In this essay titled A Major Responsibility I will be discussing the book titled Always Outnumbered and Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley. Walter Mosley is an author who is very concerned with an individual’s responsibility to community. He demonstrates throughout the story what he thinks the individual ought to consider. As in the chapter The Thief Socrates mentions in the chapter he’s being paying for “niggers” like that all his life Just like his daddy has been paying for me”, towards a character named Wilfred after their confrontation.
What Socrates means by his statement is by Socrates being in jail working citizens have been paying for people who are incarcerated in prison, which is through tax being taken out of their earnings. Prisoners also have to eat and have other materials like beds, sheets, and clothing. Socrates is now paying the same way. Just like Wilfred’s father paid for him when he was incarcerated. Wilfred is a character who is a thief. He dresses in clothes betraying a negative image towards people like Socrates who dresses in unpopular clothes that betray a negative image towards young black men. People who may see Socrates may assume he is a criminal or either a thief.
Wilfred goes around and steals from department stores in his own community. Because of his actions there are going to be some bad effects. The effects the community has to face are increase of the prices of all the products in the store. The store has to now purchase security cameras and other security supplies. That’s also another reason to make prices go up in the stores. There are also other effects besides Store prices going up. You and your family are going to suffer with the consequence of the individual actions such as stereotype.
What Mosley is trying to say that everyone has a responsibility to his or her community whether it is negative or positive. What an individual does will affect you and everybody else in that community. Even if it’s not in your community you still pay for individual actions. It seem in this chapter Mosley has a negative view towards those don’t give but always taking he demonstrates that through the character Wilfred.
