According to the social-conflict analysis, deviance is related to social inequality based upon who holds prestige and power in society. Unfortunately those who are powerless tend to be labeled deviant. This is because it is the rich and powerful that control how societies set norms and how rule breaking is defined in accordance to their interests. As the 20/20: Justice & Privilege showed, those who have power and prestige are able to resist being labeled deviant even if they do violate cultural norms and laws. Alex Wood, a wealthy white man with family connections, served only ten years probation after pleading guilty to murder. Tyron Brown also received the same sentence for armed robbery. While on probation, both men used recreational drugs; however, Mr. Wood was never punished whereas Tyron received a life sentence. This example clearly represents Karl Marx’s ideas of social inequality in bureaucratic societies where the interests of the powerful are protected.
Mr. Brown’s racial profile, in all likelihood, contributed to him receiving a harsher sentence. Police officers are “more likely to arrest people of color than whites, perceiving suspects of African or Latino descent as either more dangerous or more likely to be guilty” (Macionis, 2010, p. 236). This is probably why African Americans and Latinos make up an overwhelming seventy percent of the incarcerated population (Segura, 2010). Although African American arrest rates are higher in proportion to the rate of whites, the reasons are complex. First off, many African Americans live in poverty and do not receive equal opportunities to legitimate means of achieving cultural goals such as wealth. Merton’s strain theory supports this. Thus, some members of low social standing feel the need to be innovative and use unconventional means to achieve cultural goals, such as street crimes. Second, black families differ in family patterns. They have higher rates of single parents, which in turn translates to less supervision of children. Also, the official crime rate index does not include arrests for “crime in suites” or normal violations of law such as drunk driving that people of white race tend to violate (Macionis 2010, p. 233). All in all, when it comes to crimes skin color truly does make a difference in how authorities react to the deviant act that a person has committed in terms of punishment.
Works Cited
ABC 20/20: Justice & Privilege. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJsU9qEH_b0
Macionis, J. J. (2010). Sociology (Ed. 13). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
Segura, Liliana. April 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.alternet.org/rights/146550/study_settles_it:_shocking_black_&_latino_imprisonment_rates_the_result_of_racist,_punitive_impulse
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