The Interactionist’s Introspective
The Labelling Theory as put forward by interactionist Howard S. Becker attempts to show that deviance occurs when one group creates a label for deviance and subsequently attributes their label of deviance to other groups, thus resulting in deviant behaviour only considering to be deviant based on which group you would be in. This theory can be seen as a form of relativism theory because the criteria for judgement varies form individual to individual and also from time and from circumstances. It is my opinion that this labelling is mostly prevalent in countries with mixed and populations like North America where the groups would be big enough to make this classification even though it can and does happen in counties with smaller populations. Racial profiling is a type of labelling that is used by law enforcement officers in North America, this type of labelling is used in the apprehension of non-Caucasian criminals, racial profilers make a pre-judgement that certain races are responsible for deviant or criminal activity and any action they perform that is a diversion of the normal behaviour is considered deviant behaviour regardless of the situation or circumstances, so if a crime is committed in a district automatically the search for the suspect is narrowed down to someone of a no-Caucasian race typically blacks. Police departments in America have denied using racial profiling as a method of apprehending criminals and have dismissed it as a myth.
Marxist Mentality on Deviance
From reading the theories of the Marxist I have concluded that deviance for their point of view would be the result of the working class of society reacting to the oppression that they are subjected to by the ideologies of the ruling class of society. This reaction takes the form of civil unrests as well as coups that are organised to overturn the ruling class of society and thus freeing themselves from the daily oppression that they face.
The ruling class have what everyone else seeks at some point in their lives; material possessions. The working class seek what they cannot necessarily have because of the unequal distribution of wealth and this is where the deviance comes in; the working class will attempt to gain these material possessions by illegal methods like stealing, which would be a deviant and criminal act because it is contrary to the way in which possessions are obtained.
Crime & Deviance in the Caribbean
If one has been keeping abreast of the current affairs in the Caribbean you would have noticed that there as been an upsurge in the recent years of deviant and criminal acts performed by some members of the society. Guyana has been plagued by a spate of kidnappings, Trinidad has seen a number of fatal gang related shootings and kidnappings, involving government officials, and Barbados has been affected by several shootings and armed robberies. The question is what causes this crime and deviant behaviour ion our society? Can this behaviour be stopped?
Some people say that this deviant behaviour is caused by the media or Hollywood and it is the result of cultural penetration in our society, but he answer to this question is not so simple to attribute it to just one factor. In believe that deviance is a combination of factors like: (1) The breakdown in the family structure (2) The negative impact of the electronic media on our society (3) Slavery.
The family is the said to be the building block of society and is the primary agent for socialisation of the individual. The character of an individual is formed by the family he is socialised in and his behaviour influenced by his family. This is all said to show that a person raised in an abusive or any other family setting that is of deviant behaviour is much more likely to display this behaviour more than someone who did not grow up in that type of family setting.
Slavery plays an important role in the cause and effect of deviance in Caribbean societies. Slavery had a serious effect on the psyche of the people that were subject to this cruel and usual treatment as well as it affected the mentality of those who inflicted it.
The slaves developed a subjective and low self esteem whereas the slave-owners and those who ruled over them gained a controlling mentality. These two classes would develop two different people; the oppressed vs. his oppressor. This leads to a conflict; the conflict was presented in the form of slave revolts and slave runaways which in the plantation society were deviations from the behaviour that was expected from them. This type of behaviour was met with punishment if the slaves involved were caught.
This same mentality is said to be still existent in our society, where this is exacted out in the kidnappings of government officials, could the people of these countries be feeling oppressed and are expressing their feelings by kidnapping government officials.
The media undeniable has impacted on the Caribbean society, even though the media it self is not responsible for deviant behaviour, it influences the individuals whose minds are subject to negative material. It has been said that some criminals have admitted to carry out deviant activities that they had witnessed at some point in time on the television. The media forms a sort of false ideology by portraying an unrealistic view of real life events giving people a distorted and glamorised view of violence. This glamorised violence is thought to be cool and is exacted out by the people who witnessed it and where influenced by it in a negative way.
In conclusion deviance can be said to be detrimental on our society but when deviance is used to the betterment of the masses then the ends can have been said to justify the means.
