Question 1
Behaviors become crimes through a process of social construction. Social constructionism has a meaning of acts, actions and events are assigned to them by people through social interaction. A given act of behavior such as domestic violence, race or ethnic bias becomes a social problem through a process social groups making claims to advance and change the behavior of some of the members of the society. Deviance being a violation of rules of behavior that are typical outside the code of conduct required by society. It also provides solidarity among those who support the norm to have a positive social change. Crime is an act of defiance that not only break the rule but the legal as well and can be punishable by then legal authority. One major sociological insight is that deviance is not a psychological attribute of individuals neither their actions but a product of social processes such as cultural and legal activities of the people through intervention with moral entrepreneurs (Little 8). Three theoretical approaches have been discussed by scholars explain deviance and crime to the society namely:
Functionalism: Sociologist who follows this path are always concerned with the different elements of a society and its contribution to the people. Further, they viewed deviance as an essential part of a successfully functioning society.
Symbolic Interactionism: It is a theoretical approach that is used to explain how social groups interpret behaviors as unusual or conventional. A key component of this method is to put emphasis on social processes by which defiant activities and identities are defined. Deviance in created through interactions between different individuals and authorities within the society through learning (33).
Crime and deviance: the theory suggests that crimes are determined by the surrounding environment and enforced by people around the community. A government legislation body known as Safe Streets and Communities Act was passed to control crime committed and preventive strategies to the accused such as drug rehabilitation center and social reintegration programs to help them change their behaviors (43). This perspective helps us see and understand society’s views on some actions, control measure and make appropriate decisions about different ideas from members of the community.
Question 2
Racial strife is a political and social concern both to the leaders and citizens in the US. It is aimed at eliminating different race groups and merges them as one unit through educational learning in institutions as the most affected people are African- American children. Due to the demographic changes in US economy, educating minority groups have led to greater impact as most of them after graduating get positions to public offices hence boosting their financial income and status reducing the racial injustices by White Americans. Minority status is driven mostly by government agencies in the country on the treatment of race and ethnicity differences creating unequal opportunities to all individuals (Santow and Rothstein 2). In the 21st Century, American leaders made education for everyone to be equal as it was the key to success despite race, religion and social class. Formation of a federal law program was to create good academic standards to all students and graded be highly qualified. Improved education both in public and private school has played a significant role in producing a large active and constant achievement gap between white Americans children and the American minority students. The focus was to bring together the students (10).
In conclusion, deviance and crime in a society can be corrected by lawmakers in collaboration with the community members. Despite different norms by corporations, every person needs to understand the importance of proper conduct and to obey the law to avoid getting punished. The goal of achieving educational equity achievable through administrative and financial programs provide by the government. In the future, moral standards of multicultural education should be made available to all teachers in learning institutions and policies to guide them eliminate the racial differences among the students.
Works Cited
Bryant D. Clifton. The Routledge Handbook of Deviant Behavior. 2011. Web 1 May 2016.
<http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781134015580_sample_525371.pdf>
Little William. Chapter 7. Deviance, Crime and Social Control.n.d Web 1 May 2016.
<https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/chapter/chapter7-deviance-crime-and-social-control/>
Santow Mark and Rothstein Richard. Educational inequality and the continuing significance of racial segregation. Aug 2012. Web 1 May 2016.
<http://www.epi.org/publication/educational-inequality-racial-segregation-significance/>
