Week 9: Crime and Deviance-Does the punishment fit the crime?

The icon of Justice is a blindfolded woman carrying a double-edged sword and scales: the blindfold is show objectivity, the sword represents the power of justice, and the scales represent the balanced arguments of each side.  Who decides what is and is not crime?  Who decides who is and is not a criminal?  How can the community ensure that the legal and judicial systems are not punitively targeting a specific demographic? In " Study Settles It: Shocking Black & Latino Imprisonment Rates the Result of Racist, Punitive Impulse", the criminalization of minorities in the American penal system is appalling.  The numbers show a systemic targeting of specific racial classes, that helps perpetuate cultural stereotypes.  One researcher calls it “similar to the Jim Crow [segregation] laws.” 

Normally we leave trials, sentencing and punishment of criminals to the judicial system, and most of us assume that one is “innocent until proven guilty”, and that “justice always prevails.”  Thanks largely to popular crime and legal drama television, most of us assume the judicial system is inherently fair and impersonal, imposing punishment on those convicted, and releasing the innocent.  However, many who enter the judicial system understand that one’s social, economic, and racial classes are as important as one’s attorney and PR team. 

What happens when a judge is inconsistent with his sentencing for two individuals, where the defendants’ social and racial classes appear to influence the punishments?  How can we hold judges accountable for these discrepancies within our society?

How do we address this problem of criminalization of targeted racial groups?  Some suggestions from "Confronting the New Faces of Hate: Hate Crimes in America 2009", and “The Study Settles It”  include greater community activism for civil rights, supporting education programs and training initiatives, and more funding for law enforcement to raise awareness of prejudice within their organizations, and to better respond to these types of crimes.

Professor Felton Earls of the Harvard School of Public Health talks about the “cohesion” of communities in his talk with Susan Stamberg on NPR, “Crime Study Challenges Past Assumptions.”  According to Earls, cohesion is created by communities being invested in each other’s lives, especially the lives of children and teenagers.  My main concern is this: how to fund these programs, and implement them in communities. 

Week 8 Blog: Milgram Then, and Now

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." By Sir Edmund Burke

Milgram's obedience experiments are notorious and controversial in both their scope and conclusions. Many people have declared that they "would stop the experiment".  However, this statement comes AFTER they have learnt of the experiment, and without experiencing the conditions set up to ensure compliance.  In the debriefing stage, some 'Teacher' participants justified continuing because they were able to abrogate responsibility, or felt pressure from an 'expert' who seemed to be in control and was not concerned about the cries of the 'Learner.'   In the video " Milgram Study Today " on MySocLab, one 'Teacher' participant said he continued because he was "just doing my job", and he thought the 'Learner' would be able to free himself 'if he were really in the that much pain".  However, I consider that statement to be rationalization of his actions.  Other Teacher participants also claim the presence of the 'expert' or 'authority figure' ensured their compliance: our society focuses on obeying authority figures and 'experts', including regulatory commissions, federal agencies, etc.  Even with accomplices that act as a moral guide, saying they would not continue the experiment, most participants (about 70%) still finished administering the shocks.  


With the scandals of Abu Ghraib prison, and Guantanamo Bay Prison still lingering, it's easier to see why people fall into authority roles, even when those roles include behavior that is dangerous or harmful to themselves and others.  From what I understand, those military prisons had medical authorities that supervised torture/interrogations, and the prison officials had permission to continue their activities from the highest military and civil authority.  Many war criminals brought to court have said they "were just following orders."  I know the military heavily sanctions those who question authority, to prevent a breakdown of the organization.

These situations continue because as humans, we still crave structure, power, and acceptance.  I believe that a 'mob mentality' brings people to do things that they would not normally ever consider doing.  Milton's experiments are still very relevant today; human nature hasn't really changed very much.We like to believe that we are civilized, rational beings in complete control of ourselves and our emotions.  However, we see that evil still proliferates in this world, especially when people do nothing to oppose it, or organize against it. 

Week 6 BLOG ASSIGNMENT: Television and Socialization

Critics often charge that television's portrayal of violent and sexual themes powerfully affects its viewers, especially children. How much of a role do you think TV plays in the socialization process? Does it affect everyone to the same extent? Post your positions in your blog and defend your positions.

I think TV plays an enormous part in the socialization process.  It plays an important part in how children and adolescents learn to relate with one another, and society. Television helps to shape their ideas for games and fantasies, and directs them to products, books, or movies.  Ever since World War II, television has become the primary communicator of pop culture and mass media to everyone with a television set.  Children, adolescents, and young adults can bond over shared tv shows, characters, reality stars, etc.  People judge each other by what shows they watch.  I think TV affects everyone to the extent they watch it.  If you don’t watch it as much, you aren’t as affected, although you will still see its influence.  We are educated by TV, whether for product placement, or political goings-on, the weather, community activities, etc.  Children are very impressionable, and imitate what they see around them, playing out the dynamics and roles they observe.  This includes roleplaying, including ‘house’, ‘teacher’, ‘fireman’, and various heroes and villains.  Usually from stories they’ve read or seen.  They really identify, and transpose the characters onto themselves, feeling it is absolutely real.  They also observe their parents and other adults around them reacting to what’s on TV.  It’s how we learn what is funny, inappropriate, smart, or sarcastic.  Our opinions are formed by what we see our social group responding to. 

I remember watching a documentary segment in class about young girls’ responses to Disney heroines, and trying to imitate their costumes, voices, movements, and situations.  One mother was very concerned that her daughter kept pulling the straps of her swimsuit down around her shoulders because it was ‘pretty like Jasmine’ in the movie Aladdin. With many concerned about “age compression”, or a “hurried childhood”, and the fashion industry’s increased focus on younger children, it’s no wonder that parents and others express concerns about kids becoming older, younger.  Television plays an important role here, as well.  Advertisements and celebrity endorsements introduce watchers to the latest trends, and create hype around the most fashionable “it” items. (Macionis 112-124)

 There is a lot of research on this topic, and I would love to investigate this topic more a later time.  What do YOU think?