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Sociological theories of deviance and social controls chapter 8
Social deviance in today
Sociological theories of deviance and social controls chapter 8
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Jonestown Jim Jones and his infamous cult entitled, “The People’s Temple,” holds an interesting value to social psychology. Jonestown is a topic that can relate back to many sociology terms and ideas. Jonestown can be related to social deviance, the effect of American culture on social groups, labelling theory, charismatic authority, and even shows how societal history often repeats itself. American society during the late 60’s-70’s is what led to the creation of Jonestown. Jonestowns downfall provided a lot of insight to the American public of how society needed to change, proving that the deaths of about 900 people weren’t for nothing. Social deviance is when people who are faced with social norms either choose to conform or to rebel …show more content…
Charismatic authority is when a leader gains followers simply by the strength of his/her character. Jones was considered to be very enticing for women and a very good role model for men. As opposed to the norms of other social groups, charismatic authoritarians were not leaders based on a written law but by the will of the people who serve him. Because charismatic leaders are not linked to tradition, they are a danger to established groups due to their lack of care for legal authorities. By blindly following a leader like Jones, who was a master of manipulation, members were not aware of the damage they were doing by the order of Jones. Charismatic authoritarians gain loyal followers more easily than law written organizations, for the people follow charismatic authoritarians by their own free will rather than requirement. Being a large group formed outside of written laws instantly deviates it from other established groups. Because of Jones magnetic pull he was able to convince his group members that everything they were doing including the mass suicide were for the greater good. Having an icon tell you that you’re doing something for the greater good desensitizes you to the task you were asked to perform. An example of this is that the majority of the members viewed the suicide as a ‘sacrificial’ act for American society. Charismatic leaders are dangerous in that …show more content…
This relates to the great California genocide because once the U.S. Government (a superior to the common people) labeled native americans as savages the public started viewing them as savages. Labels helped the neighbors of these fallen Native Americans to become unassociated with them as beings making it easier to kill them. Labels can work both ways, positive and negative. Positive labeling is how Jim Jones calls his group saints and praised them for the work they were doing. Because they viewed Jim Jones as a god like figure, they believed him when he said they were doing good. This is how most members were okay with the idea of a mass
Cults are dangerous institutions that have existed for many years, corrupting and reforming the minds of innocent people into believing outrageous doctrines that eventually result in disaster. Horrifying cases involving men such as Charles Manson, Jim Jones and David Koresh have bewildered people and raise the question: how could individuals be easily susceptible to the teachings of these men, so influenced that masses go as far as to commit the unthinkable? Individuals who are in a vulnerable position in search for an identity are attracted to cults because they offer a sense of belonging. In addition, isolation from society contributes to the functioning of a cult for it creates an atmosphere where submissiveness and obedience runs high. These two factors seem to hold true for one of the most notorious cults currently established in the United States and Canada. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or, FLDS, is an international polygamist sect that incorporates belonging and isolation along with a dangerous mentality that have resulted in the abuse of women and children in the name of God.
This analysis is a compare and contrast essay between the book, 1984, and the society of Jonestown. Jonestown, was a community based on a religious group know as the People's Temple. This was a place, where people felt that they had control of their lives, when in reality they didn’t. Their leader, Jim Jones, was very manipulating and was able to convince almost the entire community to commit suicide together because of his paranoia. In 1984, people didn't even realize the need for freedom, because the government was already in control of every aspect of their lives. That is just one of the reasons Jonestown and 1984 are similar, but don't be mistaken, there are many differences too. The people in 1984 never were given a choice between freedom and being either a party member or a prole. The people involved in Jonestown were there on their own accord. The people of the People's Temple had at one point at least wanted to be there, and to follow their leader.
Jim Jones was the notorious cult leader of the Peoples Temple. Jones was born on May 13, 1931 in Crete, Indiana. He was a self-appointed pastor from a church in the Midwest. Jim had been popular for always wearing dark glasses, black suits and slicked-back hair, which made a splendid impression on the pulpit of the churches he had preached at or had been to. He then, in the mid-1960s, moved his congregation to California to, what he had wished, avoid the start of a nuclear war. Then, in 1974, he moved his people to Guyana after he was faced with financial abuses, criticism, and church beatings.
Matthews, David. "Jim Jones' Followers Enthralled by His Skills as a Speaker." CNN. Cable News Network, 13 Nov. 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.!” is a well-known saying that generally means to completely buy into an idea or system whether good or bad. While this is an interesting quote, it has a terrible back story behind it. This phrase is a reference to the 1978 mass-suicide of over 900 people from a cult known as The People’s Temple in Jonestown, Guyana led by Jim Jones. Jim Jones created The People’s Temple, a civil rights group, which gained popularity in Redwood, California. The Peoples Temple began as something good and devolved into something tragic that will remain a dirty stain in history to this day. I chose to study the leadership of Jim Jones because of his drastic change from being a leader with such charisma and good intentions to a manipulative sociopath.
People join cults as a way of feeling a sense of belonging within a community (Winner 2011:417). This need for belonging is eventually why members find themselves so involved that they cannot get out. This is especially true in the case of the cult created by Jim Jones. He established a cultic Church called the People’s Temple, most famously known for being the largest group suicide consisting of 909 people, including 276 children (Nelson 2006). Between five to seven million young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 are involved in cult groups (“Cult statistics” 2010). Nearly 180 000 people are recruited into cults each year (“Cult Statistics” 2010). The sense of identity, purpose, and belonging are appealing aspects to why people join cults as the use of power and manipulation coerces them to stay.
Jim Jones was “a self-proclaimed messiah in a polyester suit, a man who played God from behind mysterious dark glasses that gave his followers the impression that he was omniscient”( Axthelm 54). Born in 1931 in Lynn, Indiana to James Thurmond and Lynetta Jones, he was looked upon by his parents as a gift from Saint Francis. Jim’s father was white and an active member of the Ku Klux Klan. His mother was part Cherokee which lead Jim in later years to refer to himself with pride as an “ All-American mongrel”
When most hear the word cult, they imagine mass murderings and warn their children “don’t drink the kool-aid. However, a cult is defined only as a “religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader”. These systems or communities rely on worship and ritual. There is no mention of violence or bloodshed in this definition. However, “destructive cults” are a whole other story and are often the ones making the news headlines. These destructive cults use unethical means as a way to control and manipulate to bring thought reform (defined as the systematic alteration of a person's mode of thinking). Ironically, these destructive cults give an illusion of self control and freedom to its members. It is estimated that five to seven million American’s have been in cults or cult-line groups according to the cult hotline, of course this is a hard number to properly caluclate.
Several individuals within society typically follow social guidelines that they are unaware of performing. Social guidelines such as stopping at a red light or saying thank you when someone has done something for you. These social guidelines or norms give society a script to follow regarding their behavior and actions. Although norms are the acceptable actions and behaviors that society is taught to perform, there are occurrences where individuals stay away from those in which they are now enacting deviance. To act deviant is considered to break away or do something different of a social norm. There are several forms of deviance that occur frequently within society that violate social norms and hinder society’s overall function.
From a sociological understanding, deviance is any behavior or physical appearance that is condemned from social standards because it defies social norms or social expectations. Sociological understanding of deviance is not always associated with a negative outcome, but can have positive effects for the individual or soceity. With the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks was seen deviant for sitting at the front of a bus and refusing to move when a white male came on board. This act of civil rights not only made a stance for improving African American rights, but also helped change social norms.. From an everyday understanding, deviance is any behavior or physical appearance that is seen with a bad or negative outlook. An example of an everyday understanding of deviant behavior can be seen as an individual having tattoos all over his or her body. Some individuals would consider tattoos covering someone’s entire body are bad or a negative appearance, even if the tattoos had significant meaning to that specific individual.
Jim Jones began to get his career on the move, Jim and Marceline adopted many children but they did have one child of their own. Marceline and Jim had a really difficult marriage but stayed together as well as they could until the end. More and more Jim Jones wanted the world to be a better place so he tried out being a student pastor in a church that had already taken off, this didn’t work out because Jim didn’t believe in segregation and all of the others in the church did. Jim wanted most of his preaching to be to African Americans. To bring in new people Jim used “healing” rituals, he stood in front of them to preach about how he could heal them from eye problems all the way to heart disease.
To begin, one of the most enticing factors of cult membership is the promise of prosperity and a bright future, doubly so when those who are recruited are down on their luck.4,2,3 Similar to Hitler's promises of restored economic power to the impoverished people of Germany post World War I, its hard to turn down a cult's pledge of freedom from persecution and hardship, as was the case for Jim Jones's ill fated followers. Upon further examination, the National Socialist Party's principals do not deviate far from...
On November 18, 1978, a notorious religious organization lead by Jim Jones became international news. As a result of manipulation and isolation, Jim Jones influenced his followers to commit suicide. Not only, but his followers were utterly convinced that what they were doing was for a good cause, specifically, a political movement. With kool-aid and a dash of cyanide, 918 people, adults and children, ended their lives that day. The aftermath of this horrific event resulted in numerous documentaries, on of which being, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. Created in 2006, this documentary gives a thorough and accurate account of the events that lead up to as well as occured that day.
Social deviancy is the violation of social norms. A deviant is someone who rejects folkways and mores. Any action that violates the values or rules of a social group is deviant behavior. In order to actually be characterized as a deviant, the individual must be detected committing a deviant act and be stigmatized by society. A stigma is a mark of social disgrace, setting the deviant apart from the group. Criminality is healthy for society. Deviance affirms our cultural values and norms. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries and brings people together. There will always be people who break society’s rules and that’s important.
Society strives to feel a sense of belonging. We want to be a part of something that shares the same beliefs as us. We spend our time trying to place ourselves in a group to satisfy these needs, whether it is in a hobby club, a group of friends, or religion. Some people go to more extreme measures and find this in what we call a cult. According to Henslin, a cult is a new or different religion whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion. (2013:405) Cults are often identified with the ideas of mass murder, deviant behaviors, unusual beliefs, and extremely devoted members. Cults are also highly known for their leaders. The leaders of cults usually are the ones that portray the image for the entire group. Successful cults take a strong-minded and, according to Max Weber, charismatic leader.