Opinion blog

I was walking on the west side of Fresno, a neighborhood notorious for its violence and criminal behavior. I was with my cousin and his longtime friend who called this neighborhood home. He was a cool guy, a genuine friendly respectable young man with a calming personality. He looked very similar to my cousin and I, yet there was something completely different about him. It seemed like he spoke another language, with his constant use of slang and abbreviated words. Furthermore his demeanor and confidence walking down those streets during the evening was a stark contrast to our more cautious approach. When approached by a large ominous looking man trying to sell us a handgun for 10 bucks he calmly responded "No thanks man, we good."  When I asked how he seemed to show no visible signs of fear in that encounter he said, "Man I've lived here my entire life, I ain't scared."
That experience got me thinking how my cousin and his friend seemed like they were from two different countries, even though they only lived 15 minutes apart. The answer came to me after awhile and it offered what I believe was a simple answer, their neighborhoods. My cousin lived in Clovis a close knit community where most people where financially stable while, his friend lives in the west side a neighborhood not in the best of shape known for its crime and its residents poverty. It was very obvious that the neighborhoods were each resided had a huge affect in the people they where, how they spoke, how they dressed, and their personalitys. For example the environments of living in poverty stricken neighborhoods such as projects or ghettos have a large physical and mental affect on the people living there and has an adverse effect on how it shapes them as people. Effects them so much a few people might consider a man trying to sell a weapon to kids as just another day. I do not mean to put a stearotype on all people living in these neighborhoods as there are many good genuine people living there however, a few bad apples spread their tendencies and philosophies around the community which influences other people especially the youth. Which is a reason why some families living in the ghettos or projects are constantly looking for ways to get out of there to help their families.