Reflection Paper- “Hernando Washington” Before I signed up to take the Principles of Sociology class, I had no idea I would have to change the way I view the world. In order to make sense of a case like Hernando Washington, it is essential to view the world with what Max Weber describes as verstehen. In other words, you need to stay objective and not allow your own values affect how you perceive a situation. Instead, I have learned how to look at the world with a sociological imagination, which is exactly how Lisa J. McIntyre looked at Hernando’s case. Instead of studying Hernando Washington as an individual, Lisa studied his surroundings, culture, and interactions in order to get a better understanding of why Hernando could commit a crime …show more content…
This is important for a sociologist in studying the behavior of Hernando because it is where most of his interactions take place. Hernando grew up in the South Side of Chicago which was one of the worst areas in Chicago. It consisted mainly of a poor African American population and it was viewed poorly by the police. Lisa McIntyre highlights that, “The clear message to the people who live there is that they really aren’t part of the community that the Chicago police are pledged to ‘serve and to protect’” (McIntyre, 1999, p.18). I believe this is a great example of a functionalist perspective; because the citizens of South Side Chicago do not have the same values and do not contribute to the overall stability of the society, the police place less value on their lives than the lives of those living in the North Side. This concept has been drilled into Hernando’s view of life through events like the death of his brother and his sister’s rape. This can help a sociologist understand why Hernando feels no remorse for his actions, and is surprised to hear that he will be sentenced to …show more content…
People only look at a man like this and see all the damage that he has caused, but if you look at the situation with a symbolic interaction perspective, you begin to understand that the man most likely grew up in poor conditions. For example, the man most likely grew up in a poor household where he was mentally or physically abused by his parents. This sort of thinking is not an excuse for beating your wife, or committing a murder, but when you look at the world with a sociological imagination, it opens up your eyes to the different interactions a person like Hernando has experienced throughout his life and his crime makes more sense. Now that our eyes are open as students to sociological reasoning, how is a child’s development and education affected by the videogames he or she
At this day in age we bask in the luxury of having easy access to advanced technology at our disposal. From the World Wide Web, to cell phones, music, movies and video games the human race has thought of any and everything to keep us entertained. Over the years studies have shown reasonable concerns regarding the long-term effects of video games. These games can desensitize gamers to real life violence, which is usually seen in the younger crowd. The studies especially hit on the games containing player-on-player violence. Though these games are extremely entertaining and can get kids to settle down for a while, if not properly supervised, they can produce adverse effects. Other studies have shown that video games can be used as way to yield positive outcomes such as, good problem solving skills, cooperation in a group and the ability to flow. Although there has been psychological research on children learning through the actions of others some believe that children are automatically able to distinguish between what is just a game and what is reality. The longer they are allowed on their game system the more they become convinced that their games are real. Some researchers believe violent video games can channel the aggression of the child but the parents are to blame for what happens to the child after playing an excessive amount over a period of time. Children can become preoccupied with these violent video games which have been proven to be the cause of poor social skills, uncontrollable aggression and a false reality.
In the excerpt reading from Locking Up Our Own, the author, James Forman Jr., spoke about the issue our society has faced recently with mass incarceration of African-American males. He also talks about his own past experience with the situation through being a public defender. He had previously worked under Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and decided that he wanted to defend low-income individuals who were charged with crimes in Washington, D.C. Forman detailed a few specific cases he had working with young, African-American males and retold his reactions to some of the convictions.
Stereotypes within our society have shaped the way we perceive each other. Throughout the book Punished by Victor Rios, a lot of stereotypes were not only reinforced but also used against a lot of the boys. A lot of the boys presented throughout the book had never actually committed a crime but they were treated as if they had. These boys were constantly labeled and categorized, like folders into a filling cabinet or a bin. Sure Oakland, California had a lot of gang-infested areas but that does not mean everyone in that area is part of a gang or is committing a crime. Thus, this book really demonstrates how one can be perceived or labeled as a criminal due to his or her surroundings and how these stereotypes can destroy one’s chance of freedom.
Jacoby can be easily perceived as an upset and alarmed individual who blames the rise of criminal activity in the United States on the failure of the criminal justice system. He cares about people and believes that the safety of individuals is decreasing because criminals are not punished effectively by imprisonment and that some even receive a “sign of manhood” from going to prison (197). Additionally, he is upset that the ineffective system is so expensive. His concern for his audience’s safety and his carefully argued grounds, which he uses to support his claim, create a persona of an intelligent person of
Chapter one focuses mainly on the patterns of punishment expressed on Black and Hispanic boys. He begins the chapter by describing a young Hispanic boy’s negative experiences on the streets of his neighborhood with the police as something that occurs
This paper presents how labeling theory and strain theory can explain the crimes that the White family from West Virginia commit on a daily basis. The wonderful White of West Virginia portrays corruption and poverty. They do not conform to any authority or rules; all they want to do is fuss, fight and party. The White family takes part in shoot-outs, robberies, gas huffing, drug dealing, pill popping and murders. They are famously known for their Hill Billy tap dancing and wild criminal ways.
The book "Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys" is written by Victor M. Rios, who was a former gang member in his hometown and later turned his life around. He went to Berkeley and earned a doctorate in sociology. This book explores how youth of color are punished and criminalized by authorities even under the situation where there is no crimes committed and how it can cause a harmful consequence for the young man and their community in Oakland, California. The goal is to show the consequences of social control on the lives of young people of color and try to remind the authorities. This is important Since society plays a crucial part in shaping the lives of people. And the authorities have biases towards them and mistreat
At the age of thirteen-year-old, Jonathan (a pseudonym) knows all the names and shapes of the weapons circulating his neighborhood. Jonathan lives with his brothers and mother in a poor-income neighborhood of a metropolitan area. As a result of a lack of father’s presence in his life, his uncle serves as his male role model. In many occasions, when his uncle “goes out and steal” at the nearby stores, Jonathan is often his look out. Despite the criminal laws and police regulations, crime rates in these poor urban neighborhoods are escalating with incarceration rates and death rates follow suits. According to Elijah Anderson (1994), an American sociologist at Yale University, the inclination to violence is derived from the situations of life among the urban poor; these circumstances could be the lack of paying jobs, the stigma of race, the rampant drugs use and drugs trafficking, and the lack of hope for the future. Accordingly, who or what is responsible for the problems displayed in these African American, urban poor communities? The answer comes down to choices. The behaviors of these African American can be attributed through the individual’s disposition and the situational influences; thus, two theories hold the key explanation to answer the inquiry of this phenomenon: Rational Actor Theory and Structured Socialization Theory, respectively.
The social construction of myths of crime and criminal justice seems to follow a series of recurrent patterns. These patterns allow for an unprecedented amount of social attention to be focused upon a few isolated criminal events or issues. This attention is promoted by intense, but often brief, mass media coverage of a select problem. Intense social concern of an issue is achieved by a variety of means from the mass media, government, law enforcement officials, interpersonal communications, and the interests of reform groups whom all play major roles in focusing the publics attention on select so...
Media plays a vital role in the behavior of people. Many boys, teens, and adults play video games for hours everyday. This has an evident effect on the way they act. In The Mask You Live In, Dr. Philip Zimbardo explains, “The ones that are most addictive are the most violent where your job is to destroy the enemy. To dominate.” From the start of boyhood, boys are taught that it is acceptable to be violent. They think that aggression and domination are a normal way of life. No wonder why men can be so violent. This is normal to them. The media is extremely influential on the demeanor of people, especially young kids. Even more, Ashly Burch describes in the documentary that the typical character in a game is extremely violent. This influences the players in that they want to be like the character. This character is their role model and therefore influences boys to use force. For this reason, young boys should be taught be understanding and show kindness in place of violence and
... up information about crime and it is truly sad to think about. Undeniably, crime is all around us, everywhere we go. There is always someone out there committing crime. “Deviance” is not inherent in people, it is a process in which you learn. Yet through many series of socialization, such as parents, friends, class, gender, an individual or group can become “deviant”. The interactionist theories the best sociological explanation due to the fact that it can alter people values and perception in many ways. For instance, supervision of the so called “street” parents, have a huge effect on their children’s development. However, being labeled as a criminal by the society has made people living in the so called “streets” to accept this label as a criminal and obey and commit crime. This semester has enabled me to better understand on how crime is formed and how it works.
He described the theory as having the capability of exposing the links between drug abuse, crime and violence, referred to as cultural resistance, and ‘white’ people’s refusal to accept entry-level jobs with minimum wage in the inner city, thus leaving it to the Puerto Rican residents (seen as the inferior race in this article) to occupy these job vacancies (an example of self-reinforced marginalization). As a result, this is reflected into high crime and drug addiction rates, and intra-community violence (Bourgois,
In this essay, I will attempt to analyze law and crime through the lens of Marxist analysis. "Common sense" tells us that police officers are the "good guys" attempting to preserve society against the chaos and disorder that the criminals represent. Nobody will agree that this general rule is universally true, as the incidents in the Rampart Division of the LAPD illustrate. The Rampart division shot unarmed people point blank and then put guns in their hands. They behaved much like gang members, with their own hazing rituals of "beating people into the gang." Another telling example is the Louima incident, wherein a Haitian immigrant was anally raped by a NYPD police officer with a plunger. Obviously, all cops are not saints, and some are worse than some criminals.
Shelden, R.G., Brown, W.B., Miller, K.S., & Fritzler, R.B. (2008). Crime and criminal justice in american society. Long Grove, Illinosis: Waveland Press, INC.
Juvenile delinquency has become a serious worldwide phenomenon in the past few years. The criminal activities attributed to this are on the rise. Based on a research conducted, data from a sample of institutionalized juvenile delinquents, behavioral and attitudinal measures related to video games playing. Violent video games are associated with ant sociality and these effects withstand the robust influences of multiple correlates of juvenile delinquency. In the past few years, the number of violent video games has been increasing consequently this has been a major concern from teachers, parents and other authorities. Violent video games are deemed to be the contributory factor towards cases of youth violence. These games have been blamed for school shootings, juvenile crimes and sexist violence. Lionel Tate a 12 year boy at the time of his actions is a good case study to review. Tate was charged with first degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole on March 9; 2001.tate’s convic...