The Gang That The Author, Sudhir Venkantesh - 1148 Words

I would describe the gang that the author, Sudhir Venkantesh, studies in this book as a deviant group because they are not following usual or accepted standards in social behavior. â€Å"Deviance is a behavior, trait or belief that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group†. (Real World, Kerry Ferris, Jill Stein, p 153) According to this definition we can definitely see gangs departing from a norm by committing many crimes and not obeying the laws. One example to deviant behavior from the book is when Sudhir Venkantesh for the first times sees J.T and his gang beating up a man for not doing what he has been told. Sudhir Venkantesh states that â€Å"I had been hanging around J.T. for several months by now, and I’d†¦show more content†¦So it is acceptable behavior for the gang but not for the rest of the society. Philanthropist is a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others. If philanthropy means using charity to help others then J.T. the gang leader can think or sees himself a philanthropist as much as a gang leader. From the beginning of his existence in the book I was Hulya Eker Gang Leader for a Day and Sociological Concepts able to say that he had a different personality than a gang leader that anyone would think or define. J.T di not hurt Venkantesh nor let anyone else do anything bad to him in the first day they met and he also let him go. Later on when Venkantesh come again he just let him hang out with him to help with his research. J.T. knew what Venkantesh was doing and in spite of this J.T helped him with his research. That does not make him philanthropist truly but he always helped people around him. J.T. stated proudly of quitting his typical sales job in downtown Chicago to return to the projects and use his drug profits to help others. He helped in many different ways. One example form the book is that â€Å"he gave money to some local youth centers for sports equipment and computers†.(Gang leader for a Day,2008) Venkantesh, He also willingly loaned out his gang members to Robert Taylor tenant leaders, who deployed them on such tasks as escorting the elderly on errands or beating up a domestic abuser. J.T. even found some positive side for selling drugs such as