Summary of "People Like Us".

This week's blog is a summary of the video of “People Like Us”. We are all unique, but we all have some niche that we belong to. What makes up that niche is hundreds of different factors where and to whom you were born, where you were raised and live, if you have both parents and what sort of car you drive, etc.

The drive for people to fit in is so strong that they buy objects which they do not use that will sit on the shelf and collects dust. So, what makes a person who they are? Is it money Is it whom you associate with? Is it your family and what connections you have? The opinions on this are numerous and a lot of them are charged with emotions.

A lot of people want to be a part of the higher class, even if its only a little higher than them. Some people work very hard at trying to fit in with the higher class. Some do a decent job and are able to fit in somewhat, while others stick out like a sore thumb leading the actual well-to-do people to wonder how did they get in?

Supposedly,America is where we all have an opportunity to get higher, it just requires hard work. However, for most people, that is not the way it works. The way it works is that you are likely to stay where you are and the way you were raised and maybe if you are lucky maybe you can raise your class by a little bit. So basically what you are born as is what you are destined to be for the rest of your life and probably for future generations.

The undeserving poor.

This weeks blog is about poverty and the undeserving poor,based on the article we were given to read. According to this article there are 13 positive points that poverty serves society ranging from that it sets a order of norms. Because without the deviant then what is a norm? One of the purposes it serves is that it creates jobs for other people who will try to reach out and help those of the undeserving poor. But the problem with this is,as stated by the article is that since these people have no power they are given very little resources to be helped and the help ends up not doing anything for them.

Another problem as illustrated by the author is that the more fortunate persons view the less fortunate as a threat some times more then others(Like during a economic slump). whether a physical threat like mugging or physical violence or economic threat like taking away jobs and depending on welfare and taxpayers dollars.

These are definitely good points I agree with them. As long as we continue to do what is comfortable instead of what is right things can only get worse and as we continue to not do anything

Deviance

What is a deviant? A deviant is someone who does not follow the norms of society. Now, as we discussed in class, what is considered deviation and who decides what is considered normal? Behavior that makes sense to the majority is usually considered the norm (not necessarily does one have to do with the other). My blog today is to discuss what is possible reasons behind deviance. People want to fit in and have friends. So, what causes someone to act out of the norm and draw (negative) attention to themselves? There are several possibilities. The first one is that they know what the norm is and for whatever reason they feel that it does not apply to them, such as people who park in no parking zones with phony plaques (like the incident in the Post today alleges) or that it does not conform with them when really it should be the other way around. Another possibility is that it can go against the persons values and ethics; just because you see a bunch of people doing things does not necessarily make it right, and in this persons eyes this is not what they view as the correct way (such as an orthodox Jewish man not being able to shake a woman's hand even though he has nothing against her, but this is against the norm since most people would give the handshake without even batting a eyelash). The third way is that the person has something wrong with them and does not want to or is unable to adapt to society's norms. (Possible reasons behind this are to seek attention whether its positive or negative).