Deviance in court and jail

1.       The courtroom was actually small and it was definitely not like the ones you see on TV where it looks all cool and official.  Instead it just looked more like a classroom type.   The trial was about a murder case that took place in Addison on February 26, 2006.  Gary Schuning a Caucasian man allegedly got into an argument with his mom, pushed her down the stairs, then stabbed her with a kitchen knife in her chest 40 times then dragged her body into her room and placed a comforter to cover the body.  Schuning then took his mom credit card and hired three escorts, only two left and when the last one noticed a bloody knife in the bathroom she called her pimp and then was also killed.  The pimp called the police department and found Schuning on a bed with cuts and stab wounds to his hands and chest and the escorts body on the floor next to the bed.  The defendant claims his hands were injured because he tried to stop a murderous group that killed his mom. Garys case was a criminal case because of the crime he committed being a felony crime.  The court starts exactly at the time its scheduled and then everyone stands up even the judge when the juror comes in, once seated the first witness is called in this case the sergeant/ supervisor for the evidence technician which they document the scene, ID and collect evidence.   From all the theories we have learned I would say that all of them would pretty much apply to him.  Some examples are the control theory because he is placed in jail to control his behavior and keep him out of society so he won’t go off killing more people.  The shaming theory would also go with this case.  Disintegrative of the shaming theory would show how he is being punished and rejected not only from his family (most likely) but also from society alone.  He is also being rejected in a way in jail because they separate the criminals depending on the crime they committed and for him to be placed with all the other killers tells the other inmates what he did and some of them would maybe hurt him because of the crime he committed.  Recidivism was also a HUGE part of his case because not only did he do it once but he did twice and in one day. 

2.       When walking into the jail and taking a glance at some of the inmates I did notice that the most dominant was young Hispanic males.  The others were mostly old or in their middle age Caucasian males.  As looking at their lifestyle and the conditions of the jail I would say that there would be more of a retribution because taking away for completely all their freedom and privacy for a long time because of their acts would serve as a punishment for them which for some they would not commit the same crime.  I think that in jail the shaming theory would apply because they are isolated from society and seen as criminals inside and even outside even if for some they weren’t.  The control theory would also apply because the jail control every aspect of their behavior and do their best to keep them out from society.  I don’t think that jail alone is the best way to prevent deviancy because with that there has to be other components that help.  I think that with jail there should be more rehab help and other things that would actually help the wrongdoer understand that what he did is not good and that they can always better themselves and succeed.  Better classes like schooling and anger management would also be helpful to prevent deviance.  Overall jail is worst than what I had imagined it to be.  The fact that everything is controlled and even the air you breathe is not air makes me feel bad for the inmates.  No light whatsoever was going through any walls inside the jail, they are kept like animals in a cage and they are not even allowed to do much.  Its was pretty scary just to see the reaction of some of them when they actually saw someone different in gender, age, and occupation because you notice the comments made and the looks of some of them like if they gained some type of freedom.  I kind of do understand them because they are always used to seeing the same people, same police officers, and same genders without even being allowed to go anywhere, so for them to react the way they did would perfectly be normal.

Deviancy

I found myself thinking sociologically when my cousin was in ISS.  She got into ISS because of tardiness, she was definitely not looking forward to ISS because she had never been there so she didn’t know what to expect.  Before she even went in there she was kind of nervous because ISS is always seen as bad.  That day after school I asked her how it went, her response was not that bad.  She said she actually liked it because you have time to do your work, they take your lunch, and its quiet.  For her ISS was more of a good thing than a bad thing.  The next day when people asked her where she was in the morning during gym and she told them, they seem very shocked and they were kind of seeing her like a deviant.  I think she liked being seen a deviant because the next day she was late again and this time she had to finish her ISS plus a Saturday school.  Every time people ask her where she was or why she wasn’t in class she just laughs and thinks its funny instead of actually trying to work something out and end the school year all clean she doesn’t seem to care.  I think that in this situation the labeling theory takes effect.  The labeling theory says that if you are labeled as something you will do it more. She was labeled as a deviant and because of that it seems like she is being more deviant than before just so she can get to ISS.

Gender

 All of a sudden I found myself thinking sociologically when I was eating out with my aunt. She was asking my other aunt on her opinion to sending my four year old cousin to a private school because she was unsure because she didn't know if it would be better.  My four year old cousin hangs out mostly with my boy cousins and one girl cousin but she is already ten so theres a huge age difference and there is so much that both can do together.  My aunts answer was to sign her up for private school because she said that that way she would not become a tomboy and that they would teach her to sit properly and behave like a "young lady".  My aunt thought i went to a private school because when I used to live in Chicago like 6 years ago i would wear the usual white shirt and jeans or navy dress pants/skirt and my class would be in a church.  She used me as an example but i told her the reason for the uniform was that all Chicago public schools have to have the same uniform and the reason my class was in a church building was because the church was nice enough to let my school use that building and that is the reason why a school was built in front of the church. I told them both to just let her do what she wants I mean to me my four year old cousin seems pretty girly but to them shes not. This reminded me of the PowerPoint we saw in class comparing the boy and girl toys and how society tries to make us all perfect and they are the ones responsible for all the stereotypes in our society. 

Gender Roles

Before learning about gender socialization I did come to realize that while my mom was working my dad would sometimes be home and he would be the one cooking and cleaning in the kitchen.  When my dad would be at work and my mom would have her days off she would be the one cleaning and my grandma cooking.  I do remember when my friend came to my house he came through the kitchen and saw my dad cook and he was just shocked.  He thought it was really weird to see my dad cook because he thought my mom always cooked.  My response to that was no, my mom rarely cooks the person who does the most cooking is my dad.  When I tell people that my dad does the most cooking they all look at me with a weird look and I understand why.  They are still used to the guy working and the girl staying home and taking care of the house.  That same friend told me my family was weird and that he analyzes us. I thought it was weird yet funny and I asked why we were "weird", he said that in his family the men are the ones that say what goes and they dont let no women tell them what they have to do (very macho type).  In my family he said that the women are the ones that say what goes, I thought it was funny because in some way it is.  In my family even though married the women is more independent and are almost the head of the house when it comes to making some decisions.  This reminded me of the gender role cartoons and how we had to reverse them and do the opposite of the stereotype. 

Sociology in talkshows

All of a sudden I found myself thinking sociologically when I was watching this talk show and the theme was young children and their problems with the parents.  Basically one part was the teens doing whatever they wanted and the other part was teens not doing anything, but hard work.  The one said teens were drinking, not going to school, doing whatever they wanted and the parents needed help controlling them and finding a way to cope with them.  On the other side the parents were really strict on the children and did not let them do anything but hard work.  They were really strict to the children and that was what the show was about taking part of one side and putting it to other for help.

Looking at it in a sociological point according to Mead the relationship between the teens whose parents pushed them to the extreme wont have the ability to form a close and happy bond and because of this it would affect their personality in the future.  Same thing goes with the parents and teens who are not doing anything good.  They both need to find a balance between being a parent and being a friend or between being strict and being lenient.

Yes? No? Maybe so?

All of a sudden I found myself thinking sociologically when I saw culture clash occurring in the store.  I was with my grandma and she was trying to get the price of an item, but at that moment I was somewhere else and when I came back she was standing with the employee and she was smiling and the employee was looking very confused.  Apparently my grandma was trying to ask him for the price and he was trying to understand her so every guess he would do she would just say yes and smile.  He was very confused and did not know what she wanted.  I had to end up translating and the employee told me he was very confused because she kept saying yes to everything and he did not know what to exactly do.  My grandma thought he was understanding her and that's why she kept saying yes.  They both found it kind of frustrating the fact that they weren't understanding each other.  This showed a very good example of culture clash were the two cultures could not interact because of the language barrier.

Media influences American society

I saw sociology when I was in my lunch table and we were talking about tv shows and teen mom came up. This reminded me of how media is one thing that plays a big role in American society. We were talking about how many teens specially girls watch it and feel guided by them in good and bad ways. One of my friends was talking about how she feels it's a good show because it helps guide teen moms in the sense that they share the same feelings and have an idea of what to do and how to solve some of their problems. On the other hand I think that it's bad because it misguides teens into thinking that being pregnant is okay because you might be famous or you might have the same life as everyone else. This is an example of how media is a big part in American society because it changes the way people think and influences their actions.