Tammy

The movie we watched this week in class featured a segment where a woman named Tammy was interviewed. We learned that she lives in a trailer with her four kids, doesn't own a car, and walks 10 miles to her job at a Burger King. I felt really bad for Tammy and her family. To me it seems like Tammy is trying so hard to make something of herself, but she's not really succeeding. That's kind of a difficult concept for me to understand because I've always been told that if you try hard enough, you'll be able to achieve anything. Apparently that doesn't apply to everybody. I don't know if Tammy will ever be able to achieve her dream of being a school teacher. Her kids have a better chance at achieveing their goals, but it will still be very difficult for them. Even if the kids succeed in moving up to a higher class, they will still be known as the outsiders. They won't truly belong. I think the son will be able to achieve his goals. He, unlike Tammy, doesn't really have anything holding him back. He doesn't have to care for others, he only has to worry about himself, which makes it easier for him to move up a social class.

Drugs and Deviance

       In the United States, drugs are generally considered deviant. Punishments for drug possession are so harsh in some states. In one state (I forget which) you can get a life sentence for selling, even if it's your first offense. That's at the same level as serial killers and rapists. Some rapists/murderers actually end up serving less than their sentence and getting out. Should drug dealing really be punishable at the same level as killing somebody? I don't think so. There's no direct harm occuring when drugs are sold. If somebody wants to risk taking the drug, then that's their decision. The dealer isn't forcing them to take it, so why would someone who sells face such a harsh punishment. They're just trying to run a business. In reality, it would actually be really convenient for the government to legalize certain drugs. Imagine all the money they would make off of the taxes. It would reduce a substantial amount of our country's debt.
       Also, it seems that only the lower classes are busted for drug possession, use, etc. It's something that all classes do, so either punish everybody or punish no one. Punishing the impoverished people does no good. If law enforcement really wanted to stop the usage of drugs, they should go after the heads of illegal drug selling operations. Those are the guys who bring it to the people in poverty. They're the ones causing the so-called problem, but because they're wealthy they're overlooked. Drug usage goes on in all different kinds of neighberhoods, but only the lower class areas ever get busted. I can definetely see that going on around where I live.

Saints vs Roughnecks

The study done by Howard Chambliss about saints and roughnecks was really interesting to read about. The results of it, however, were not that suprising. It's only logical that the kids with money will get away with more stuff than the kids without money. The kids with money have influential parents who will be able to get their kids out of trouble. It's not that big of a deal for them to hire an expensive lawyer who will make the problem go away. On the other hand, roughnecks don't have the money to hire a lawyer who'll make the problem go away. They have to face the consequences of their actions. Also, the kids with money have a place to go to be deviant and they have means of transportation to get them to that place. Roughnecks don't really have a place to go to be deviant, so they're more likely to get caught. I think our school is definetely personnified by the saints. We live in an upper middle class neighberhood. Most families here are wealthy, meaning the kids in this neighberhood have places to go to be deviant. If somebody is caught, then parents can pay off a lawyer to make the problem disappear. I'm sure there are some roughnecks at are school, but they are overshadowed by the saints. Not everybody at our school is socially deviant, but of those who are a majority of them are saints. Because I go to a school where so much deviance occurs, it's almost a social norm for me. Not that being the "good kid" is deviant, but how can rule breaking be deviant when everybody does it? Wouldn't it just become a norm for our community?

Teens and Society

There are many different expectations for teens. Mostly, though, teens are seen as irresponsible. We can't drive a car until 16, and we basically can't make any personal decisions until 18. We can't vote, we can't drink, we can't even see R rated movies until we're 17. I've never understood where these age limitations came from. Just because I'm 17 doesn't mean I all of a sudden gained knowledge about the world that makes it so I can see an R rated movie. What I don't get most about age limits is at 18 I can go join the army and die for my country, but I can't have a drink. What? I'd say joining the army requires a lot more responsibilty than drinking. And when I turned 16, I didn't all of a sudden figure out how to drive a car responsibly. Age is just a number, it's more about maturity level than anything else. I know adults who shouldn't be trusted to drive a car, and I also know younger teens who could drive a car responsibly. By setting these age limits, society shows that it doesn't trust teens to perform certain tasks. Society says that teens are suppose to be dependent and irresponsible, but when we gain the ability to drive a car, or vote it's not like we became independent and responsible at that moment. It has to be learned and society's not teaching us. You can't expect someone to live a carefree life for 18 years, then on their 18th birthday give the person a bunch of responsibilites. The person won't know how to handle it. Society makes it really difficult for teens to adjust to adult life. Studies have been done that show the age of actual independence is going up to the late 20's. I see this all around me. So many of my friends depend on their parents for every little thing. I can't really sympathize with that because from a young age, my parents have taught me to be independent and responsible. As I get older and older, I've been given more and more responsibilites. I know that when I start living on my own I'll be able to take care of myself because I've already been doing it.