Description
Reply to this post:
As a person of color, as an African American male and as working man, I can feel the pain and treatment of these boys discussed in the article. In the article “Stealing a Bag of Potato Chips and Other Crimes of Resistance” by Victor M. Rios discusses how boys that are mostly of color experience a type of stigma or stereotype. In the article, the events regarding Ronny, Mike and other boys, the enviornment they grew up in and adapted in had deprived them of social and cultural capital. Meaning that these boys have to adapt, which they in fact did, and develop their own way of social and cultural capital. This is how they survived poverty. The event with Ronny and his interview really struck me. It shook me because in the article it stated, “Why didn’t you shake her hand when you left?” I asked. “’Cause,” Ronny replied. “Why not?” I scolded. “Because it was a white lady. You not supposed to shake a white lady’s hand. They be scared of a nigga. They think I’ma try to take their shit or fuck ’em. I just said thanks and walked out.” Ronny did not get the job.” This is sad because African American people were viewed at lesser people or lesser person. I hoping that Ronny did get the job but the outcome was not a surrpise. Another quote is, “As I headed to the door, I turned to look in the manager’s direction, and she was greeting a White male youth. She smiled, gave him her hand, and offered him a place to sit. Ronny’s first contact with her was not this friendly. I walked outside to meet Ronny, who sat on the hood of my car.” The fact of the matter is that the manager showed a better greeting towards the white young male than Ronny. That can say it all. This is what led Ronny to sell pirated DVDs and abandon the job search process. This was their way of survival. Ronny invested 20$ in pirated DVDs and later on made 50$. He started to reinvest and see his money grow. However, to be posted infront of a store for six to eight hours waiting for customers for about 20$ or 30$ a day. Ronny literally is risking his life and freedom for getting arrested for a federal offense. One thing I didnt like in the article is the event when the four when entered the store when it stated, “only two customers” at a time. They knew the rules and they also did not pay for the bag of chips all to prove a point. To me, they basically let their ego over power their lifestyle. There is no need to risk your freedom and liberty over something like this.