Illegitimate Opportunity Structure: A Crime Against the Classes

Who would have thought that the social classes that people are in could determine the types of crime they commit? In discussing street crime and white-collar crime this past week, I discovered that social status can drive people toward different styles of crime. Poorer people are more likely to commit street crimes, like mugging or robbery, because of the messages that society deals them; while our materialistic society socializes the poor into wanting everything from iPods to Xboxes, their financial standing doesn't support them obtaining those things. Poor people may also turn to stealign thigns because they see no other way to provide for their families. A good education, the number one tool for success, is often unattainable for the lower class, giving them no opportunity to move forward. 

While we may label all muggers as immoral, they may see no other way to provide for their family. Have you ever considered the motives behind street crimes before?
On the other hand, members of the upper and middle classes sometimes abuse their knowledge by channeling it into white-collar crimes, in attempts to aggrandize their social standing. White-collar crimes include evading income tax, bribing public officials, and embezzling, crimes that all take a certain amount of intelligence to execute.

Illegitimate opportunity structure causes the criminals of each class to commit crimes that specifically pertain to their own situations. While members of poor communities may turn to drug dealing to make a quick profit, perhaps out of necessity, members of the middle and upper class may use corporate crime to gain more prominence than they previously had. Though it makes sense to categorize crimes by people's social classes, I'd never really thought that social classes could condition people into committing certain types of crimes. Do you believe that the social class a person belongs to determines what kind of crime they will commit? 

This issue is eerily reflected in the lyrics of "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant, which tells of a prostitute, a mugger, and a corrupt priest, all who justify their corrupt actions by saying their social status gives them no alternative choices. If you don't feel like watching the whole lyrics video below, the gist of the poor crowd's rationalization of their actions can be attained from the chorus:

There ain't no rest for the wicked /

Money don't grow on trees /

I got bills to pay /

I got mouths to feed /

Ain't nothing in this world for free /

No I can't slow down /

I can't hold back /

Though you know I Wish I could /

No there ain't no rest for the wicked /

Until we close our eyes for good.

D is for Deviance

In light of this week's focus on social deviance, I've been thinking of examples of deviance in regard to social classes. As humans, we tend to make assumptions about who people are, what they have, and how they should live based on the class they're in. For example, it's socially deviant for someone considered poor to drive a flashy convertible, while it's also socially deviant for someone considered rich to walk the streets in raggedy clothing. Shouldn't the poor person be driving a used car, if they can afford one at all? And shouldn't the rich person be strolling around in a designer suit or dress?

Is he pumping his fist in the air because of his hot ride or because he lives for social deviance?

Not necessarily. We tend to assimilate people into groups without knowing their full stories; maybe the poor man driving the shiny convertible borrowed the car from a friend, and maybe the rich man enjoys downplaying attention to his appearance by wearing low-key clothing. Still, we often take these judgments too far. If someone saw a poor man driving a Mercedes, they might jump to the immediate conclusion that the car is not his, or may even go so far as to assume that he stole it. We simply can't handle it when people mess with the status quo and deviate from the roles their class predetermines for them.

Can you think of any other ways people could deviate from social norms, in terms of social classes?

Are You Jamaican? Because Ja'maican Me Reconsider the Status of America's Social Classes

Though this may sound dumb, it's kind of weird to think that other countries have their own economic and social issues. It's not because we're so self-absorbed that we Americans think we're superior and don't bother educating ourselves on the functions of other countries (hollaback, in-group!), but the American economy is such a talked-about issue in modern America, we haven't quite had time to evaluate class structure in other countries with our full attention. That ends now: let us take a metaphorical plane ride to the island of Jamaica, a country that awards people from all classes equally on National Heroes Day. In this  letter to the editor of The Jamaica Observer, a Jamaican citizen proclaims that the working class of Jamaica should receive awards, along with members of the other social classes, for rendering "Herculean service in various communities." He also calls for special recognition to be awarded to "those who have climbed the ladder of success and have experienced upward mobility into the middle-class group."

I was interested to find that the idea of social mobility was described in terms so similar to how we view it in America; it makes me feel like we have more in common with other countries than I previously could have imagined. Also, I think it's nice that Jamaica uses one of their national holidays to praise people of all classes for their hard work.

Four for you Jamaica, you go Jamaica!

Can you think of any holidays or mediums that we use to reward members of the working class in America? What do you think of the similarities between Jamaican social classes and our own?

Redneckognizing Classes in America

You know her. You love her. Well... maybe you hate her. But if you do, you better start redneckognizing the beautimous creature that is Honey Boo Boo Child!

All hail the queen.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is the newest craze in reality television, edumacatin' the country and the world on redneck life in of the Thompson family. The show is centered around Alana (Honey Boo Boo), Mama (her mom, June), Sugar Bear (her dad, Mike), and her sisters Chickadee (Anna/the pregnantest), Pumpkin (Lauryn/the craziest), and Chubbs (Jessica/the favorite-est). Honey Boo Boo provides endless entertainment for all reality show lovers, Toddlers & Tiaras fans, and people who just like to see a family act shamelessly as themselves, regardless of how ridiculous people may perceive them to be.

Still, not everyone is feeling the love for Alana and her cahraaaayzee family. This article states that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is "an unintentional reality show documentary demonstrating what happens when the jobs go away, and there is little way to make an honest living... You see social dysfunction, teenage moms, semi-employed men who come and go... moms who actually think kiddy beauty pageants are their ticket out of poverty — if only their child can win the jackpot."

When viewing the Thompson family from a standpoint of cultural relativism, they may seem extremely taboo; after all, a life of washing one's hair in the kitchen sink, eating cheese balls for breakfast, and bobbing for pig's feet at the Redneck Games ins't one that the average American lives every day. But do we seriously view this family as a representation of the lower class, or do we simply watch looking to be entertained, not taking away anything besides joy at seeing Alana frolick around with her pet pig, Glitzy? 

Next time you indulge in the guilty pleasure of reality television, perhaps by watching Honey Boo Boo in action, keep in mind that what you're seeing could subconsciously be warping your views on social class.