Decent and Street?

It is commonly accepted by most sociologists and criminologists that the decent, in Elijah Anderson's terms, must code switch to a street identity to maintain their safety, but that the street are less adept at using identity as a resource. Who you Claim powerfully challenges this thesis, showing how the decent often have much to lose by acting "street," but how many of the street are quite adept at behaving decently. Morever, this study probes gang idenity as a resource, strategically invoked and subject to who is watching, who is asking, and who cares to know. Such a portrayal sheds new light on the Code of the Street, and provides a ready compliment to it in any course in which Eli Anderson's work might be relevant.