Culture Of Honor Thesis

Harper High School, located in the south side of Chicago, IL, has experienced gun violence in ways most high schools never have. Over the span of a year, 21 current and recent students were wounded by gunshots; five recent students and three enrolled students were killed due to gun violence. In total, 29 students were shot (This American Life part one 0:01:08-0:01:30). Can the “culture of honor” thesis explain the problem with gun assaults that this high school faces? This essay will answer that question by examining the culture of honor thesis, including aspects of a study conducted to reflect the theory. However, the extent of violence faced by those in the Harper High School community does not entirely correlate with the culture of honor
theory. This essay will also examine other ideas on sub-cultures and gang-related activity in adolescents in disadvantaged inner city communities. This essay will conclude by determining the extent to which the culture of honor theory can explain the rampant gun violence faced by those at Harper High School. Insult, Aggression and the Southern Culture of Honor: an “Experimental Ethnography” was a study published by Cohen, Bowdle, Nisbett, and Schwarz outlining the premise of the culture of honor theory and the experiments that were conducted to reflect the theory. Simply stated, a culture of honor is one in which any dispute, no matter how insignificant, becomes a contest of reputation and social status (Cohen et al 945). The study describes the history of such a culture arising from the south through the immigration of peoples of the surrounding areas of Britain that were herdsmen. Historically, herdsmen must have been willing to use force in order to protect themselves and their property when confronted, while law enforcement was inadequate or out of reach. This culture carried into the American south since herding and agricultural economies were prevalent (Cohen et al 946). After the dissipation of the herding economy, the culture of honor and its characteristics still existed in southerners, as the majority would condone certain situational acts of violence (Cohen et al 946). From this study, three different experiments were conducted in order to examine how the characteristics of a culture of honor manifest themselves in the cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and physiological reactions of southern, white males (Cohen et al 945). During these experiments, participants were subjected to being bumped into and then were called an “asshole” from a stranger; the study focused on the results of such interactions. The results showed that southern white males were A) more likely to think their masculine reputation was threatened B) more upset (indicated by a rise in cortisol levels) C) more physiologically primed for aggression (indicated by a rise in testosterone levels) D) more cognitively primed for aggression, and E) more likely to engage in aggressive or dominant behavior (Cohen et al 945). What does this study mean as applied to Harper High School? The study and theory is focused on southern, white males. Harper High School is located in Chicago, Illinois, within the heart of the mid-west. The south side of Chicago is a predominantly African American community. Victims of the violence at Harper High School were both male and female; none of them were southern, white males. Also, not all of the acts of gun violence were the result of dispute; This American Life recounts the story of how Devonte accidently shot and killed his younger, 14-year-old brother as the two played with a loaded gun (part one 0:22:14 – 0:22:23). The culture of honor theory is applicable, but only narrowly and in certain instances. To get a better understanding of the gun violence at Harper, it may benefit to consult Elijah Anderson’s The Code of the Street and Albert K. Cohen’s Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang. In The Code of the Street, Anderson outlines the unwritten code by which citizens in disadvantaged inner-city communities abide.
This code is formulated through “the lack of jobs, the stigma of race, the fallout from rampant drug use and drug trafficking, and the resulting alienation and lack of hope for the future” (Anderson 155). The code dictates that one must act tough in public in order to discourage others from attacking them. They must present themselves as having the capacity to react to violence with violence (Anderson 156). Anderson also notes the differences amongst “decent” and “street” families; “decent” families being those that hold the values of contemporary society and strive to achieve middle-class status whereas “street” families value the code of the street over main-stream societal values (Anderson 157). Anderson also states that although not all families within these communities strongly hold dear to the code of the street, they all must abide by it in public or potentially suffer the consequences of breaking the code in front of those who live by it (Anderson 157-158). Anderson finishes his work by
stating: “A vicious cycle has thus been formed. The hopelessness and alienation many young inner-city black men and women feel, largely as a result of endemic joblessness and persistent racism, fuels the violence they engage in” – Anderson, 165

Cohen’s Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang is also another work applicable to the Harper High School community, as a majority of the students claim to be “in a gang.” Cohen describes the circumstances that assist the formulation of gangs as the effective interaction with one another, of a number of actors with similar problems of adjustment.
A solution to their shared problems of adjustment is to jointly establish new norms, new criteria of status which define as meritorious the characteristics they possess, the kinds of conduct of which they are capable (Cohen 188-189). These social formations then act on their newly formed values; their conduct becomes reputable because it is considered non-reputable outside of the group (Cohen
189). Both Anderson and Cohen are able to describe relevant circumstances surrounding Harper High School and the rampant gun violence. Anderson’s code is not far from the culture of honor that Cohen et al established in their study, as it is based on the command of respect. Anderson’s code specifies problems faced in inner-city communities, such as the community surrounding Harper High School, that the culture of honor fails to incorporate. Cohen’s Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang is a great insight into the gang affiliations that many Harper student’s claim. Understanding how these gangs are formulated may bring insight into the systemic use of guns and violent behavior within Harper’s community. The culture of honor, as established by Cohen et al, attempts to understand how southern, white males react in certain situations; their study showed that increases in aggression and a disposition toward violence is a result. The question remains, can the culture of honor theory account for the problems with gun assaults faced by those in the Harper High School Community? After examining the culture of honor study, the answer would be no – at least, not all aspects. The culture of honor theory can account for gun violence as it pertains to situations in which the perpetrators felt their masculinity, respect, and status were threatened. However, Harper has faced a wide variety of gun-related violent incidences. The culture of honor theory cannot account for the creation of a sub-culture or the formulation of a gang. Understanding the works by Anderson and Cohen, it is clear that not every citizen within a community shares the same value system. The culture of honor theory also cannot account for acts of violence that did not arise from dispute, or were unintentional/misplaced. Harper High School suffered more violence in a year than what could be reasonably fathomed. In order to understand what causes these instances of violence, the culture of honor theory is insufficient in doing so alone. It is only applicable to certain scenarios; using other criminological theories and perspectives may better explain the cultivation of such a violent community.