Matt Hiles

Professor McCampell
ENGL 101
20th October 2015

The Other Wes Moore

"The Other Wes Moore" tells the tale of two children with the same name. Both of
them were born only a few blocks apart in the same impoverished area of Baltimore and
grew without a father figure. One of them, with the determination and help of his mother,
was able to move to New York and stray from the violence prevalent in his neighborhood
through attending private and military schools. He went on to become the author who
wrote the aforementioned book. The other Wes Moore wasn't as fortunate as the author.
His mother had to uproot her family and move to the Cherry Hill in order to afford rent.
From here, he was exposed to drug culture (the crime and violence created through the
use of illicit drugs) through his brother Tony and began to sell - first to bring in extra
money to support his spending habits, and then in order to make it through day to day
life. He eventually was arrested and convicted to life in prison for drug related murder.
He became a victim of his environment, trapped in the perpetual cycle of poverty and
violence. Drug culture and its appeal to impoverished youth led the other Wes Moore to
a life of violence and crime.

The potential freedom from economic instability through drug sales increases the
already violent tendencies in impoverished youth. From as early as elementary school,
Wes was captivated by the riches that drugs brought the youth in the Murphys Home
Projects.Tony, his half brother, was a well respected drug dealer in the area who tried to

steer Wes away from making the same mistakes as him, but Wes wouldnt listen (Moore
27). Desensitized to drugs through his mother drinking and keeping pot in the house
(Moore 59) and his brother making no attempt walk the righteous path himself, Wes
began to follow their teachings on defending your turf and creating respect through
violence, causing him to attempt to stab another child during a game of football with a
knife (Moore 34). This trend is common among poor impoverished youth, where crime
visibility is increased by over 630%, and sales of illegal drugs increase by over 100%
(Golub et al.). The exposure to illegal activities in day to day life cause children to
become desensitized to violence and conditioned to act in accordance to the world
around them - a phenomenon called operant conditioning. Wes is being shown to act
negatively to the norm in favor of the social cues of drug culture, an act solidified through
his mothers drinking and use of marijuana in the house. Female headed households
with parental drug use are exponentially likely to have children who are arrested for
violent crime due to aggressive behaviors drinking under stressful situations exposes the
youth to. This causes their children to be latently conditioned to respond to situations in
a violent manner (Golub et al.). Violence both in the home and in the streets causes Wes
to find a sense of stability through the rules of drug culture; the unfairness and instability
of things in day to day life gave way to a rigid culture defined by a firm set of rules.
Everybody stays on their turf, sells to their corner, and each and every action/crime as
an exact reaction/punishment. Even though Wes regretted his first attempt at murder, he
didnt even question himself the time he succeeded.

The combination of the violent tendencies created by drug culture and poverty
can have permanent impacts that last throughout adulthood. Studies have proven time
and time again that a definite correlation exists between sociopathy and familial
substance abuse (Sache). Children who grow up around substance abuse often lack
trust in the world around them due to the conflicting information they are being fed about

drugs. Their schools and local leaders claim they shouldnt be involved in drugs, but they
return home to find them ruling their everyday lives. Children in these settings are also
3-4 times more likely to get involved in drugs themselves (Sache). Wes was surrounded
by drugs his whole life. His mother drank and smoked marijuana, his brother was a high
level drug dealer, and the mother of his third and fourth child was a drug addict (who
purchased drugs from him) (Moore 137). Drugs were not only a part of everyday life, but
the only way he was able to support his family due to a lack of a higher education
degree. Feeling disrespected by the world around him and struggling to meet ends meet
for himself after paying child support, Wes and Tony decided to undertake one last
violent crime: robbing a jewelry store (Moore 150). They killed an officer and were
arrested in the process. Their sentence - life in jail. But Wes wasnt upset when he was
convicted. In fact, he was quite stoic, a fact that disturbed the defense at his trial
(OBrien). Wes had come to see violence as the only route he could take in life to dig
himself out of poverty; there was no other way out.

Drug culture is a catalyst that amplifies the connection of violence and

poverty. Thousands of people around the world struggle with being able to
support those and their loved ones through noble means, and often have to turn
to illegal methods to support themselves. Their environment and family
circumstances turn them into warriors focused on doing whatever it takes to
survive, causing rises in crime in impoverished areas across the board. Perhaps
the cycle of poverty shows that drug related crime isnt just due to the stress of
the individual or their wealth, but a reflection of a subculture in America that
resides with their own rules and regulations. A dangerous situation that can only
be stopped by treating the problem at the root and providing more positive and
straight edge role models in the lives of the children at risk to expose them to a
more stable and healthy culture.

Bibliography:
Golub, Andrew, et al. "Subcultural Evolution and Illicit Drug Use*." NCBI. US National
Library of Medicine, 15 May 2005. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.

Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore. New York: Spiegal & Grau Trade paperback, 2011.
Print.

O'Brien, Dennis. "Final Sentence given in Prothero Case." Baltimore Sun. Baltimore
Sun, 9

June 2001. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.

Sache, Leonard. "The Visibility of Illicit Drugs: Implications for Community-Based Drug
Control

Strategies." American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. US

National Library of Medicine, 1 Dec. 2001. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.