can that trust be maintained when things start to change? It might not be the best option for eastside residents to associate themselves with the Latin Kings, but is it the safest? Clearly my question raised a lot of lingering questions. It seemed that the class agreed that eastside residents of Chicago do not have control over their own physical safety, even if they are connected to the Latin King’s community through social programs such as the basketball league.

During class I also elaborated on the last part of my question regarding if this approach (exploiting relationship-building efforts for the control of crime) could be counterproductive. I connected my question to the discussion we had in a previous class about social integration and social control. We discussed how too much or too little integration can shape our everyday decisions. Though we did not discuss it much, I am interested in hearing more about whether people think that strong, interpersonal ties that individuals might develop through being a part of a social program can actually impede efforts to establish social control in a society that has this code of silence? I am wondering if by strengthening relationships and values among community members, this would actually increase the tolerance for violence because more relationships between groups will be formed, and if this could potentially escalate levels of crime in the long run? I think this idea merits further consideration, especially in a place like eastside Chicago where residents feel as though they cannot cooperate with the police.