Deviance Sociologists general defines deviance as “an action that is perceived as violating a society’s or groups cultural norm”. Deviance can be perceived in many different ways. Vegetarians and Muslims are both groups that do not consume meat. Although these groups are not breaking the law. Their behavior is different than what is accepted to be normal. One of the best examples to portray how deviance has transformed over time is slavery. During the 18th and much of the 19th century, it was perfectly legal for Americans to own slaves. During this time period slaves were not looked at as humans. Most slaves were subjected to abuse, cruel labor, forced marriage or rape. Slavery was officially abolished in 1865. Slavery is a great example to …show more content…
When something becomes illegal there is then a higher chance for it to be considered deviant. During that time it was common for people to try to find ways around the law or limitation. Drug stores were selling alcohol labeled as “medicine”. Breweries were forced to get creative by selling “near beer”. “Near beer” was a drink that contained less than 0.5% alcohol. During the prohibition era speakeasy bars were formed. Speakeasy bars were hidden rooms where alcohol was served. Until the ban on alcohol was lifted in 1933 many people had hidden stills on their property. The prohibition of alcohol is a great example of when something is made illegal, there is a higher chance for it to be considered deviant. Marijuana also follows a similar path as alcohol followed. Marijuana users were once considered regular members of society. That changed in 1937 when marijuana was official made illegal. After that day, all marijuana users were then considered deviant. Even though marijuana is illegal, the demand for it has not subsided. The growers of marijuana were forced to get clever with the location they grow the plant. Many growers grew their plant in secluded locations. Hidden deep in
Prohibition was in full effect due to the eighteenth amendment being added to the Constitution of the United States. This new amendment took effect at the beginning of the decade on January 16, 1920. Prohibition made “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquours” illegal, but not the “consumption, private possession, or production for one’s own consumption” (George and Richards). While prohibition was a conservative idea, the new amendment sparked many innovative ideas from many Americans who did not agree with it. Examples of these new ideas included things such as speakeasies and bootlegging.
Cole Sandbrook Mr. Thompson English 11 12 November 2014 Prohibition Research Paper The United States enforced the prohibition movement in 1920 to reduce the drinking of alcohol by eliminating businesses that produced and sold alcohol. When alcohol was made illegal it increased organized crime because of an increase of bootleggers. People who produced, sold, and transported alcohol illegally were known as bootleggers. Once authorities caught on to the bootleggers, they had to come up with better ways to transport the alcohol unseen.
Many people tried to stop the sell of alcohol. That didn't stop people though.through mysterious ways. Secrecy was a way of life. Also addiction was very bad. Prohibition/bootlegging is used throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald to represent important themes such as mysteries, secrecy, and addiction.
Document J shows a short article written by Mabel Willebrandt that states that people loved it so much that even the people that made the law were breaking it. Alcohol was a very common drink for senators and congressmen. The University of Albany wrote that since you couldn't drink out in the public, people were forced to drink at home. This led to children being heavily influenced by illegal activity such as drinking illegally manufactured alcohol. A letter from Mrs. Hillyer to the authorities showed that people were actually using their money for alcohol instead of their necessities.
It was then made that it was illegal for anyone to sell "intoxication beverages," this means if a drink has more than 0.5% alcohol in it , then you can not sell it. Image take from: http://prohibitionclt.com/ This is the section in the white part of the slide. After this new law many people went to new, hidden locations that sold illegal alcohol.
America changed its mind though because depression started and murder rates started to rise. When prohibition got passed, a lot of people to get a taste of beer or whiskey back so bad that they were willing to do whatever it took for them to get it. A good majority of these people were gangsters, dope sellers, bootleggers, and racketeers, as shown in document A. They were all types of drunks.
Many people would bootleg alcohol to make a quick buck. Bootlegging is the sale, transportation, and importation of alcohol. They would smuggle it and import it from Canada or Mexico borders. The smugglers would not get paid nearly as much as who they were smuggling it for. Prohibition made it very easy for people to make a really big profit, but if one got caught they would be facing jail time.
The ratification stated that within one year, all manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes was to be strictly prohibited (George, Richards). This led to fear among alcoholics and mass manufacture of alcoholic beverages in preparation for the enforcement of this law. People began stockpiling alcohol in order to combat the amendment. Unfortunately for them, all reserves must run out, and as addicting as it is, alcohol is not an easy drug to give up, so by the time people had their alcohol taken away from them, they were willing to resort to illegal measures to get it back (Hanson). Illegal nightclubs known as “speakeasies” became second homes to many alcohol drinkers.
In general, Prohibition was enforced much more strongly in areas where the population was sympathetic to the legislation mainly rural areas and small towns and much more loosely in urban areas. The prohibition was also very difficult to enforce because the local police and commissionaires were receiving very lucrative bribes for they not to prosecute the bootleggers. Despite very early signs of success, including a decline in arrests for drunkenness and a reported 30 percent drop in alcohol consumption, those who wanted to keep drinking found ever-more inventive ways to do it. The illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor, also known as “bootlegging”, went on throughout the decade, along with the operation of “speakeasies”, nightclubs selling alcohol, the smuggling of alcohol across state lines and the informal production of liquor “moonshine” or “bathtub gin”, in private homes. This practice proved to be very dangerous because the level of alcohol was very high and that it could contain ethanol a dangerous type of alcohol that can be deadly.
The prohibition outlawed alcohol to try and diminish the crime rate. This led to a higher consumption of alcohol and illicit speakeasies. As fast as the police closed down one venue, more would spring up in its place (Prohibition in the United States). Government intrusion with the Volstead Act of 1919 outlawed beverages over 0.5 alcohol volume
In the 1920's, the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the consumption, distributing, and production of alcohol, was passed and seen as a failure as it filled the streets of America with criminals and gangsters. Americans saw the 18th Amendment as a violation of their constitution rights and often found a way to go around the amendment. For example, speakeasies, which was an illegal liquor store or night club during prohibition, began to emerge. This allowed Americans to go against tradition culture by socializing with other people who opposed Prohibition. The 18th Amendment raised crime rates within the United States.
It was 1920 in America and new amendment had been added to the constitution. It was called Prohibition. Prohibition was a law that made it illegal to sell, produce,import and consume alcohol. Many crimes occurred in 1920 that were alcohol related, so it was thought that if alcohol was banned, then crime rates would drop. How very wrong they were.
In America and all over the world, many different kinds of deviance occur. For instance, there is primary deviance, which has to do with undetected things like breaking the speed limit or shoplifting and secondary deviance, which entails labels such as “prostitute” and “pedophile” (Hughes & Kroehler, 2013, p.148, 149). Sense there are so many different kinds of deviance it is hard to pick just one or even a few primary causes. I feel that one of the main causes of deviance is human nature; there are so many people in the world and not one of them is the same. I feel that it is crazy to think that it is possible for everyone to conform, it is only natural that norms are challenged and rule are broken because there is no way that everyone
“Deviance is the violation of social norms that a society agrees upon” (Bélanger, 2014). In the trailer for The Fifth Estate, Julian Assange is a computer hacker and is the main character who deviates the norms of the society’s organization. In my opinion, I would describe the actions of WikiLeaks as a form of deviance because deviance is linked to the social power. Social power is the capability to attain goals while the others decide to compete against those goals.
According to the readings, Deviance can be considered as a general statement with many definitions and characteristics. For example, rendering to the relativist definition there is no universal meaning for this term, however, while sociologist reject the absolutism concept, they do not reject the Normative concept. The normative definition of deviance can be defined as a violation of a norm. In other words, a deviant person can just be the person that violates the norms and values that are common to society. For example, according to the theorist Emile Durkheim which came with the Anomie theory a person can suddenly become disconnected with norms and values that are standard in society.