Book Reading #3: Gang Leader for a Day

Chapter 1:
Sudhir seemed to be pretty desperate or naive to enter the building. He endangered himself and the only reason he is here today is because of luck.

Chapter 2:
As it turns out, JT is a fairly smart individual. The reason he chose this lifestyle was because how he never was rewarded or paid despite the effort he put into his work.

Chapter 3:
This chapter showed an interested side of Sudhir. Sudhir witnessed someone get beat up but didn't step in to stop them. Even though he was to be protected and left unharmed, he still didn't stop the beating. This could be because he felt he deserved it instead of being scared of a retaliation.

Chapter 4:
JT challenges Sudhir to be the gang leader for a day to give Sudhir a more first person experience into the life of a gang leader. One of Sudhirs first challenges is to settle a dispute between 2 people over money.

Chapter 5:
Sudhir gets closer to Ms. Bailey in order to study her more. She is another important person who plays an important role. She is president of the Robert Taylor buildings.

Chapter 6:
At this point a lot of people are mad at Sudhir. Some find that he inadvertently has lowered the pay of some of the workers. A lot of women also believe that he is sleeping with their daughters during the womens writing workshop. 

Chapter 7:
A drive by from a rival gang ends up shooting 2 people. Sudhir realizes a lot of Police Officers are crooked and are in the drug trade. The Officers start to pressure Sudhir and give him a hard time since they believe he's an informant. Sudhir gets to attend a large meeting with the Black Kings thanks to JT.

Chapter 8:
JT gets a large promotion which will put him near the top of the gang ladder. Many people are panicking due to the scheduled demolition on the housing projects, even if they are planned to happen in a couple years. Many people will be forced to move and have nowhere to go.

Book:
All in all, the book was great. This book gives me better insight into gang life. I grew up in an entirely different setting and never had a good idea of how gang life functioned.

It is interesting to see how much the gang helped out the community. They provided a lot to the community. Another thing interesting about the gang was how structured it was. The gang was systematic. I always pictured gangs being run by maybe 1 or 2 guys and only about money. This gang seemed to worry more about land or location.

I'm amazed at how often he and the gang interacted with the law enforcement. It makes me curious if the police know only a little of the gangs activities or if they are busy with other duties. Maybe they do know but do not care.

I'm interested to see how other gangs are structured and the differences in gangs based upon location and racial backgrounds.

I'm glad Sudhir has made it out alive from his entire study. I wonder how Sudhir managed his schoolwork and met with the gang. I have trouble just going to work and school, so to see someone being able to go to school and to be part of gang is impressive. I believe Sudhir has done enough to make a valuable contribution in the world of ehnographies.

One concern with the book I have though is that it is hard to tell if everything written in the book was true. Some of the events seem a little unbelievable, especially some of his actions and reactions. Sudhir might have been raised in a different life, but he seemed way too naive in certain situations  Makes me wonder if he wrote his thoughts like he did in the book just to sell his book. Regardless, it's a good book and gives good insight into the gang life.