I grew up in pre-Giuliani New York City, back when the crack epidemic was at its peak, Times Square was a seedy porn capital of the world filled with the shadiest characters you could imagine, arcades weren’t family friendly and were filled with thugs and street kids and wearing anything nice like a Starter jacket, Air Jordans or an 8-Ball jacket was an open invitation for dudes to try to test you and rob you.
So if you were like me and didn’t want to be a crook or a victim, you’re best option was to get as street smart as you could, and even better was if you could actually become friends with the thugs because that meant you wouldn’t be a victim yourself. And thus started my lifelong pattern of always making friends with shady people, something that continued all the way through my college years. There are various type of criminals, and even if you aren’t involved in crime you have to understand and recognize the types if you live in the city just to navigate your daily life activities. Think of it like three classes: crash test dummies, middle management and players.