The saints and the roughnecks

Abstract

Black and white, male and female, rich and poor, American teenagers have the herding instinct. On streetcorners, in shopping centers, in the ghetto and in the suburbs, the boys and the girls hang out. Sometimes the kids get together for fun, sometimes for trouble, sometimes for political purposes. Mostly, they crave recognition, companionship and excitement. Gangs are a way of life for many adolescents-part of the ritual of growing up.Eight promising young men-children of good, stable, white upper-middle-class families, active in school affairs, good pre-college students-were some of the most delinquent boys at Hanibal High School. While community residents and parents knew that these boys occasionally sowed a few wild oats, they were totally unaware that sowing wild oats completely occupied the daily routine of these young men. The Saints were constantly occupied with truancy, drinking, wild driving, petty theft and vandalism. Yet not one was officially arrested for any misdeed during the two years I observed them.This record was particularly surprising in light of my observations during the same two years of another gang of Hanibal High School students, six lower-class white boys known as the Roughnecks. The Roughnecks were constantly in trouble with police and community even though their rate of delinquency was about equal with that of the Saints. What was the cause of this disparity? the result? The following consideration of the activities, social class and community perceptions of both gangs may provide some answers. 24Society

devils in disguise: the contribution of positive labeling to “sneaky thrills” delinquency

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Family capital and the invisible transfer of privilege: Intergenerational support and social class in early adulthood

“…For families with low socioeconomic status (SES), some research suggests that social class can affect the quality of parent-child relations; these families face more stressful circumstances that can limit parental expressions of affection, promote more punitive parenting, and inhibit children from seeing parents as role models (McLoyd & Wilson, 1992;Sampson & Laub, 1994). Families with greater resources, more influence, greater knowledge, and better connections are also better positioned to advocate for the advancement of their children as well as to protect them from negative circumstances or the consequences of bad behavior (Chambliss, 1973;Conley, 2001;Furstenberg, 2006;Lareau, 2003).…”

Police officers' perceptions and experiences with mentally disordered suspects

“…This was demonstrated by early research conducted by Chambliss (1973) who found that police officers always took action against the group of people labelled the 'roughnecks' (those who had lower class backgrounds) when compared to the 'saints'…”