Chapter 3: Foreign Ground

Theme 1: Drugs

1) "Crack was different from the drugs that preceded it. It was crazily accessible and insanely potent- and addictive. My friends and I would regularly trade the most remarkable stories we'd overheard or witnessed." (51)
- People had very easy access to crack and other drugs and it was a part of life. For entertainment, Wes and his friend shared stories about crack and they saw drug addicts struggling to get by. With crack all around them, it was very easy for Wes and his friends to be sucked up into the hype of it all.
2) "There was so much money to be made that drug gangs rapidly expanded their ranks, sucking in some of our best friends, and turf wars became deadly, aided by the influx of sophisticated firearms.  From the early 1980s to the end of the decade, there was almost 61 percent jump in the murder rate." (51)
- This neighborhood, that was once happy and family friendly, turned into a war zone and Wes was an innocent bystander in the midst of it all. Drugs induced murder and it was very likely for innocent people to be caught in all of the danger. All odds were against Wes because he drugs were completely open to him and danger was inescapable.
3) "But Wes rationalized. I am not actually selling drugs. All I'm doing is talking into a headset." (58)
- This is the very beginning of Wes 2's journey down a dangerous path. Despite what he witnessed with his brother who was in the hospital after a drug related fight, Wes still choose to start a job that promoted drugs. Despite his Mother's efforts to move to a better neighborhood and her encourages to stay in school, Wes 2 opted to be one of the hip guys and help dealers out. Although Wes 2 was not actually selling drugs, he still aided the dealers which put him in a very dangerous circle.
4) "As he lay in bed, he realized how time seemed to stop when he was high, how the drug- smoking it, feeling its effects, recovering from it- made him forget everything else. And he understood, faintly, how addictive that feeling could be, and how easy it would be to make some money off selling that feeling to people who needed it." (62)
-This right of passage of smoking weed for the first time helped Wes understand the addictions and troubles of drugs. Whether he liked that feeling of not, he now understood why drug dealers became drug dealers and how lucrative the business is. With this realization, Wes 2 was more vulnerable to the bad affects of drugs.
Theme 2: Crime

5) "We were starting to feel the fear that crept around the edges of our consciousness at dusk... Justin knew the rules; Never look people in the eye. Don't smile, it makes you look weak. Always keep your money in your front pocket, never in your back pocket. Know where the drug dealers are at all times. Know where the cops are at all times." (51)
-Wes and Justin were both greatly affected by the crime that surrounded and seeped into their neighborhoods and they were taught rules to make sure that they were never put in a dangerous situation. Their parents taught them to be fully aware of their surroundings and that the streets, even if you are with friends, is never a safe place. The Bronx succumbed to crime and violence and it greatly affected the families that lived their because it prevented them from living a normal, happy life. Instead, the people were in great fear of being attacked or put in danger at any moment.