22 Jump Street Anthropology

Generally speaking the positions of both sides of the political spectrum i.e. the conservative and liberal positions are very similar. Both agree that the illegal wildlife trade is appalling and that there should be stricter laws. However many conservative politicians have begun to relate the popularity of this business with gangs, bouncing off the ideas and statistics of gang influence in the illegal drug trade (Claudia A. McMurray). This belief is expressed in the 2014 comedy 22 Jump Street, when partners (Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum) walk into an animal trafficking site expecting the deal to be drug related. Later in the movie, it is revealed that the traffickers deal both animals and drugs, similar to the ideas expressed by Claudia A. …show more content…
This tactic has been proven to be ineffective especially in areas such as South Central Los Angles, where there is a twenty-five percent chance that gang members will be killed or arrested within five years of being in a gang. Despite the abundance of police presence in this area, gang culture is still thriving and has actually increased as children in this area have turned to gangs in search of a father figure. Liberals on the other hand recognize the gang presence in the exotic animal trade but have separated the two issues and see animal trafficking from a more humanitarian perspective. Liberals have stated over and over again that education is the best way to prevent both gang activity and many of the trafficking businesses. Just this past February, London hosted a conference on the illegal wildlife trade where they created new laws to prevent trafficking and outlawed all items obtained from endangered animals such as ivory from elephants and tiger pelts. In 2015, there will be a follow-up meeting in Botswana to further lobby against animal trafficking (The