This
post
highlights the work required of my SA 201: Introduction to Sociology
students. Students were tasked with learning deviance from a sociological perspective and tasked with applying a sociological theory to explain a criminal act. Eligible students
were given the
opportunity to have their exemplary work
featured on the blog, and the students who provided permission have
their work featured here in this and the following blog posts. Please
show your
appreciation for their work through the comments.
By: Maddison Welker
People may commit crimes for several reasons,
but there is usually one major reason. The term social deviance can usually
explain why a crime is committed. Social deviance is any type of crime, law,
rule, or norm that is created by society and can be broken (Bry et. al 137). In
other words, social deviance can help people understand the social norms in the
society and why people would break them. Social deviance also has many theories
that help explain why people do what they do. The case of a Honduras man and
his family trying to seek asylum in the United States demonstrates the cultural
deviance theory.
In this
particular case, a Honduras man name Jose and his wife Cindy were trying to
seek asylum in the United States after a drug cartel told them that their
family would be killed in Honduras (Jordan 1). In an effort to save his family
and leave the dangers of Honduras, Jose traveled to the Texas border and tried
to be allowed to access Mexico. His wife Cindy was already in the United States
because she had a work visa (Jordan 2). When Jose and his four-year-old son
approached the Unites States Texas border, black hoods were thrown over their
heads and they were taken to a secret destination in the back of a van (Jordan
2). When the black hoods were taken off of their heads, Jose quickly began to
realize that him and his son were kidnapped by a drug cartel (Jordan 2). The
cartel made Jose call his wife Cindy, who was in the sates and told her that
she would have, “to come up with
$3,000 within an hour if she wanted to spare the lives of her son and husband”
(Jordan 2). While Cindy was panicking and searching for money, the drug cartel
began to beat Jose in the stomach and arm, all while making their four-year-old
son watch (Jordan 3). Cindy then went over to neighbor’s house in the and
begged for them to help her (Jordan 3). After her neighbor agreed, the two of
them drove to a bank and could only managed to get out two thousand dollars
(Jordan 3). Cindy then went to a money-transfer kiosk and deposited the cash in
the machine to the drug cartel kidnappers (Jordan). The cartel then notified
Cindy that the money had not gone through and that she had twenty minutes to
fix the problem or else her husband and son would die (Jordan 3). While waiting
on Cindy to fix the problem, the cartel continued to beat Jose and they even
started to cut his face (Jordan 3). Thankfully, the money went through and the
drug cartel dropped of Jose and his son back near the border and told them
that, “if he notified the police, you’re both dead. we have pictures of you”
(Jordan 3). Then, seeking for help from the United States Jose asked them that,
due to their recent events if him and his son could stay in the United States
holding center (Jordan 3). The United
States said no and told them that the events that had just taken place, “did
not establish a clear probability of persecution or torture in Mexico,” even
though Jose had numerous bruises and cuts from the beatings (Jordan 3). This
type of crime happens all of the time in Mexico and is an example of the
cultural deviance theory.
The cultural deviance theory helps explain why people commit a crime.
The social deviance theory is a theory that states that crime happens in lower
class families due to the people of that class believing in the same social
norms (Bry et. al 139). In the crime that was committed against Jose and his
family, the drug cartel comes from a lower-class country and asks for ransom
money from the family. The drug cartel new that they were not going to get
caught because Mexico has, “neither the municipal nor state governments have
the resources to fight this situation” (Jordan 1). Crime is acceptable in this
lower-class country because the drug cartels have created the societal norms
(Jordan 1). The drug cartel knew that Cindy would give the money in order to
save her husband and son. This has become a norm in Mexico’s society because
they do not have the resources to fix it. In a lower-class country according to
the cultural deviance theory, crime is more acceptable. The cultural deviance
theory and social deviance help people understand why crime is committed.
Sociology explains
how deviance can be understood in a society. Sociology explains why people to
what they do and why certain behaviors are acted upon. Sociology helps figure
out the cultural norms that are present within a society and how those norms
could be broken to commit a crime and act out with deviance. Sociology helps us
look at people to understand why that person did what they did. Without
sociology, we would not have an understanding of human behavior or how their
behavior is affected by the society that they are living in or interact with.
Social deviance is
an action that has been broken due to societal standards. In the case of Jose
and his family social deviance was acted upon by the drug cartel that kidnapped
them. The drug cartel that kidnapped Jose and his son only acted with this type
of deviance due to them living in a lower-class society. Their society has
become accustomed to laws being broken. Deviance was acted upon by the drug
cartel and used to receive money as a reward. The cultural deviance theory
helps sociologist understand why the drug cartel did what they did. Sociology
has helped understand this because sociology helps people understand why they
do what they due. Sociology takes a look at behaviors and explains them. For
example, without sociology we would not have understood why the drug cartel did
what they did to Jose’s family. Sociology helps us understand social deviance
and the reasons why people partake in it.
Works Cited
Bry, Jeff, et al. Introduction to Sociology
2e. Houston, TX. OpenStax, 2017. pp 137-143
Jordan, M. (2019,
December 21). 'I'm Kidnapped': A Father's Nightmare on the Border. Retrieved
from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/21/us/border-migrants-kidnapping-mexico.html
* * * * * * * * * * *
By: Arash Yaqubi
In life crimes happen all
around us and many times people search for the reasoning behind the acts of
deviance which in sociology the reasoning can be found using a number of
theories created by educated sociologists. The crime I chose would be the horrendous
criminal act that happened on the 14th of November in 2019. This crime was a
shooting that took place at a high school called Saugus High School in
California 20 minutes before the start of school. The criminal was a 16 year
old male student named Nathaniel Berhow who caused this shooting with a .45
caliber pistol. This crime that took place took “Two victims a 16-year-old girl
and a 14-year-old boy, died at a hospital. Three students were wounded and
taken by ambulance” (Hanna). Also the shooter shot himself
after his criminal act on the students of Sangus High School, and left three
other students hospitalized who later made a full recovery.
Some background on
Nathaniel Berhow was known as by a longtime friend who “described him to the AP as
"naturally smart" and introverted, though open to his close friends.
She also said he was bullied, was never seen with a girlfriend, and was also
active in his Boy Scout team” (Ma). Also his father was known to abuse his
mother and one got one case filled on him as an attempted battery on the
spouse. This can be related to the theory created by Travis Hirschi, the
American sociologist, who made the control theory.
According to Hirschi
control theory noted in Introduction to Sociology, is defined by the amount of social control
an individual feels is directly affected by the strength of the person 's bond
with society and others which is where the criminal acts or deviance comes from
because that certain person is feeling detached from the society. This makes
sense because the more a person feels disconnected to the group or society then
they care less of what happens to them if they perform a criminal act (Griffiths 143). Control
theory can help explain on why Nathaniel Berhow’s crime took place because he was known as
a quiet kid who was sometimes picked on and did not have many friends. Berhow
never felt a connection with his classmates or to the school culture at Saugus
High School so it was easy for him to commit that criminal act of shooting up
the school. Also, it was his 16th birthday when he did the crime, so the
disconnection to society in general was building up to the point where he felt
no emotional attachment to society which is one of the reasons he ended his
life after he shot the school up.
This detachment from
society that Nathaniel Berhow, felt which was the Control Theory had many
consequences. One of which was the trauma of the students at Saugus High school
who had to witness or hear the crime taking place. Also the two casualties that
Nathaniel Berhow caused then ending his life affected the families of both
victims and Berhow’s family as well. These consequences of this crime left many
families and students sad and devastated.
This is a very important
reason why sociology is so helpful in finding the reasons behind deviance and
crimes that take place in our society. Sociology helps us, as a society, to
understand the deeper cause of the crime rather than just looking at one
certain outlier. Sociology helps dissect the whole process of why the crime happened
and society's input on that crime and deviance that took place. It is shown
through sociology that the effect of where you grow up at and the culture you
are surrounded in has a bigger effect than one person might think of if they
have not taken sociology.
Works Cited
Griffiths, Heather, et al. Introduction to
Sociology 2e. OpenStax College, Rice University, 2017.
Hanna, Jason, et al. “A 16-Year-Old Gunman Shot
5 Classmates and Himself in 16
Seconds, Authorities Say.” CNN, Cable
News Network, 15 Nov. 2019,
www.cnn.com/2019/11/14/us/california-school-shooting/index.html.
Ma, Alexandra. “California School Shooting
Suspect Described as 'Quiet' Boy Scout
Who Opened Fire on Classmates on His 16th
Birthday.” Insider, Insider, 16 Nov. 2019,
www.insider.com/california-school-shooting-suspect-nathaniel-berhow-2019-11.
