INTRODUCTION
The introduction chapter first explains the different types of neighborhoods that the city of Philadelphia has and each of the risks that go along with each neighborhood. Some of the neighborhoods are predominantly white, some are racially mixed, and some are predominately black. In the white-middle class neighborhoods, the neighborhood farthest away from the core downtown area, there is little crime and upscale restaurants and stores. In the racially mixed neighborhood the blacks and whites tend to get along but the whites are still aware that blacks are around. In the black neighborhoods public decency gets little respect. The author explains a story about a women stopping her car in the middle of the street and nobody says a word or beeps a horn. This is because nobody wants to start an uproar or see the women’s wrath. “This way, the code of the street provides an element of social organization and actually lessens the probability of violence.
Code of the Street
The main problems in the inner-black communities, is the interpersonal violence and aggression. This aggression and violence is the result from the lack of jobs, limited public services, the stigma of race, the fallout from rampant drug use, and drug trafficking on the streets. The street culture has evolved a “code of the street”, which amounts to a set of informal rules governing interpersonal public behavior, particularly violence. In the code of the streets everything is revolved around respect. With respect, people have peace and security in public. The respect needed in a city like Philadelphia can cause people to do wrong things, but respect is needed to live in a city like Philadelphia.
Chapter 1 Decent and Street Families
The beginning of chapter one explains that “decent” and “street” labels is the result of a social contest among individuals and families of the neighborhood. Even though a person might be a “decent”, that person might act