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Category Archives: Assignment 4
Bad Police Officers
In the Daily News on Aug 15, there was an article of police officers robbing. Now this has become a too often coincidence that police officers are abusing their power. Not only did they commit these crimes guns, knifes and even “bogus warrants,” they were getting away with it for almost a year. This string of robberies started in Oct of 2011, and they have continued until the feds caught up with them. I feel that once again police officers have betrayed their citizens trust. We do know that they are some good police officers out there, but finding those bad picks from bunch, is giving the nypd such a bad name and reputation. These type of news are happening way to often. We talk about surveillance on us, and how it deters us from doing something wrong, so i wonder what type of surveillance are these police officers not receiving, that they are doing all these terrible things?
-Armenis P.
Medications Are a Form of Social Control
This video ties into the reading “From Badness to Sickness: Changing Designations of Deviance and Social Control” by Conrad and Schneider. In Frontline’s documentary “Medicating Kids”, a 6th grader Noelle is diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin following misbehavior at school, including fights and suspensions. Her initial reaction to being prescribed is that the Ritalin helps her to do better in everything that she’s doing, increases her attention span, and helps her concentrate. This is important because she is involved in gymnastics and performing poor in school, and the Ritalin’s effect on her increases her performance in both. Her teachers are happy that her behavior has changed and that they no longer have to deal with her past aggressive behavior.
Noelle’s parents were hesitant to put her on Ritalin, but her mother said that she decided to go through with it after talking to two doctors. The doctors told her that so many studies had been done on Ritalin, proving it’s safety and effectiveness. This relates to the article, where it says that the technological advances of the 20th century have legitimized medical treatment of behavioral problems.
However, Noelle eventually wants to stop taking Ritalin when she realizes how it affects her mood. She is no longer vibrant and as socially active as she used to be. But Noelle’s parents encouraged her to take the Ritalin, citing her better performance in school and gymnastics. Noelle reminded her parents that they told her that she did not have to take medication if she didn’t want to, that it was up to her. This reflects the issue of patient’s rights brought up in the article, when conflicts arise between what the physician and patient want:
“In modern technological societies, medicine has followed a technological imperative- that the physician is responsible for doing everything possible for the patient- while neglecting such significant issues as the patient’s rights and wishes…” (Conrad & Schneider, 149).
Her physician’s aim was to legitimize his job and control her behavior by prescribing Ritalin. Noelle’s wish was to have a better social life in school, which was severly impeded by the Ritalin.
At the end of the video, Noelle says that ADHD is
“not something you can prevent.”
This reflects the second condition mentioned in the article pertaining to the patient’s “sick role” as part of the physician-patient relationship.
“It is this relationship that serves the key social control function of minimizing the disruptiveness of sickness to the group or society.” (Conrad & Schneider, 145).
The condition that Noelle is referring to, that her doctor most likely taught her to think, is that
“…the individual is not held responsible for his or her condition and cannot be expected to recover by an act of will.” (Conrad & Schneider, 145)
– Kelly Reznick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAA1BR5-dR4
Posted in Assignment 4
Tagged ADHD, Conrad and Schneider, control, delinquency, medicalization of deviance
21 Comments
China Wants Change
According to this Forbes article, China’s sovereign wealth fund wants to buy a large enough chunk of Facebook, so that it can control its image abroad, as well as censor much of what the site already allows, because the People’s Republic of China is weary of social media and the freedom it propagates. Although the article is careful to mention that the fund would only be able to buy non voting stock, and that even a billion dollars worth of stock would be only about a hundredth percent of the total amount once the stock goes public, the idea of the article is clear: China wants to take away our social media freedom , and control us.
A Sassy Control Agent or a Smart Shopper?
As was apparent in the little bit of Foucault that we read in class, control and capitalism go hand in hand. The author of the article states that China figures that if it can buy its way into our social media, then it can control us. We owe China so much money that it practically owns us already, and now it wants to own our favorite pastime?
I don’t think that the Chinese sovereign wealth fund is all that interested in telling us Crazy Americans what to do. Maybe it just wants to be a bank and fulfill its wealth-making function, a la capitalism. I don’t think it’s possible for China to own us anymore than it already does. Anytime we feel threatened, we like to demonize the perceived threat, make it worse than it really is. Especially if we’re in control.
Is Race to Blame?
The Australian government has come out with a report that claims racism is NOT the main motive in the ever increasing attacks on foreign students. Australia’s Institute of Criminology believe the attacks are solely related to “opportunistic criminals” who prey on foreign students who work late hours and take public transportation when getting out of work. However, critics strongly believe racism is the driving factor in these violent attacks.
If you ask me, I believe these incidents are occurring because of both racism and factors such as being in the wrong place most of the time. Students from India seem to be targeted the hardest and Australian government attributes this to hours they take public transportation. Here’s an excerpt from the article that summarizes their view:
‘“A lot of the robberies that we have seen that have contributed to their over-representation appear to be linked to the fact that they are working in industries that are trading late at night, that potentially have lower levels of security, which arguably are those that are traditionally targeted by robbers irrespective of racial motivation,” said Jason Payne, the research manager at the Violence and Serious Crime Monitoring Program at the Institute of Criminology in Canberra. “There was also a double in the rate of robberies against students from an Indian background that occurred in locations like service stations, late-night trading convenience stores and in taxis or in and around taxi ranks.”’
While some of these facts are indisputable I would argue that race still plays a role. Jesse Marshall, the president of Australia’s National Union of Students, makes a great argument by saying:
“When you have got Indian international students three times more likely than American international students to be assaulted on or near public transport, how can you say the color of that student’s skin has not had anything to do with the fact that they have been assaulted.”
I find this argument the strongest and believe racism is the stronger driving force.
Posted in Assignment 4
Comments Off on Is Race to Blame?
Brain scans reveal the criminal mind
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41896386/ns/health-mental_health/t/brain-scans-reveal-criminal-mind/
The article starts off by stating that there is a difference (that can be seen in physical terms) between “normal” human brains and that of the illusive “Criminal Mind”. Illusive in the sense that since Lombroso, criminal theorists have tried time again, to find the necessary difference in biology that creates the propensities and recidivism in some, as well as the apparent absence in the majority (deviancy). The article uses the example of people who are diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and specifically the size and growth patterns of their amygdala. It also states that there is also differences in behavior between deviants and normal people through measuring fear response. It even goes into the ethical issues that arise, such questions as:”What to do with at-risk children and by what method”. It also affects the law, because one can easily argue that since they are compromised individuals (elements of Goffman’s stigma) they are not responsible for their actions; but we can relegate this argument to a slippery slope argument.
In the article “The Brain on the Stand” that we discussed in class, we again revisit some of Lombroso’s legacy the same search for the biological criminality, but by different methods; that of the f.M.R.I. and neuroscience. And like the article above it also ponders the question of the problem of holding people accountable for their predispositions (if the criminal biology exists in a somewhat meaningful form) rather then their actions, as codified by the Anglo-American principles of jurisprudence. Both articles echo each other in content but, the article in class gives us a much more complementary experience (incorporating Lombroso into the discussion).
Punishing children
After reading this article it was funny to me how the mother punished the little boy. All the little kid did was lie about misbehaving in school. I understand the mother is trying to implement the right morals and conduct on the boy but with hot sauce and a cold shower. Come on is the boy actually going to learn anything from that, I really doubt it. The boy is from Russia, your not going to teach this boy anything by squeezing hot sauce in his month and making him tell you that you lied. Coming from a Russia, you better have something better than that, that little kid is not going to learn anything. You got to come up with something better than that.
Funny thing is this story made Dr.Phil and now the mother is on trial. Yeah it is kinda harsh to do that to a little kid but putting somebody on trial for that, I wonder what kind of punishment the court is going to give her. You got all these lunatics on the lose in US and their worried about a mother that punishes her kid with hot sauce and a cold shower. Cold shower probably helped since his mouth was burning a bit. When this kid is going to grow up, he will definitely laugh about this. This just shows how some small deviance is taking out of proportion. I think US just tries to show how good their justice system is but it just shows how ridiculous it is.
Are Microhips the Solution or the Problem?
With all the talk about surveillance we’ve done in this course, I figured this would be an appropriate clip to show. This clip (Microchip Implants) talks about how everything is becoming more digitized, and in a few years everyone will have chips implanted in them, which upon scanning will be able to divulge personal information, financial information, medical information, and basically your entire life in a single scan. It also discussed new facial recognition technology which police will be able to use to track criminals. Facebook actually introduced similar face recognition technology to a lot of negative criticism and privacy groups, because they felt it was a violation of peoples rights. The benefits that would come with such technologies would be tempting to anyone. Who wouldn’t want to have more affective methods of catching criminals (besides criminals themselves), the amount of man hours and money that would be saved would be phenomenal and all that money and time could be allocated towards other tasks, increasing overall productivity. How great would it be if people would no longer have to carry keys or cash and could just open and pay for everything with a finger swipe? Crimes like robbery would go way down and people’s general sense of security would rise. Of course there are the security issues, there are people who do not see the benefits of this technology and just view it as another method of government surveillance and tracking. All of that information could and probably would be stored somewhere, and could be potentially used against you, may it be something as innocent as advertising or something as sinister as blackmail.
Psychopaths Can Recover
Reading the article in the New Yorker, by Seabrook, about psychopathy, I was interested in finding out the way the people with this condition are being treated. While searching for information I came upon video on someone who was in prison with psychopathy. A man who committed manslaughter and robbery is now trying to convince people that he is okay and is now trying to get back into society.
This raises the question about the way in which we treat this condition. I feel that much of society looks at it as deviant behavior because it is out of the norm how we “ought to act” then classifies it as criminal. I agree with what this video states that we need to change the way in which we treat them. Most of our prisons try to suppress their anxiety; however they need to change the way they think and how to change their behavior, whether it’s by group therapy or by social interaction like we see in the video.
According to the article in the New Yorker psychopaths‘s main defect is a serve emotional detachment, defined as a lack of empathy and remorse. So doesn’t the prison system make you feel more emptiness and a greater remorse? So the point made in the article is how the justice system viewed them as criminals, but is not their fault, it is the way their minds work.
This video states that we can’t view psychopaths as criminals we must treat them differently and maybe we will see some progress in treating people with this condition, and maybe some can improve enough to function in society.
How does Graffiti fit into Broken Window Theory?
Graffiti is often looked at from many different perspectives. This video illustrates Graffiti as either vandalism, or an art form. A local store owner, whose business is riddled with Graffiti, thinks its vandalism, while a Los Angeles Museum exhibits it as art. But these different viewpoints force us to ask whether or not Graffiti acts as a stimulus in the collapse of a community.
The question this video asks is not correct for our argument. A more pertinent question would be, how does the community view Graffiti, as art or vandalism? If Graffiti is viewed as vandalism, then it acts as the “broken window.” But, if the Graffiti is viewed as art, then it is simply art; something to be studied and scrutinized.
The fact that Graffiti is such a broad term, makes it difficult to draw a distinction. There are the obvious distinctions of vandalism, where areas are “tagged” with the Graffiti artists’ symbols and lettering. On the other hand lies a form of art, which are walls covered in beautiful portraits and designs. This website is called the “Movement of Graffiti Art” and shows some spectacular images.
The Graffitiing of a store’s riot gates puts an odd twist on how the general feeling within a community changes from day to night. Given the fact that riot gates are closed at night, if more Graffiti is visible at night, does this mean a certain area turns into a lawless wasteland when the sun goes down? This is an extreme overstatement, but if Graffiti does act as the “broken window,” then an emergence of Graffiti may entice nocturnal crime.
Real Life Superheroes
We often talk about deviance and deviants as people who do things outside of society in a negative way. This week I watched “Superheroes” a documentary on HBO about people who consider themselves real-life superheroes and do what superheroes do: fight crime. Clearly these people are deviating from the societal norm by dressing up in costumes and fighting crime themselves rather than relying on law enforcement officers to do so. While at first they seem a bit foolish, their intentions are actually quite sweet. Most of the superheroes had bad childhoods and were teased and abused. Since they had been impacted personally by crime, they decided that they would dedicate their time to fighting crime.
One of the crime-fighting organizations even managed to get a non-profit status, although most of them are considered a liability by police officers. I think this documentary was so interesting to me because it dealt with people who are considered “at risk” for becoming criminals, who in fact did the opposite. While it’s hard to know how legitimate the portrayal of the superheroes was, the presence of a camera may have influenced their actions one way or another, it seems that it was pretty accurate.
I really enjoyed watching this documentary and would highly recommend it. While it doesn’t seem like they are too efficient at combating actual crime, it does seem like they are making a difference in their daily encounters with people and through this documentary, by inspiring people to make a difference. Corny, but real.
