Deviance

   What is deviance? Deviance describes actions or behaviors that violate the social norms of the society.  In your everyday life you see many deviant things that are out of the norms.  One of the most deviance things I've seen every day, and experienced is when you are on the train (for men and women), and a guy comes and presses his body on you for no reason. It is completely out of the norm to do that, and it makes you very uncomfortable.  Another thing that is usually out of the norm is people picking their nose in public. When someone does this people around that person look at them very unusually, because it’s not in the norms of the public. Referring to Chapter 8, to what Durkheim says about Collective Conscience, the shared norms, beliefs, and values in a community is well known to everyone and violating this makes you somewhat of an outcast in the eyes on the community. Over the weekend I went to this party with my cousin, and what I saw was very deviance. I saw parents encouraging the teenagers there to drink and smoke. It was completely out of the norm and I had to leave.  Another thing I've experienced in life that is deviance is girls drinking uncontrollably. It is out of the norm for girls to drink like that, when people look at drunken girls they give them that dirty look and tell them there low lives. When people are labeled to a certain name or a certain way they tend to follow that label. This is an example of the Labeling Theory. This argues that deviance is the result of how others interpret a behavior and that individual who are labeled deviant often internalize this judgment as part of their self-identity. Some people who are labeled as deviant must deal with stigma or shame. This shame can cause a person to isolate themselves from society or even lead to suicide. Stigma refers to the shame that is attached to a behavior or status that is considered socially unacceptable and discrediting. Living around the projects isn't really a good quite neighborhood. Every day you see young kids roaming the streets with their pant hanging down their butts. This is not the norm of the society. These kids should be in school being educated and thought respect and manners. But the major problem is that the parents allow their kids to do what they want, and sometimes that leads up to kids in trouble with the law or even dead on the streets. In my high school days i was very calm but very tough as well. No body messed with me or talk trash about me, and people considered me deviant. I use to cut school a lot, but also never pay attention in class. But the thing that made my teachers stand by my side was my ambition to strive for better education. Many of the gang members in my high school labeled me as a two face jerk, but never stood up to me. Not because i was a big kid, it was because i was very close with the school educators and police staff. Going into college i have change dramatically, but I still strive for that education i believe i am  not getting. The norm for me was to get a better education, and I didn't care for the education i was getting at the time. But in reality the norm was take what you get, and work towards your goals to get a better education. Another example of a deviant act was back in my senior year of high school. I got addicted to online games, mostly first person shooting and mmorpg. I never wanted to hang outwith my friends or even my family, I considered my friends on the game were more important. But as the school year went by, I noticed myself drifting away from the crowd I once use to follow. The norm for me was to play the game and advance past others, but in reality the norm was to not be so addicted and have a life outside of the house or away from the computer. 

    In the reading Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass in America, it talks about poverty and about the different functions of undeserving poor.  One of the most concerned thing to both populations (poor or not poor), is the street crime activity. The criminal or disapproved behavior that is ascribed to these two populations resorts to it often classified as unworthy and undeserving. Once the poor are judged to be undeserving, they are then no longer thought to be deserving of the public aid that is financially sufficient and secure enough to help them escape poverty. These judgments of the poor as undeserving are not based on evidence, but derive from a stereotype. This is an example of the Labeling Theory.  Some functions that are described in this article are the Economic functions. Economic banishment and the reserve army of labor describes that people that have been labeled as undeserving can be banished from the formal labor market. An example that is given is school kids who are labeled as school dropouts often lead up to believing it and are thought to lack the need for work experience, and might not be offered jobs. Another example of the undeserving poor to support themselves economically is supplying drugs. This is a major issue that is present around the world. These undeserving poor people are banished from other jobs remain eligible for work on the streets and sale of illegal good, including drugs.