Social Control

Social control has been around ever since humans began banding together and forming societies. The creation of societies demanded that in order for this organization to run properly, it needed to control the masses. If it didn’t, there would be chaos. Social control is the mechanism that monitors behavior and penalizes the violation of norms. Societies enforced these laws with external and internal social controls. External controls are societal mechanisms that monitor people’s behaviors. These controls reward group conformity and punish those who don’t. An example of external control is laws. Laws are meant to be followed and those who don’t will be punished accordingly. Internal social controls are internalized. Internalized social control is the strongest control one can have over people. This control governs our actions whether people are watching or not. This is the cop in our minds. An example would be religion and culture. Deviance is the occurrence of purposely defying these norms and standards. I choose deviance because the world alone has a negative connotation but deviance can be a good thing.
Deviance varies among cultures. Different cultures have different societal norms and these norms determine whether or not something is considered deviant. Deviance is only relevant when others perceive you to be deviant. I remember watching a homeless man pester everyone who walked by for some change. Some people walked right by him without acknowledging him and others would simply nod their heads no. This man is considered a deviant in our society because he rejects what our culture has prescribed into our beliefs; capitalism. Capitalism is our goal in life, to climb up the ladder of success through hard work and school. This man is doing neither and is rebelling against our very system.
On the other hand, if this man was a young gangster who covered himself in bling and rode around in a fancy caddalic, there would still be this stigma attached to his wealth because most would assume he did not earn his money the “proper” American way. I know that when I see these big guys in their big cars with their big watches and big necklaces crusading around the ghettos, I feel a little skeptical about their profession. Deviance can be labeled onto someone even when they have not done a deviant act. This deviant label is possible because deviance is not just individual behavior itself, but the social response of the group. In this case, I was the one who labeled him a deviant.
However, not all deviance is a bad thing. I remember seeing on the news a couple years back about a man who gave away a million dollars to this homeless man. This action was shocking because Americans are taught at birth that accumulation of wealth is how one receives a master status of successful. This man gave away this money and some would even call it deviance. I thought it was a bold move and it gave me hope that people aren’t all bad. If we always expect people to be bad, that is how we will perceive them. A self fulfilling prophecy of deviance awaits those who are already unjustifiably called deviant. Giving people the benefit of the doubt goes a long way and be mindful also that deviance is only recognized when others perceive it to be deviance. There is acts of deviance that go unnoticed everyday by people who think they are above the law. But at the same time, there is deviance that is too often thrown into peoples statuses wrongfully.