Deviance Behind Bars

Deviance in general is a unique societal construct. In some cultures it would be considered deviant to walk around the house naked, but in American society this is the norm and is even encouraged in some households. This means that punishable deviance also is different in each society. In the United States, drug-related sanctions are far more severe than in say.. Columbia. Taboos can be a large part of these deviant societal constructs. Drinking in a dry county is no different than underage drinking on a college campus, but for the fact that alcohol is a taboo in one place and glorified in the other. Getting caught drinking in the dry county will get'cho ass in the clinker, while getting caught drinking in college usually results in looser consequences.

I don't believe these societal constructs are avoidable because they are a part of culture and one cannot simply change a single aspect of culture and keep it consistent with the rest of the world. Religion plays a key role in what kind of activities are considered deviant, and people can't just change their religious views on a whim. Euthanasia is unacceptable with a Christian belief system and is a punishable offense in most states. Shintoism in Japan has few qualms with assisted suicide, and therefor does not result in a court case by furious religious fanatics.

The U.S. court and jail system needs quite a few touch-ups. In 30 Days, Morgan Spurlock gets to experience living in two very different jail environments. The first jail kept the inmates inside for 24 hours a day and had basically no rehabilitation programs, for drugs or otherwise. The criminals were living in an environment where no reform was possible since all they did was sit around and do "nothing" for the duration of their sentence. I'd say this is a huge waste of taxpayer's money because the majority of jail inmates are repeat offenders, meaning our penitentiaries do not teach its residents how to live lives without crime. Morgan then visited the drug rehabilitation portion of the prison which was a completely different environment, where people actually got help for their problems in a positively-reinforcing system. It's amazing to me how two parts of the same jail can be so drastically different, and it makes it obvious that not all U.S. jails are made equal.

With the recent advent of the "War on Drugs," more people than ever before (Nearly 1/3) are in prison for having drug-related offenses. Keeping these people in prison is extremely costly, especially if no rehabilitation steps are taken. This is a big issue because more often than not, the prisoners arrested for drug abuse need psychiatric help, not to be behind bars.

Unfortunately, a person's social class, gender, and skin color make a difference in his or her chances of being convicted of any crime in general. People in poor neighborhoods are far more likely to sell drugs as a get-rich-quick scheme to escape the ghettos. Minorities tend to live in the poorer areas of town, where police activity is much higher, making it more likely for them to be arrested. Like we read in the "Saints and Roughnecks" article, people in the lower-class do not have as ready-access to a car, which makes crime very local, where the police expect there to be problems. 93% of all prisoners are male, showing how much better females are at escaping the long ride to the station with their tears and assets (Such as jewelery, doughnuts, a roast, etc..) with which to bribe the police officer with. Over 57% of prisoners are single, which is understandable because those in a relationship have others who depend on them, and therefor would be less likely to commit an offense which would hinder giving support to their families. The U.S. penitentiary system punishes people for society's defined deviance, yet we punish many for stereotypical reasons or those who should be given a second chance.

Status Power

In many ways, status power consumes the life of us teenagers because it is in essence the only true power we wield. This affects the way we act around our friends and acquaintances, and also who we choose to associate ourselves with. For example, a football player would guffaw at the notion of going to Interactive Gamers' Club. Status power makes people do things which they ordinarily would not, such as wearing obscene amounts of makeup or drinking till they pass out. My sister still watches MTV, even after years of me telling her that it's a channel of fluff and will turn anyone's brain to mush, just to be able to talk about the newest episode of "16 and Pregnant."

Socialization/Adolescence Final Blog

Today, I chose to wear plaid blue boxers, white Hanes socks, blue and white K-Swiss shoes, blue jeans, a grey Aeropostale shirt, and a green jacket. We aren't born knowing clothing brands or what matches what, so I would say style is basically completely by nurture. In the future, I want to be some sort of scientist, but the parts nature/nurture play in this aren't as clear-cut to me. My grandpa is a scientist, so maybe the science gene was in my blood. However, I also had 4 years from 7th-10th grade with amazing science teachers, who may have nurtured my love for ciencias.. Could a great teacher really have that sort of impact on what you want to do when you grow up? I don't think I showed any keen interest in science before 7th grade. It probably is a combination on the two in that case, with my grandpa planting the seed for success and the slew of memorable teachers watering it.

Adolescent social status power is as life-consuming as it is because for most teenagers, it is the only power they wield. Adolescents don't have much economic power because adults don't trust them to handle the kind of responsibilities associated with a real job. Also, we have to be in school until we turn 16, which means we can't work the same number of hours of a grown-up. This was not the case back in the 70's and earlier, where labor laws were more lax and it was seen as a socializing power for a teenager to work alongside adults at a construction job or in an office. Now we're stuck with silly jobs like working Summer Camps or Movie Theatres where the only people we interact with regularly while on the job are our teenage peers. Teenagers also don't have any political power either, as they are legally under parental control until 18 years of age. Social status power is the one power we can achieve and compete for with people our own age. Almost all teenagers strive to be the ideal character in their social groups/cliques. This affects the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, how we talk, the people we associate ourselves with, what "extracurricular" activities we participate in, etc..

Socialization for children has changed drastically since my parents were young, what with the television becoming a necessity in every household. Consumerism is on the rise thanks to constant bombardment of advertisements -- both on television and in real life -- which from a young age teaches kids they aren't happy if they don't have stuff. We're quickly developing a developmentally destructive lifestyle. Sitting down, turning your brain off, and acting comatose for many hours is not a scientifically proven way to lose weight in our increasingly obese society. Many parents are leaving the job of parenting to the TV or the internet, from which kids can't receive the physical in-person interaction of a parent or a friend. Once high-school comes around (Even starting in Middle school these days), the Facebook effect kicks in. We begin to think about life Facially, or what I like to call FaceThink. An example of how this works is how teenagers think about how they can't wait to get home and change their Facebook status to tell the world what they've just done. The majority of the time, absolutely nobody has any interest in these silly quips about your day. Attención horses can really go to town with FaceThink, typing up the most cryptic, embellished, woe-is-muah statuses possible. This is definitely not healthy socially. We spend time on Facebook when we could be hanging out with friends or learning a new hobby like artisan snow-cone making or inventing liquid cheese. (Someone really needs to get on that)

Gender differences impact how each gender perceives and feels about itself. At least in American culture, girls are told to be pretty or witty, men to be strong, charming, or funny. Boys far more often than girls take on the role of "class clown," and girls generally don't walk around with their pants (all 3 pairs) falling down in the popular gangsta' style of 'da boyees. These differences may partly be the fault of woman's subordinate social class standing in relation to men in our country's history. I like to cook. Stereotypes say the women should be in the kitchen, and although this obviously is a falsity which most acknowledge, when people ask me what I'm interested in, I won't always mention this because it might be seen as socially unacceptable or strange to someone who has just met me. Most of the gender differences are trivial, yet they dictate the hobbies and lifestyles socially "normal" individuals can partake in.