Monday, August 19, 2019
Deviance :: essays research papers
Being labeled and institutionalized as a social deviant proves to be stigmatizing in life. In Dina Temple-Rastons A Death in Texas, she chronicles the murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas during the summer of 1998. The author suggests in Chapters 1-4 that suspected murder Billy King is more than a case study of abnormal psychology and that his actions may be explained as a career criminal who has been marginalized by society. While most authors fixate on the psychology within killers, she also includes the townââ¬â¢s historical background and the social context in which the murder took place. Sociologist, Kai Erikson would applaud his style as he postulates that deviant behavior becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Erikson states that once a person commits an act, they are labeled and treated as deviant and they have little opportunity to act any differently. à à à à à Billy King was labeled and treated as a deviant this maltreatment had the greatest influence on King. On page 44 of the text, Kylies mother refers to King as ââ¬Å"an ex-conâ⬠and does not want her daughter to hang around with someone ââ¬Å"like that.â⬠When labeled as a deviant, people are suspicious of you and begin treating you with a lack of respect and see you as different. Even though ââ¬Å"he had kept his nose clear, Sheriff Rowles made a mental note when he saw the picture of Bill Kingâ⬠(Pg. 45). à à à à à The prison where Bill King was remanded was at the end of a wooded road and hidden behind shabby homes and a trailer park. Billy was a man of small stature and had to act with bravado to not be injured while in prison. He was jammed into a facility with ââ¬Å"3,00 young toughsâ⬠(pg 70) who ââ¬Å"wielded a lethal combination of intimidation and one upmanship.â⬠The men were segregated and survived by making (like) racial alliances. King was called a peckerwoods ââ¬â he would fight but he was not tough enough to fit into the prisons many gangs for protectionâ⬠(pg 71). The author suggests that Kings nose was broken and that he may have been sodomized. à à à à à On page 77, the author states that Billy was the adored center of a dysfunctional family and that his step-mother may not of held him accountable for his actions. It may be that Billy felt traumatized by his real mother abandoning him and it put him ââ¬Å"off stride for lifeâ⬠(pg 77).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment