discussion 3

Our video discussions are intended to be thoughtful conversations over the course of about six weeks.  Each of them centers on a documentary film and deals with important social issues that will serve to highlight the importance of sociological theories for constructing explanations of events and actions.  As you watch the video, pause it and take notes whenever something worthy of comment is taking place. Once you have watched the video, post a response to one or more of the discussion questions.  Then plan to check in on the discussion regularly, and comment on the posts of fellow students.  Each video discussion will be worth a possible 30 points, and you will be evaluated for interactivity as well as frequency and quality of your posts.

Out second video is  Abacus: Small Enough to Jail . New York: PBS, 2017 (1 hr. 30 min.). It tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York.  Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves – and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community – over the course of a five-year legal battle.

In addition to being a compelling story, this video provides a good basis for applying the insights of various sociological traditions and theories. With regard to the government’s actions, you can think about how this might be explained from a conflict sociological perspective (does the state serve to uphold the interests of the dominant class, or its own power interests), from the Durkheimian/social order tradition (from a functionalist perspective, is the state addressing the strains of the economic crisis to uphold the integrative values of the economy and legal system?), and from the rational utilitarian perspective (is the state acting to minimally to regulate a rational market,  or is it extracting “protection rents”?). As in the first discussion, the point is not that one theory or perspective is right or wrong for conducting an analysis, but rather that different theories are going to frame different kinds of questions and pose different kinds of answers in attempting to explain what was happening.

Another good sociological topic for theoretical analysis in the video concerns the identity and structure of an ethnic community (Chinese immigrants) within a larger societal context. Using the same three theoretical traditions, you might emphasize conflict and inequality, ritual and social solidarity, or rational action in sociological markets, such as education, business, and marriage.

For your first post, give your general reaction to the film followed by a brief theoretical analysis of one of the two topics above, or another one where you see the relevance of sociological theories. 

Discussions:

The film Abacus: Small Enough to Jail covers the story of a Chinese-American family that had a bank in Chinatown, New York that primarily served the Chinese community in the area. When there was a loan officer that was accused of doing fraud, the whole bank was put to trial for 5 years and accused of fraudulent behavior that they were eventually found not guilty of. There is a lot of sociological theory I could put to this film: the conflict between the government and what they were trying to protect vs the bank and how they were reacting; the fact that multiple interviews from the DA seem to agree that Abacus bank was indeed small enough to pick on during a financial crisis and other ideas. I also found the interviews from jurors interesting because they, like me in a sense, were just reacting to a case from a objective place. 

What I found most compelling, however, was when the staff writer Jiayang Fan was speaking about the difference in culture with gifts and loans. So much of Chinatown is made of immigrants and not everyone understands or learns the American culture or law. The members of the society have similar backgrounds and have a certain level of solidarity and understanding of each other as they run on a combination of Chinese custom and culture with an American backdrop mixed in. The custom of the gift/loans and how they're treated in Chinatown culture versus the American law was a point of contention in the case and had a hard time being verified because of how familial and intimate money lending in the Chinese community is. The bank is an interesting in between because they had to follow American law while servicing people who were operating differently because their practices with money might be totally different. I could understand how the tension between these two powers would be difficult for the bank, the community, and the government to deal with. 

Watching “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” was a thought-provoking experience for me. It offered a compelling narrative that sheds light on the complex dynamics between the government, the financial industry, and ethnic communities in the United States. As an immigrant myself, I could relate to the challenges that the Sung family faced while trying to establish themselves in a new country and build a business that served their community. The film highlighted the difficulties that immigrant families often face in the United States, from cultural barriers to systemic discrimination. It also made me reflect on the role of the justice system and the media in shaping public opinion and perpetuating stereotypes.

Throughout the film, I witnessed different sociological perspectives and the way they provide unique insights into the case. From a conflict sociological perspective, the government's actions in accusing Abacus Federal Savings of mortgage fraud can be seen as serving the interests of the dominant class or the state's own power interests. By prosecuting Abacus, the government may be signaling to other banks that they will not tolerate any kind of fraud or illegal activities, which could be seen as serving the state's own power interests. From a Durkheimian/social order perspective, the state's actions can be seen as upholding the integrative values of the economy and legal system. From a rational utilitarian perspective, the state's actions can be seen as acting to regulate a rational market.

Regarding the identity and structure of the Chinese immigrant community within a larger societal context, a conflict sociological theory will emphasize the role of conflict and inequality in shaping the experiences of Chinese immigrants. A Durkheimian/social order perspective could emphasize the role of ritual and social solidarity in maintaining the cohesion of the Chinese immigrant community in the face of discrimination and inequality. Finally, a rational utilitarian perspective could emphasize the role of rational action in shaping the experiences of Chinese immigrants in the markets of education, business, and marriage. Chinese immigrants may use rational decision-making processes to navigate these markets and achieve their goals despite facing discrimination and inequality.

I believe the best sociological theory to best describe the case of Abacus Federal Bank is the Durkheimian theory, particularly the social solidarity and cultural practices. Thomas Sung is a sympathetic lawyer and investor  who established a community-based bank in Chinatown. He aided poor Chinese borrowers with their housing and small businesses. Unlike standard banks, Sung estimated his borrowers' creditworthiness, whom had little or no credit history, through utility bills, rent payments, telephone bills instead of  W-2 forms and tax returns while still complying to Fannie Mae's guidelines. The small humble bank between two noodle shops ranked 2,651st largest banks in the United States comparison to to the far bigger banks such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JP Morgan.  Sung kept his business clean from not investing into "tempting mortgage-backed securities", which lead to the housing bubble in 2008. In fact, the bank had one of the lowest default rates in the country. Yet, they were still accused of mortgage fraud. The Bank fell into controversy when one of the bank's former bank officer, Ken Yu,  was caught bribing and falsifying income statements for mortgage applications.  The Manhattan District Attorney overstated accusations and portrayed Ken Yu as a the face of the family owned  bank. The prosecutors attempted to prove the mortgage fraud by  stating the "loans" were disguised as "gifts".  In the Chinese community, there was no clear distinction between loans and gifts and the residents were more accustomed to a cash-driven economy rather than credit.  "You have a criminal justice system that sits over a cultural community that it is not sensitive to and that it doesn’t recognize. The people who run that system must be willing to understand the community.” stated Chanterelle, one of Sung's three daughters. The prosecutors lack of understanding of cultural norms and practice within the community led to suspicion. Those who are outside the social solidarity of Chinatown saw the Chinese community as dishonest, corrupt, and too alien to society as a whole.

    I feel sorry for what Sung and his family had to go through. It was saddening to see one of the Sung's daughters, Chanterelle crying as she responded the wrongdoing that was sabotaging the family bank and her livelihood. Jill Sung, The CEO and President of the bank, who inherited his father's position was not responsible and knew nothing about Ken Yu's corruption. Thomas sounds like a sincere person as he spoke of his identification to the character from and how eagerly wanted to help who support her Chinese immigrants trying to make a living in the city.  I believe that it was unjust to accuse entirely the Sung Family of the illegal actions which was fueled by the paranoia and insecurity of the housing crises that occurred at the time. I think this case is a example of misconceptions and confusion revolving the family Sung's relationship with the community, regardless if there were any racist intentions or not. Being able to understand the social solidarity within an enclave in a big city such as Chinatown can help reduce confusion.