Deviance and Conformity

This article relates to the labeling theory. This article discusses how social interaction can corrupt people's minds. Like we have discussed in class, deviant acts are only deviant based on the reactions that society gives to those actions labeling them deviant. For example, this article brought up the Michael Jackson story when he held his baby over the balcoony. Some labeled him as a bad father being deviant because holding his baby over the balcony was dangerous, others lableded him as a good father for being proud of his child. Deviant acts are labeled differently based on the different reactions of society. Many things however are normal deviant violations that are labeled as alochol abuser or drug abuser. In this article it discusses how if a parent thinks that their child is hanging out with the wrong crowd, or the alochol and drug abusers, then they will prevent their child from hanging out with these poeple. At the same time these parents are also labeling the childrens friends as alochol abusers and drug abusers. These other children then get them deviant image of themselves in their heads. Now they are more likely to conform with others that fit into that group with the same lable. This is know as secondary deviance and is the begining of someone's deviant lifestyle. By identifying themselves with this deviant lable, they also relate that with a negative concept. So the child's friends may not have even been alochol or drug abusers, but just because they were labled that way they are more likely to identify themselves with that label and follow those trends to fit in with that group.

Connections that I can make to everyday life would be that I have seen many people act in deviant ways just to feel apart of a group. It is sad when you think you know someone and then they start not acting like themselves just so that they can "fit in." I also know many parents in the community that lable kids and many times the lables that they have set in their mind for certain people are wrong. A lot of parents can judge kids before they get to know them based on what they have heard which is not always true. This is sad because some relationships can end based off of false judgement.