13th emphasized the broken system that is out criminal justice system. The system criminalizes more people the lines are blurred between protecting people and criminalizing them. The laws that were created during 1970s and 1980s created more criminals and higher incarceration rates. The laws put people in jail for minor crimes and were spending disproportionate amounts of time in jail. When does the system cross the line to where they are doing more harm than good? #so345

One thing that really stood out to me in 13th was the quote “we make them their crime” they then continued to say that we use this to make it easier to accept that they are criminals and put people in jail, even if they are innocent or a minor offender. We use terms like drug dealers, murderers, rapists, thief, and more to identify people of their crimes. This can lead to them becoming more criminalized and is an example of labeling theory. #so345

It is interesting to think that people in these areas do some much to be perceived as innocent and that sometimes can lead to them being perceived as guilty. Something that I learned in Psych is that sometimes when you pretend to be innocent or something that you are not can lead to you being that very thing you are trying to avoid. It can lead to an increase of the “tells” that cops look for in guilty people even though it is not accurate. #so345

One thing I found interesting in this reading was the case with Tex. He was homeless living on the street and received a fine for obstructing the side walk which he couldn’t pay. This lead to greater fines and eventually jail time. Why is the response to a minor citation always a fine, especially for those who can’t afford it? In this case it just reinforced Tex’s inability to get off the street, making the problem worse. #so345

The podcast talked a lot about how cops are trained in military techniques and are taught how to be violent, and this got me thinking about the cops purpose once they start to think this way. If cops are taught to use these violent techniques, is there a point where they become more of a threat to society then protection? Does the violence become so much that that they are no longer protecting and serving the community? #so345

One thing that stood out to me during the reading was the police at this time let their emotions control their actions. They commit violence based on the emotion they have about the crime. Like a person who committed a white collar crime is less likely to experience violence than someone who ran from the cops because they take certain crimes more seriously. #so345

Person first language is was to reduce the power of stigmas. People use language to cause harm and to degrade people. People first language allows for people who identify with certain stigmatized groups to reclaim their identity and be seen as people and not be identified solely as their stigma. An example is using “people with disabilities” instead of “the disabled” or “people who are incarcerated” instead of “prisoners”. #so345

A part that stood out to me about chapter 9 was that not being alone in a situation and gaving support from people that understand and share the same stigma can make a huge impact on how you see yourself and the situation. A simple act can help change negative feeling towards yourself and also help in interactions with people who don’t have that stigma because now you have a community of people like you. #so345

Something that I found interesting from chapter 8 was how stigmas for positive deviance can be harmful and turn positive deviance into negative deviance in the eyes of their peers. Like the terms like “geek” or “nerd” can lead to negative feelings about performing above average and caring in school. Something that should be seen as a good can be turned into something that they are ashamed of. #so345

Chambliss’ focus on the two groups allows for an interesting view of how society treats those who the perceive to be “deviant” or “troubled”. The Roughnecks were seen in all settings as troubled, and the biases of the people around them showed in the treatment of the boys. The teachers biases reinforced this idea that they were not going anywhere and the perception of them in school affected their grades. Where the saints were given the benefit of the doubt the roughnecks were not. #so345