Positive Sociology

Like many of you, I have been glued to news coverage of the Newtown shooting. While watching the memorial last night and reading news today, I was struck by a curious omission: Nancy Lanza’s murder does not “count”. Nancy Lanza's death does not "count" in the public eye. When the President, journalists, and others talk about the tragedy in Newtown, they talk about 26 victims .  Last night on CNN, Anderson Cooper had a special segment dedicated to remembering the “26 lives lost” in Newtown, CT.  The President made several references to the 26 victims in his moving speech to a small auditorium in Newtown.  An LA Times article reports that firefighters have erected 26 Christmas trees honoring the fallen in Newtown.   Nancy Lanza is the 27 th victim .  Why is her story omitted from memorials? Why is her death and story not worth mentioning when we memorialize the victims of this tragedy?  Is it because she’s the mother of the as...

The Existential Fall Out after Newtown I have a heavy heart tonight.  My thoughts and prayers are with the families of Newtown.  The Newtown shooting is a terrible tragedy. It has reminded me of lessons learned while studying the families of murder victims.  For the past 2 years, I have been researching the everyday lives of families who lose someone in a murder.  This has been difficult—and often heartbreaking—research.  I have spent many nights thinking about how much I take my family, friends, and other people in my life for granted.   I think about the mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings whose first and last thoughts of each day are of the person they loved and lost. The things that I have seen and the stories that I have collected have left a deep and permanent mark on my soul. Amongst the many thoughts swirling around in my head, I keep returning to a t...

I'm teaching Ethan Brown's "Queens Reigns Supreme" tomorrow.  For those who haven't read the book, QRS is a rich book that chronicles Southside Queens in the 1980s--an area that has long been an iconic home to many of Hip Hop's elite (e.g. Run DMC, Nas, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep). While many know of the area from songs that describe the neighborhood, Brown's book describes the rise and fall of various drug organizations in Southside Queens.  Much of his narrative focuses on Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichol s, a notorious drug lord who ran an organization that controlled large areas of Southside Queens and was one of--if not the biggest--distributors of heroin, cocaine, and later crack in the area.  Using a mix of media reports, police wire taps, and other data, Brown reconstructs a complex history of Nichols and various other drug crews from the area. In QRS, Brown also introduces us to Fat Cat's longtime friend/enforcer/and high-ranking lieutenant, Ho...

I caught the tail end of the presidential debates tonight.  As a gun violence researcher, I enjoyed that someone in the town hall crowd asked both candidates about their position on gun control.  Although the debates have focused heavily on the economy and foreign policy matters, I believe that gun violence in our cities is a critically important domestic issue. All smiles Here's a quick recap of my reactions: I liked Obama's response.  He talked about how gun violence prevention could begin in schools, and how faith-based organizations and law enforcement could help curb this problem.  We didn't get to hear specifics about how he would do this, but if this is what he plans on doing, I think he's right on the money. Romney's response puzzled me a little.  He seemed to tow the conservative line of not wanting to scare away the powerful gun lobby and made sure to say that he wouldn't introduce new gun legislation.  This was predictable.  But, w...

I just read an LA Times article about a new prison program in Santa Rita Do Sapucai, Brazil.  In exchange for reduced sentences, p risoners ride stationary bicycles that generate power for a city boardwalk .   The program was created by a local judge, Jose Henrique Mallman, who got the idea for this program after googling "renewable energy" on the Internet.  Mallman, like many progressive minded folks, started realizing that prisons were doing little to reform inmates and had little effect on violent crime rates.   Mallman is also moving to create a program that would reduce prisoner stays for reading and submitting book reports.   Prisoners are already singing the praises of this program.  The program has kept some prisoners busy, who report feeling physically and mentally healthier as a result. The Dancing Prisoners of Cebu Prison, Philippines Reading about this program reminds me of a 2007 viral video of prisoners in the Philippines doing...

Like many of you, I was a child of the 1980s.  I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons and Bruce Lee movies like Enter the Dragon .  My favorite movie from that era, however, was The Karate Kid .  Most of you have probably seen the Karate Kid multiple times over, but here's a quick recap and explanation for why I'm using it as my lead-in for this blog:  Wax on, Wax off! A kid, Daniel LaRusso, and his mom move from the east coast into a Southern Californian suburb.  He arrives in sunny Southern CA and is immediately a fish- out-of-water.  He develops a crush on a girl at school (played by Elizabeth Shue), but is picked on by mean bullies who are part of the Cobra Kai dojo, an aggressive 'no mercy' brand of karate.  Daniel strikes up an unlikely friendship/mentorship with Mr. Miyagi (an old and reclusive Japanese immigrant) who teaches his valuable life lessons and karate using unconventional methods (like having him buff and wax his cars)....