Mingan Wang
Expository Writing
Mark Lane
Feb 27th, 2015 Rule-Breaker Vs. Rule-Follower If a child breaks a rule, they could be considered as either naughty or smart. If an adult breaks a rule they could be considered either as a hero or a criminal. The disobedient child gets more attention compares to the child who is obedient. The disobedient adult has a bigger influence on environment compares to the adult who is obedient. In “The power of Context”, Malcolm Gladwell, introduces a “broken window” theory, which is if one window is broken and left unrepaired, the other windows on that building is easier to be broken. A broken window, a tiny note of discord, however, has the power to attracts all the
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One black dot is more obvious on a white paper rather than on a black paper. The influence that a rule-breakers have is not necessarily positive, however, the noise they made is defiantly loud. According to Gladwell, after killing five people who are trying to rob him, “[Goetz] was treated as a hero, a man who had fulfilled the secret fantasy of every New Yorker who had ever been mugged or intimidated or assaulted on the subway” (150, Gladwell). When Gladwell says “fantasy," he means that many people at that time have to imagine that they could punish the criminals in NYC by themselves. Goetz’s behavior could be a wake-up call for the NYC police department. However, the negative influence that he has on the public is severer. His behavior and the reaction of NYC’s residences sends a signal to the public that vigilante is allowed and being welcomed. In another word, as long s the “bad guys” are being punished, the public welcomes the pursuit of self-perceived justice without legal authority. This could be a dangerous sign for the entire country at that time. The signal that the public sends out could encourage the self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement. The reason that vigilante is extremely dangerous is that they play the role of rule maker, judge, and executioner. Vigilante determines who should be punished and set the sentencing standards. Today vigilante could kill people who committed as a …show more content…
What NYC police department does in the 1980s, has a good effect of controlling crime rate. However, some of the rules that they used are against the state law. The NYC police department can be considered as a rule-breaker as well. According to Gladwell,“previous policy administration had been handcuffed by restrictions”(154, Gladwell). When the police department says “handcuffed by restrictions," they mean the limitation of state law or the constitution. In order to control the crime rate, they become both lawmakers and law protector. Under the excuse of controlling crime rate, the police department’s illegal operation attracts minimum attention. “If you pee on the street, you were going to jail”(154, Gladwell). Those over sentencing seems to work on lower the crime rate. However, it brings creates a bigger question — police department and government’s abusing power. The NYC police department’s operation shows that if needed, police department or government can act without the limited of legislation. Police have the right to decide who should be arrested instead of following the law. This is a setback for law and democracy. Iran is an extreme example of abusing power. The regime of Iran took the right from women using the name of religion. According to Nafisi, “When [Nafisi’s] students came into that room, they took off more than their scarves and robes”(281, Nafisi). When Nafisi writes, “more than their scarves and
The Book “Fist Stick Knife Gun” by Geoffrey Canada is a biographical account of his childhood in the south Bronx. He and his 4 brothers were raised by only their mother. She would survive on no more than ten dollars a week. He moved several times as a child until finally landing on union avenue, the place were many of his life lessons were learned and at times applied. He learned about the ranking process of kids on union Ave. and how the only way to improve your status was to use your fists to fight your way up the chain. Looking back Geoffrey Canada notices the major shift in attitudes concerning the rules of the streets. What once was harmless fist fighting has now turned over to guns. His opinions can be seen in his title “Fist Stick Knife Gun”.
Throughout history there has been considerable tension between race and crimes committed. The court trial of Bernhard Goetz initiated debate on race and crime in the major cities, and the limitations of self-defense. Bernhard Goetz in 1984 shot five bullets in a New York City subway, seriously wounding four young black men. After turning himself into the police nine days later, the public now knew who was the shooter. Bernhard Goetz was entitled the “Subway Vigilante”. The subway shooting incident ideally exemplified the exasperation with the high crime rates of the 1980s. Due to the time period that this incident occurred, Bernhard Goetz was commended and reviled in the media surrounding the case, and the public’s standpoint. The subway shooting, and the court trial following the shooting, lead to the uprise of the fight against crime in major cities. Justice is difficult to define, and in controversial acquittal of Bernhard Goetz, justice in this sense, was not served.
Jacobs, David, Jason T. Carmichael, and Stephanie Kent. 2005. “Vigilantism, Current Racial Threat and Death Sentences.” American Sociological Review 70: 656-677.
The beating of Rodney King from the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991 and the Los Angeles riots resulting from the verdict of the police officers on April 29 through May 5, 1992 are events that will never be forgotten. They both evolve around one incident, but there are two sides of ethical deviance: the LAPD and the citizens involved in the L.A. riots. The incident on March 3, 1991 is an event, which the public across the nation has never witnessed. If it weren’t for the random videotaping of the beating that night, society would never know what truly happened to Rodney King. What was even more disturbing is the mentality the LAPD displayed to the public and the details of how this mentality of policing led up to this particular incident. This type of ethical deviance is something the public has not seen since the civil rights era. Little did Chief Gates, the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the LAPD know what the consequences of their actions would lead to. Moving forward in time to the verdict of those police officers being acquitted of the charges, the public sentiment spiraled into an outrage. The disbelief and shock of the citizens of Los Angeles sparked a mammoth rioting that lasted for six days. The riots led to 53 deaths and the destruction of many building. This is a true but disturbing story uncovering the ethical deviance from the LAPD and the L.A. riots. The two perspectives are from the Rodney King incident are the LAPD and the L.A. riots.
There are several significant, as well as less significant, themes that are put forth by the author. Some themes that are not as meticulously elaborated on, but still contribute to the book, include the idea that war can corrupt the government and it’s actions, police brutality was part of the norm of the 1960s, and the word “power” had more than one meaning during the civil rights era. All these themes are important to take into consideration upon reading this book; however th...
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Troublemakers” is an article in which he explores the way societies make generalizations. Malcolm explains how Ontario has banned pit bulls due to a boy being attacked and people viewing that one example to be enough to distinguish all pit bulls as vicious and bloodthirsty. He goes on to employ that all dogs even resembling pit bulls or that have some pit bull mixed into them have been banned as well, because anything that looks like a pit bull has now been deemed dangerous for the people in that society. Not only does Malcolm point out other ways societies generalize people, like racial profiling a terrorist, but he distinguishes how steps could have been taken to eliminate the threat of the pit bull but it seemed to just
Once in a while, it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to. Gladwell believes that cultural legacies are powerful forces. Cultural legacies are the customs of a family or a group of people, that is inherited through the generations. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, Cultural legacies is something that’s been passed down for generations to generations. It depends on what type of legacies was passed that will affect a person. If a good legacy was passed down, someone can keep that legacy going by trying hard at keeping the legacies going. If a bad legacy was passed down; I believe that cultural legacies can be altered or changed, by good working habits, determination, and a positive mindset to succeed. Culture can affect either positively or negatively, but we have the power to turn our cultural
As said by Governor George Ryan, “Since 1973, over 130 people have been released from death rows throughout the country due to evidence of their wrongful convictions.” With each of these wronged convictions, the victim who should rightfully be convicted was able to walk free and possibly continue to commit crimes. Many of these wronged convictions entail parts of conflict theory with them because the dominant group will view things that they believe are socially deviant as criminal. The example in class of the 1992 Chicago gang ordinance shows how the dominant group, the police force, viewed standing on a street corner as socially deviant and thus, labeled it criminal. In The Central Park Five, the five who were convicted were in Central Park late at night, which was socially deviant. Since there was crime that was committed that night, it was easy to take the socially deviant situation of the kids being in the park late at night, them being in the same place as the crime, and them all being non-white and the victim being white and turn the crime on them. At the start of the night, there were kids who were throwing rocks at cars and assaulting homeless people to the extent of smashing one with a beer bottle. Out of all of the kids who were in the park that night, when they all took off running, it didn’t matter which five were stopped and taken to the police station, as long as there were non-white and in the park that night they could have been one of the “central park five”. “Central park five” turns into a label knowing that regardless of who the kid was and their background, the officers involved were going to manipulate they into confessing to the crime and then end up being convicted. Crime today involves conflict theory and can
During the 1950s, America was facing the competitions with Soviet Union. Cold War, fear of atomic warfare, and communism influences intensified the society’s instability. What’s more, many social problems attracted people’s focus: many writers “concerns about censorship and conformity during a period when free expression of ideas could lead to social and economic ostracization” (Telgen 138). Many essays and novels reflected this social background. However, one author, Ray Bradbury, became a preeminent writer in that era. His work not only pointed out that the people are becoming more and more apathy as well as the censorship problem, but also showed people’s fear about war.
The article ‘Stand your Ground’ Laws Encourage Vigilantes is a short opinionated piece written by Cynthia Tucker. It covers the topic of self-defense laws more commonly known as stand your ground laws and how she feels they help spread racism towards black citizens, and why they should be repealed. To get her point across to the reader she uses examples of a few high profile cases that demonstrates her opinion. The article also states information about the ...
Gladwell discusses how by changing or fixing little issues existing in society, the authorities of New York City fixed bigger problems. First the authority realizes the problems, as Gladwell writes that “Like graffiti, fare-beating could be a signal, a small expression of disorder that invited much more serious crimes” (Gladwell 152). Gladwell presents a solution to regain insight as a community through being aware of the small issues in the community. When community became over involved with violence, they ignored the little issues such as graffiti andfare beating. Likewise, Nelson claims that when individuals pay too much attention and become too involved in violence they become unaffected by the violence. Nelson writes that “In light of the heightened state of perception conjured by Cage’s piece-its profound capacity to “return us to our sense” via an emptying out of input rather than an overload” (Nelson 306). To realize the problems in the New York Subway system, authorities needed to “empty out” their over-attentiveness towards the violence and “return” to their sense, which enables them to see the issues that are actually causing the
Acts of vigilantism, though being around many years, have no place in a modern society of today. In our society there are laws put into place for the local law enforcement to enforce and protect, so when people in our society go outside of these laws to get what they feel is justice, they become vigilantes committing acts of vigilantism. There are some groups that people call vigilantes like Neighborhood Watch programs and the Guardian Angels. These groups are not created to take the law into their own hands, but they act within the laws working with police officers and their communities to help make them safer. The Neighborhood Watch programs keep a watchful eye for crimes committed in their neighborhood and report to the police, and the Guardian Angel chapters are endorsed and supported by local law enforcement agencies (Bajandas). Both groups work with the police staying within the boundaries of the law helping to reduce crime. There are many reasons that show how acts of vigilantism are dangerous and illegal.
3. Bittner’s definition of the police role is that police may not always be able to prevent crime and in order to prevent crime we must remember it falls to political values. The police cannot always prevent incidents of crime, because they may not always look at various variables that may come into play. It is a constitutional organization that cannot always overstep their boundaries to stop criminal behavior and it’s on the police organization structure. To illustrate dishonest law enforcement, determined crime prevention, honorable law enforcement, strong law enforcement, and stratified crime prevention. Dishonest law enforcement oversell the fear of crime to control the civilians, however they create a false image or pretense that are no alternatives to crime but violent behavior. Determined crime prevention is to create key guidelines that
The political institutions that exist around the globe set up a system in which the citizens of that area are expected to adhere to. This system that is created consists of a set of rules and laws that citizens must follow. These rules are instituted because the leaders of government want to hold a firm control in their ruling of the people. The political systems want people to conform to the expectations put on them. Additionally, political systems are created to ensure that the country is fully functioning and need the cooperation of the people to do so. However, it is not always easy for political leaders to establish strong control since citizens may go against the rules that are put upon them. Malcolm Gladwell explains the prominence of crime by the idea that “If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge.” (141) People will take on a perspective based on what they see and what they think what they see represents. The act of committing crimes works in a imitative form because “The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” (Berger 50) People will commit crimes if they see that their is no punishment or repercussions for their actions similar to a cascading effect. If images of crimes like graffiti are associated with punishment, people simply won’t commit the crime. However, political systems can change this by the way they mold their regulation of the public. Political systems show that “an epidemic can be reversed, can be tipped, by tinkering with the smallest details of the immediate environment” (Gladwell 146). This is all a part of political systems controlling the public through the language of images. Political leaders like the ones in New York City described by Gladwell tried to get the public to
The movement BlackLivesMatter have outed hundreds unlawful officers and victims that never got the justice needed. The same characteristics (color and style) that emulates strong, noble people can backfire. Black people in this country who actively resist dehumanization makes a call to action and a response to anti-Black racism in our current society. (Cullors, 2015) The growth of the movement has moved country-wide, first starting in the south; the south had always had history of racism and anti-black impulses. This movement is continuing to carry up north and west, and is projected that any officer can be the next one to unlawfully kill another black individual. These immoral police officers are no different from the rest of the police force, their uniforms are no different color or style they do not have different titles, there is no distinction between the these two types of officers. African Americans are persuaded to be more cautious and angry towards police officers; anyone with a cop uniform can be considered a threat to their life. Innocent cops were murdered in retaliation to the unfair judicial systems that are not punishing these cops. Once a police-like uniform is worn it not only once symbolizes honor and power, but t too many communities