The Exploitation of Abnormality The principle of homogenization lies within the foundation of every society, creating standards for which the individual must follow in order to be culturally accepted. Whether being due to a specific birth defect or simply to their unique nature, individuals incapable of meeting these standards are judged upon their social shortcomings. In the article “Son,” Andrew Solomon defines these abnormalities as one’s horizontal identity which consists of personally acquired traits that often separate a person from the rest of society. Unfortunately, the cultural desire of normality has led to a negative perception of individuality and has created an opportunity which institutions commonly exploit. Regardless of their …show more content…
This philosophy can be dually noted through both the actions of the Japanese pharmaceutical companies as well as the institution of family provided through the example of Andrew Solomon’s mother. Japanese pharmaceutical institutions that often attempt to justified their actions of promoting depression in Japan by claiming that, “[they don't] present themselves as people driven only by profits.Rather [they see] themselves as acting with the best intentions. ”(Watters 527), are equally selfish to Solomon’s mother who Solomon states, “didn’t want [him] to be gay because she taught thought it wouldn't be the happiest course for him,but equally, she didn't like her image as the mother of a gay son” (Solomon 376). Both the pharmaceutical companies desire of achieving personal wealth and Solomon’s mother’s desire to maintain her social stature lied prevalent to their desire to help the individual. In the the case of the Japanese pharmaceutical company, they had been forcing the idea of a disease upon a nation in order to sell them a drug which they did not need, whereas Solomon’s mother had been shadowing her child’s horizontal identity in order to not jeopardize her own well being. If both institutions were as committed to the well being of the individual as they claimed, there would have …show more content…
Institutional tendencies to act upon prejudice prove that the vast majority of institutions do not care for the lives of the individual but rather are only concerned on their own financial or physical well being. The false concept that institutions withhold the individual’s best interesest can be disproven time and time again by closely examining most institution’s inability to provide concrete ethical justifications for their actions. Institution’s ability to manipulate cultural standards to its’s favor commonly leads to the individual suffering from exploitation in order to avoid the undesirable discrimination and torment that accompanies the possession of an
David Horowitz wrote the book “Radical Son,” as an autobiography narrating his political and spiritual growth. The author gives the experience of his political journey, which he regards as generational odyssey. The book’s title presents the reader with a chance to imagine what to expect from the book. The title provides a calculatedly designed account of the book’s content. Through the author’s political and religious journey, he has grown to become radical. The journey to where he stands today has been tedious and challenging. The paper presents a review of the book “Radical Son” by David Horowitz. Initially, a summary of the book is provided. Furthermore, the paper highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the book from a personal approach. The essay culminates by providing the lessons learned from the book.
Each person has different characteristics about them that give them their own identity and that should not be changed. In the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, the main character, Harrison Bergeron is known as a threat to society. He is very intelligent, handsome, and athletic. In 2081, every person in the United States is equal. The government has taken over and has required everyone to wear handicaps to make them less smart, less pretty, less strong, and many other things. At the beginning of the story they mention a husband and wife, George and Hazel Bergeron, and they have a son, Harrison, who gets taken away because of his perfections. Later in the story, Hazel and George are watching ballerinas on television, when the program is interrupted by breaking news. They inform the viewers that Harrison has broken out of jail. The program then turns back on and Harrison appears on stage with the ballerinas. He proceeds to take off every
In conclusion, in Panther Baby, Jamal Joseph, narrates about his life and his experiences in Black Panther Party, New York City and a prison in Leavenworth, Kansas during between 1960’s and 1980’s. This paper reviews Joseph’s story and illustrates the evaluation and ethical analysis that focus on our course’s theme of ethics and social responsibility.
The concept of discrimination is complex in the case of “The Big One” in this case, corporations in the United States of America such as Nike, Spalding, Microsoft and AT&T are not willing to change their ways of manufacturing their goods in third world countries and American detention centres, and this causes perfectly able bodied employees in the United States to become unemployed as more and more companies apply this measure to make additional profit for themsel...
Institutions force individuals to bend and mold the standard and give up freedom and individuality. Some individuals are unable to conform when their will to remain creative and self-reliant is too strong; they fight against the current that society and its institutions create. Beating the system is another thing; those who attempt to beat the system are often referred to as romantics because they do not focus on the reality of situations. The system cannot be beat. If one official of an intuition is taken down there will be a many more waiting i... ...
...Boyarin overcome his fear of being labeled by the society by sticking up to his morals and ethics. This shows that an individual’s fear of being labeled by the society can depend on the situations they face which shape their strategies of personal identity.
Barker (2014, p.1) suggests that the law may be defined as a rule of human conduct, imposed upon and enforced among the members of society in which laws are inaugurated to ensure that social order continues. As a result, laws ensure that members of society may live and work together in an orderly manner by following the same rules. However, laws have different affects on individual members in society and from this point of view, this essay will focus on how laws in society affect individuals in minority and disadvantaged groups.
In American, there is a big problem that is racial discrimination. Because the long-standing institutionalized discrimination results in this problem. So what is institutionalized discrimination? How has discrimination become institutionalized for various ethnic subpopulations in the United States?
Randall, Vernellia. “What is Institutional Racism?” Dying While Black. 9 Jan. 2008. Web. 16 Nov 2013.
Institutional racism is defined in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) as “the manifestation of racism in social systems and institutions. It is the social, economic, educational, and political forces or policies that operate to foster discriminatory outcomes. It is the combination of policies, practices, or procedures embedded in bureaucratic structure that systematically lead to unequal outcomes for groups of people”(2007). In other words, policy and practices intentionally or unintentionally favor one group or put a racial group at a
“Individualistic cultures, in the western-hemisphere, [such as the United States,] emphasize… personal identity and self-determination. Conformity is far less pervasive in individualistic societies because democratic choices and laissez-faire viewpoints are somewhat considered.”
Randall, Vernellia R. "Institutional Racism in American Society." Race, Racism, and the Law 2000: n. pag. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.
Erik H. Erikson was born on June 15th, 1902, near Frankfurt, Germany. He never knew his mother’s first husband or his birth father (Engler, 153). His mother then married a pediatrician, who adopted Erik and gave him his last name. His parents concealed the fact of his adoption from him for many years, in which Erikson later called, “a loving deceit.” Ironically, the man who was famous for the term “identity crisis” was experiencing himself a significant identity crisis during his childhood. Erikson struggled with both the quest for his psychological identity and that of his biological identity. The fact that Erikson was raised in a Jewish home, but his genetic backg...
In order for society to meet the basic social needs of its members, social institutions, which are not buildings, or an organization or even people, but a system whose of social norms, mores and folkways that help make people feel important. Social institutions, according to our textbook, is defined as a fundamental component of this organization in which individuals, occupying defined statues, are “regulated by social norms, public opinion, law and religion” (Amato 2004, p.961). Social institutions are meant to meet people’s basic needs and enable the society to survive. Because social institutions prescribe socially accepted beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors, they exert considerable social control over individuals.
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.