Goffman points out the need to study how young black men who are on probation experience their everyday lives in their neighborhoods. Explain the two terms the author suggests explaining how they organize their everyday lives.
After being arrested for the 1st time, young Black men live
in a climate of fear. Even though released on probation, young Black men risk
being sent back to prison for minor infractions such as missing curfew,
drinking, or not paying fees. In a world of perfect order, they would behave as
good citizens and avoid all possible infractions. However, most end up
committing some sort of minor infraction. Their fallibility is genuine and
quite understandable as they suddenly changed from having complete freedom in
their lives to being regimented like school children. This also combines with
their poverty as one of the main reason people place warrants for arrest is the
person's inability to pay tickets, dues, fees, and other financial penalties.
Thus, the low socioeconomic status combined with previous felonies places young
Black men in a semilegal status where the smallest deviance could plummet them
back into prison. This affects their friends and family as well since the
experience of being wanted puts a strain on their relationship.
As a result, young Black men, even often utilize 2 main
strategies when avoiding the police. One, avoid possibly dangerous interactions
altogether. Two, cultivate unpredictability by changing schedules frequently.
Both strategies isolate the individual and make holding down jobs and family
extremely difficult. Both strategies also feed into the labeling theory of
secondary deviance where young Black men on probation act like fugitives
because of the label placed on them after leaving prison. Both leading to poor
future outcomes with the young men unable to fully acclimate back into society.
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