Sociology

Bourgeois (1995) tries to bring into the limelight the do-or-die search of respect by the poor crack sellers of El Barrio (East Harlem) in his ethnography, In Search for Respect. In his straight and candid interviews with his respondents who are more than willing to describe the illegal economic activities that characterizes their neighborhood, Bourgeois makes it known that, though these people lives in abject poverty, they need to earn a living (search for respect), even if it means them engaging in underground economic activities. In fact, as Bourgois argues, the El Barrio dwellers are not law breakers as many may perceive them to be. He postulates that, law breaking is only experienced in the process of selling cracks and other underground economic activities, which in this case is not an illegal activity given it enhances the dignity of the participants. Even so, some El Barrio dwellers live very straight lives, holding steady jobs and leaving perhaps in the right course of searching for respect. 

As a matter of fact, indulging in crack selling is not a bad thing, after all, given it enhances economic independency. For instance, Primo (a chief crack dealer) opines that, it is incumbent upon every El Barrio dwellers to struggle to earn their own living rather than engage the society in blames and counter blames. To them, respect is about making money and earning ones life and not depending on an outside force. In fact, Primo puts it plainly that, If I have a problem its because I brought it upon myself. Nobody gotta worry about me. Am gonna handle it. Its my problem. (p.54) Moreover, majority of those low paying jobs require El Barrio dwellers to take low-level positions and hence being subordinate to higher authority making them loose their dignities. After all, the norms of high-rise and office-corridor culture are very distinct from the street cultures definitions of personal dignity (115).

Due to the numerous inequalities within the mainstream society the people of El Barrio tend to find respect in a unique manner. To them respect is not got from offices or even from houses of worship, it is a unique thing, because it is created and perpetuated in the violent streets. For instance, Bourgois offers that, street culture  creates a real environment for autonomous personal dignity (p.8). As it can be seen, these people just like those in the mainstream society need to make a living and at the same time cultivate an identity for themselves. Apparently, their identity is characterized by violence and drug selling. From these elucidations it can therefore be analyzed that, the drug selling and the violence that comes with other illegal economic activities, are just but awkward signs of the deep culture that gives shape to their identity and hence respect to the El Barrio dwellers. In fact, Bourgois boldly postulates that substance abuse is just but a vivid symbol that stands for a marginalized and alienated society.

Reasons for Engaging In Underground Activities
As Bourgois boldly describes the crack sellers in El Barrio, it is evident that, theirs is a do-or-die situation. There are virtually no other avenues (legal ones) for making a living except engaging in underground economic activities. Being immigrants from the Puerto Rico, a relatively poor country that he describes as being of no substantial economic importance to its citizens and even to the US, the El Barrio dwellers find it very hard to procure white color, or even factor jobs that can enhance a better living. In fact, he offers that, to reduce this seemingly engraved crack selling culture among El Barrio dwellers it is possible that the sell of drugs and other activities like gabbling be made legal.

Moreover, from the mouth of Primo, it is clear that the poverty levels in this part of the city are even much more than in other parts of the country. The only available jobs are found in the service sector, which is obviously beyond the boundaries of the Harlem community making it very hard for the El Barrio dwellers to access them. Again, El Barrio dwellers reasons that even such jobs are in most cases poorly paid, and as such, not highly respected. Moreover, the masses who are not lucky to get such jobs due lack of proper knowledge and skills, they will definitely end up being recruited as drug peddlers.

The other major reason that makes crack selling the main economic activity in El Barrio is the age-old social marginalization on dwellers of Harlem. Since its founding, Harlem has been known as a place for law breakers and drug addicts, and therefore anyone living there, whether they are from Puerto Rico or not they will be branded as societal outlaws and hence become economically marginalized, forcing them to engage in backstreet activities such as selling words (gambling), selling illegal drugs such as cocaine, engaging in illegal forms of trade, working as seamstresses, or even babysitting.

Thirdly, there excess supply of drugs in El Barrio causes many people to indulge in them and therefore denting their hopes of turning around the state of things. Again, it can be argued that there overconsumption of drugs leads to them being poverty. As depicted by Caesars habits of spending every penny he earns each day and then coming back for more Primo says, He always wanted me to pay him each night, but then hed take the money and break out to smoke. Hed come find me later, begging me for more money (87).  Bourgois also opines that most crack sellers are always broke because they tend to overspend the little income they earn  he calls it the tendency to overspend income windfalls conspicuously is universal in an economy that fetishes material goods and services (91).

In Search of Respect, Bourgeois ethnography outlines respect, structure and agency as three fluid things. He depicts respect as being a street-made thing whereby anybody who does not subscribe to the notions and believes of the street is perceived to be devoid of respect. On the other hand, he depicts the El Barrio society as being highly marginalized, a thing that makes its dwellers to huddle together albeit in illegal dealings. This huddling together is so intertwined that it forms an agency whose destiny is to mitigate the pangs of pain inflicted by the extreme levels of poverty. Rays crack sellers for instance, forms an intertwined network that is made up of crack sellers, their customers and even the entire members of the El Barrio community that benefits directly or indirectly from the crack selling proceeds. Most importantly, the search for respect which starts with shaping or even preserving ones dignity can be said to be structured and layered to accommodate all willing members of the community. As a matter of fact Bourgois argues, Rays crack dealers and their families, contributes on a concrete practical level to calling attention to the tragedy of persistent poverty a racial segregation in the urban United States (315).

Conclusion
When he went to El Barrio, Bourgois was well aware about the illegal economic activities that went on unabated in this poor part of the city. However, about a year down the line, he discovered that illegal sale of drugs or simply crack selling was not a preserve of a few people who are morally corrupt or even lazy to take up legal jobs like those offered by sweatshops or even in the construction sector. He discovered that crack selling had deeply infiltrated into the hearts of a greater number of the Harlem dwellers. As a matter of fact, crack selling played a huge role in shaping everydays lives for the majority of the El Barrio population. When people are marginalized and deprived of the most basic things in life what do they do The answer to this question lies squarely in the crack business that defines El Barrio. It is obvious that people must survive no matter what the circumstances maybe tough. Apparently, to El Barrio dwellers, this means of survival came in the name of crack selling. Most importantly, so that they may no be seen as a nuisance to the well-up in the society, they decided to search for respect in making their own money. They even refused to work in low paying jobs, choosing to subscribe to, the street-defined dignity of refusing to work honestly for low wages (130).