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Case Study: The Strain Theory

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Nicky Barnes, also known as Leroy Barnes, was once one of Harlem's greatest drug kingpins who gained infamy through his crimes and lack of conviction which would later result in gaining the name Mr. Untouchable. The question though is why he decided to follow this path of delinquency and crime when his teachers and others said he was a bright young man. To understand why he ended up going down that path we must understand that despite what his teachers said Barnes did not have access to legitimate opportunities to advance on the social ladder or achieve his social goals due to the fact that he dropped out of school when he ran away from home and the fact that he was a frequent drug user before forming “The Council”. As a result, he could not …show more content…

This theory dictates that a person like Nicky Barnes enters a life of crime due to the strain that exist between them and their goals, more specifically the strain is caused by their ability to obtain those goals in a legal and socially acceptable way. In Nicky Barnes case there was a large amount of strain due to the fact that he dropped out of school at a young age, was a former drug addict, and was a black man during the 1970s which severely limited the options he had in how to achieve his social goal of gaining wealth through socially acceptable and legal means. As a result, he ends up being a part of a Criminal Organization as a way to achieve the social goal he has due to the fact that it was the only viable and effective way he had access to. That and in his neighborhood many people admired individuals who took advantage of these illegitimate opportunities as they were the few who had real success in …show more content…

This theory states that legitimate opportunities to climb the social ladder are not equally distributed and people like Nicky Barnes end up adapting to this deprivation by taking illegitimate opportunities which are generally more accessible and readily available to people like him. Usually because legitimate theories are found in safer locations and can require various things that people like Nicky Barnes don't have such as a higher education or lack of criminal conviction. Illegitimate opportunities also led to Barnes’ rise to power as he met an Italian crime boss while in prison who inspired him to form “The Council” as well as gave him contacts in the Italian mafia. This theory though also talks about how illegitimate opportunities can present themselves to people who may be better off and can be taken advantage off due to the fact that illegitimate opportunities which can lead to white collar

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