Correctional Facility or Just Jail?

In class we watched an episode of 30 Days in which Morgan went to Prison. Throughout his time there he was treated as an inmate and lived amongst other prisoners. During his month in prison he talked with a lot of people and there seemed to be a recurring pattern; most of the people he was talking with were repeat offenders. Even more of them seemed to be getting used to life in jail. It was as if the inmates knew that being there was not normal, but they were resigned to the idea that it was all they could reach in life. Rather than taking people who have made mistakes and helping them through their problems and rejoin society US prisons are teaching criminals to get used to bars, because odds are you will be back. The number of inmates in the US alone is appalling and our society is doing nothing to help the inmates who are in need of help. Granted, some people are in jail for good reason, but many, if not most, are there as a result of a bad decision, a drug problem, or even mental problems. These are not people who need to be shut away from society, they need society's help to get back onto the right path.

AAAHHH DRUGS......is this tylenol?

Last week in class we did an activity where we took a look at various descriptions of various drugs. We were not told what the drugs were, but we were told to decide if the drug should be legal or illegal, and to what degree, based on the descriptions. When the groups got together to discuss their rankings, nearly every drug got a variety of answers. How can two people read about one thing and claim that it should be illegal and legal? Shouldn't there be some commonality between people that allows us to tacitly agree on big issues? The simple answer; no. This exercise only highlighted the point that people all act and think based on their own perceptions. Our own experiences influence how we approach new events. In a way this helps us all approach new situations, but it also dooms us to make assumptions which are more often than not false. For example, if you see someone at school dressed differently than you, perhaps in a manner which you find shocking, you would probably avoid them. You may even go as far to assume that they are a trouble maker. You will completely skip on the opportunity to meet them because you just assume they are not good for you. Without ever giving them a chance, we all selectively isolate ourselves from others.

Deviance

From a young age we are all taught to respect our elders, listen to authority figures, and we seem to develop a sense of what our culture determines as "normal." However, when we all took a survey about what we think is deviant, everyone in our class had different answers. How is it that something that seems so important to our culture can be so subjective? If I don't agree with a majority of society, all of the sudden I'm deviant? This does not seem to support that there can ever truly be "normal," just more popular. Furthermore, deviance is only sometimes considered deviant in some cultures; there is no universal standard unit of measurement for deviance.
It seems funny how even the littlest things can be deviant. In my house, I was always taught that when I finished my meal I pick up my dishes and bring them to the sink. I ate at a friend's house this weekend and when I cleared my spot, his mother looked at me with shock. She then continued to look at my friend in a, 'how come you never do that?' kind of way. Even though this seemed like a normal, polite thing to do, it was deviant because it did not follow the accepted norm of the household I was in.

Oh my G-d, Masculinity Killed Kenny

As I sat down to reflect on the violent image of masculinity society has developed, I decided to turn on the TV. Admittedly, my work ethic could have been a bit stronger, but it all worked out for the best. After flipping through a few channels I found an old episode of South Park on. On top of being really funny, South Park is perhaps the perfect critique of society; it truly takes an interesting look at society and opens up various levels of sociological debate, but that's an issue for another blog. Today, I found myself watching the episode where all the boys began their shop class and all the girls went to home-ec.....except for Kenny. While in shop class, the boys supported classical stereotypes of men. Kenny was a wuss because he was not taking shop, and during class they found themselves planning a school yard fight to see which boy, Tweek or Clyde, was tougher. Meanwhile, Kenny, who is prone to dying, did not see home-ec as an attack on his masculinity, but rather a chance for survival. However, South Park Elementary's version of home-ec is not exactly politically correct; it, like shop class, serves to bring out the most negative stereotypes about the female gender. Obviously Kenny does not fit in. Eventually, Kenny is kicked out and sent to shop class. Simultaneously, the school yard fight bursts into the shop room and the result is Kenny getting flung into a box of rusty nails by a saw.
While it seems like a pointless cartoon, in actuality it highlights the need within society to redefine the image of masculinity. As shown by the children in South Park, the current image of masculinity only leads to violence and pain. Even in a satirical manner this cry for a new image of masculinity is apparent.