Segregation In The Watts Community

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Watts community is anomic. According to Kirst-Ashman (2014), anomic refers to a failed community which is dysfunctional and provides little social support. An anomic community has not or does not take advantage of outside linkages; there is no sense of belonging to the society. Anomic is a sociological term that means “social instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values,” often involving “personal unrest, alienation, and uncertainty that comes from a lack of purpose or ideals” (Kirst-Ashman, 2014, p. 439). Some conditions that illustrate the Watts neighborhood was anomic are the residents of the populace live in fear and do not trust each other. The community fails to address persistent problems, poverty, unemployment, and …show more content…
In particular segregation that divided residents of the Watts community from other communities. Redlining was another way to keep citizens from being able to get a loan from lending institutions to purchase a house; this was called government fostered segregation. Also, the zip codes of residents prevented them from employment in other areas. Other ethnicities who do not live in the district are the ones who got the jobs. Another barrier is the railroad and freeway, which also divide the wealthy from the poor. This is a way to keep the African Americans in deteriorating locations. Institutional racism was evident in the Watts …show more content…
Also, does the community feel safe walking the streets, or are they at risk. The residents were sad, depressed, and very dissapointed with their living arrangements. The residents lived in fear all the time, for gun shots was common. They were also strangers and did not communicate with each other. They were locked up within their apartments due to fear of gangs and violence. They were fearful of their children having to see these behaviors on a daily basis. Another aspect of the social-psychological perspective, entails the standards, expectations, and practices in which community members are expected to behave. This view begs the question, is the behavior conducive to positive changes. Likewise, this view states how do members of a community perceive that they fit into social and physical