Sudhir Venkatesh > Quotes

“I'm not sure I'm ready for another big research project just yet," I said.
Oh Yeah?" he said, handing me one of the beers. "What else you going to do? You can't fix nothing , you never worked a day in your life. The only thing you know how to do is hang out with niggers like us."
I nearly choked on my beer when he summarized my capacities so succinctly - and, for the most part accurately.”
― Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh , Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

“Today’s champions of globalization are so busy celebrating the wondrous wealth and the charming artifacts of food and music produced by international interchange that they have little time for the plight of the invisible underclass that helps make it happen.”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy

“Clearly, he was a bit shaky on the concept of sociology. “I’m not a social worker,” I said. “You don’t want to help?” said the man with the rubber band. “Why don’t you want to help?” said the woman in lingerie. All three pairs of eyes focused on me.”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy

“As Mayor Giuliani began his cleanup of the Times Square area, nobody in power gave any thought to the thousands of “support” people whose survival would be affected when the economic driver of sex was removed from the scene. And the optimistic view that these workers would be forced toward more legitimate work turned out to be puritanical hypocrisy—it was crime itself that gave these men an entrée into the straight world. In time, Santosh began selling laptops of dubious origin, Rajesh started offering small short-term loans, and Azad operated an increasingly successful sideline as a job referral service for undocumented immigrants. Whenever otherwise legitimate employers found themselves in need of some quick off-the-books labor—and they often did, even the hedge fund titans and investment banks down on Wall Street—Azad made it happen for them with one phone call.”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy

“But good sociology is always a mixture of close focus and long shot. You dial in and pull back, dial in and pull back, a delicate dance over the data gaps.”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy

“As he met now with each sales director, J.T. would begin by grilling him with a standard set of questions: You losing any of your regulars? (In other words, customers.) Anybody complaining? (About the quality of the crack.) You heard of people leaving you for others? (Customers buying crack from other dealers.) Anybody watching you? (The police or tenant leaders.) Any new hustlers been hanging around? (Homeless people or street vendors.) You seen any niggers come around? (Enemy gangs.)”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

“Don’t pity us. Don’t treat us like victims. We’re more than our hardships.”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy

“The skill, ingenuity, and resilience of those taking an “alternate economic path” in life cannot be boiled down to the laws they transgress,”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy

“J.T. once asked me what sociologists had to say about gangs and inner-city poverty. I told him that some sociologists believed in a “culture of poverty”—that is, poor blacks didn’t work because they didn’t value employment as highly as other ethnic groups did, and they transmitted this attitude across generations.”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

“Everyone wants to kill the leader, so you got to get them first. -JT”
― Sudhir Venkatesh, Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets