Social Classes and Structures

Many people hear the terms social status and rank in their earlier years, but don't really know the meaning behind it or what it represents. That was me as well, I always though social status had to do with how many materialistic objects you own and what job you have, but it's much more than that. It's where you live, whom you associate yourself with, what kind of education are you getting and much, much more... Social classes break down into many categories and many people variate in different statuses throughout their lifespan. There are opportunities for so called "ranking up" or "ranking down" as you become more prestigious or more deviant. Sadly there are only specific amount of people that are available to work themselves up the social classes and most people are stuck in the class that they were born in.

As I was watching the video "People Like Us", I came to realize many things that I've never thought about before. I never realized that people can be so observatory and make assumptions based on the products you buy or the clothing you wear. I've seen it happen before, but not to such a degrading level as it was shown in the video. American society is primary ruled by money and it troubles me seeing people labeling other based on how much money they own. It bothered me especially when the video portrayed this woman who worked at burger king and had to walk miles just to get to work and make the little money she could to support her family, yet she was not being respected for it and her kids were ashamed of her. This women was making money by any means she could to keep her family secure yet it was still not enough and her kids were not satisfied. Now, what does that tell about our society nowadays?

"Positive Functions of the Underserving Poor" by Herbert Gans

Herbert J. Gans underlines the importance of people who live in poverty and their roles in society. He mentions that while most people associate negative factors with the poor, there are also some positive attributes that the people in poverty bring to the society. Herbert Gans details the functions of the undeserving poor in the society and  he breaks them down into five categories. These five categories are: Microsocial, Economic, Normative, Political and Macrosocial. These category have thirteen sup-parts that detail the negative or positive effect. He names a category and then goes more into detail on the concern or cause effect that the undeserving poor contribute to the society. As an example in no.4 "Supplying illegal goods" Gans argues that immigrants and people in poverty are more likely to distribute illegal goods such as supplies or drugs. With less job opportunities, these people are being subjected to make extra money by illegal means.

I find Herbert J. Gans argument to be valid because he explains not only the negative effects of the undeserving poor, but also presented the ways in which the poor can be stigmatized. Mr. Gans provides opportunities and reason why the poor community should be given a opportunity to work and become stigmatized. He also discusses the importance of stereotyping the ones in poverty and talks about change of norms that we should adjust towards these people. I agree with the fact that by stereotyping we encourage and provoke these behaviors and attitudes rather than changing or improving them. I also agree with the fact that the poor are not driven to commit deviant acts, rather then making these decisions because of need for survival. Poverty is a serious problem which can never go away, but at least we can lower it and accept it without stereotyping.

Deviance

People have always tried to find their belonging in the society. For some people being deviant or rebellious is their own belief in "fitting into society". They want to break apart from the dominant culture and not follow the rules. Being deviant means differing from a norm or from the accepted standards of a society. They shape themselves to obtain different from of norms, especially a person whose behavior and attitudes differ from accepted social standards.

I considered myself to be deviant all throughout my high school years. I would only scan for attendance or sometimes not even go at all. My and my so called "friends" would stay over someones home and just try to "party" all the time. This almost resulted in me not graduating on time, but I managed to talk to my teachers and councilors and come up with a solution for me, so I could graduate with my peers.Almost not graduating with my peers scared me because I didn't want to get left behind. This kind of fast paced life style and all the things that came with it fascinated us. We wanted to live the lifestyle that many celebrities live and pride themselves for. Since I am very outgoing I still try to attend as many events and parties as I can, but with moderation. I take school as my priority and my deviant acts and weekend pleasures are secondary to that. I think it all comes down to realizing the consequences and deliberating on your own personal decision and actions.