Contemporary Sociology: Applying Theories - Essay Example

Contemporary Sociology Contemporary Sociology Freddie Grays death The Baltimore case involved the 25-year-old African-American, Freddy Gray, who succumbed to death on April 19, a week after his arrest by the Baltimore Police. The circumstance of his death was unclear but after medical examinations, it was revealed that the death had resulted from spinal injuries. Eyewitnesses testified that the police involved in Gray’s arrest used brutal force during the arrest that might have resulted in spinal injuries (Fantz & Botelho, 2015). Gray’s death led to violent demonstrations by Baltimore residents, compelling Baltimore Governor Lawrence Hogan to declare a state of emergency after experiences of violent lootings and burning of business premises that were going on during the civil disorder (Ford, 2015). Charges were filed against the six police officers involved in Gray’s arrest after witnesses and medical reports hinted that the cause of Gay’s death might be homicide. Explaining Freddie Grays death through sociological theories Attempts to understand why the law enforcers and the victim himself behaved in a manner that caused conflict in the social order in the society have not been successful. This is due to the varied interpretations that different individuals present about the events that led to Gray’s death. Among the arguments given to this event is the level of brutality among Baltimore police officers during the arrest. Others attach the events to the officer’s individual attribute and behavior during the arrest. Power and prestige vested on the Baltimore Police is a factor associated with the horrible turnout of events in Baltimore that caused Grays’s death. Other individuals blame the personal conduct of Gray as a youthful citizen who should respect the law and avoid with the law enforcers including the police by resisting arrest. The individual interpretations are deemed factual, as human beings are free thinkers who enjoy the liberty of independent and rational thoughts. In the pursuit to understand why the events in Baltimore took the dreadful shape witnessed in the streets of the city, the paper will employ the constructs of sociological theories. First, the Max Weber through his theory on class, status and power is a key aspect of this paper in trying to understand how these factors influence the behaviors of individuals in the society. Second, the paper will apply Michael Foucault’s theory on the relationship between power and knowledge to explain behavior. Third is Emile Durkheim’s theory on individual and society that will be applicable in this essay to understand the events in Baltimore. Fourth is Ervin Goffman’s theory of Dramaturgy that is relevant to explaining the events in Baltimore concerning the manner in which individuals direct themselves in life. Fifth, the essay will focus on Cornel West’s views on race in understanding the events in Baltimore. Sixth, the paper will explore the dynamics of power and how it maintains order in the society as applied in Pierre Bourdieu’s theory on dynamics of power. Max Weber’s theory on Class, Status and power in understanding the Baltimore case Max Weber, a German sociologist, boosts analysts’ understanding of the events in Baltimore through his theories on class, status and power. In weber’s perception, the society is segmented into different classes and strata with distinct lifestyle and views of the world (Weber, 2009). Weber defines a class as a category of individuals with a common, specific and casual component. A class is a representation of economic or social interests that may be distinct to a group of individuals in the society. The Gray case presents a number of categories of individuals that acted differently because of varied interests and motives during Gray’s death. The six police officers involved in Gray’s case represent the first group of individuals. Acting under the law, the officers’ motives were to enforce the legislation by ensuring that individuals are not in possession of illegal items that might pose an eminent danger to other citizens. The groupings in the society differ on varied views and beliefs in the world. That could justify why Gray was comfortable moving around with a switchblade that, to the police was an illegal item. Weber (2009) explains that the society is faced with different social conflicts resulting from the difference in beliefs and perception of the world. That is a justification of the unruly and brutal treatment that the police accorded to Gray hence leading to his death. The protestors in the events of Gray’s death present a class that possesses different perspective of the events from the police officers. Their protest and violent demonstrations illustrate a conflict between the police social strata and the citizen’s strata. The violent acts of this group explain their belief in the means of presenting their grievances to law enforcers. Weber relates the behavior and beliefs of the different social stratum to the powers that each hold in the society. Concerning the analysis of authority in the society, Weber explains that the class that has maximum power commands their counterparts and dictates operations in the community. The police, in their legal capacity, are the social class that has the greatest share of power in terms of law enforcement. However, the powers of the might demonstrated by the protestors illustrate the share of power they possess in enforcing the law and expressing their grievances. Michael Foucault’s theory on Power and Knowledge in understanding Gray’s case Michael Foucault, a French philosopher, addressed the relationship between power and knowledge to the events in the society and the manner in which the two factors act as a form of societal control through institutions. Foucault recognizes power as a negative coercive force that induces individuals in power to do certain things against the wishes of their subjects (Foucault, 2007). He further explores the dangers posed when those in authority act without knowledge of potential risks of their operations. Police officers in Gray’s case are among the group of individuals who possess power but use it to oppress the others. The ill-treatment accorded to Gray during his arrest demonstrates how exertion of authority without knowledge can result in dangerous conflicts in the society. Grays death and violent demonstrations resulted from abuse of power by the two social institutions. Foucault also recognizes power as the origin of social discipline and conformity in the society. The police, acting in their capacity by arresting Gray, was keeping the society safe by ensuring the discipline and compliance of its members. According to Foucault, conformity of the members to the societal demands ensures that the community is safe for coexistence. The police are, thus mandated with the responsibility of ensuring members conform to societal regulations. Foucault, however, maintains that those in authority have to exercise the power with an utmost knowledge to avoid conflicts in the society (Foucault, 2007). Gray’s case present participants who used powers vested in them with lack of knowledge of the implications of their actions. Gray’s death in custody of law enforces depicts a group of law enforcers who do not consider the consequences of their actions and necessity to treat their subjects. This, in turn, results in the abuse of power by the public member protesting and exercising their constitutional right as a way of condemning the unruly treatment accorded to one of their fellow citizen. The violent demonstrations that resulted to destruction of property and arrests of citizens demonstrate serious abuse of power by the might in their attempt to restore social order in the society. Foucault, being an active social and political commentator, believed in power as a possible action. For resistance, his ideas were based on the ability of social class in the society to recognize and question different social constraints in the society (Foucault, 2007). The demonstrators, acting in this capacity to exercise constitutional rights, were able to identify a social disorder in the society and question it by violently expressing their grievances. In order to prevent further damages and arrests, the legal authorities are compelled to respond to demands of demonstrators by filing charges against the officers involved in Gray’s arrest. The charges might not be satisfactory enough to bring back Gray to his loved ones, but it shows the authorities’ concerns in punishing individuals for wrong actions in the society. The presence of the supreme power of the law represents a unifying factor that resolves disputes between conflicting parties in the society. Emile Durkheim theory on Individual, society, and its relationship to the Baltimore case A French philosopher Emile Durkheim expands the scope of understanding varied behaviors in the society by studying individuals and the society. In his study, Durkheim focuses on the norms that regulate the actions of members of the Society for peaceful coexistence. According to Emile, when social regulations break down, the controlling influence of organizations in the individual becomes less active and individuals are assumed to have self-control of their deeds, operations, and movements. According to Emile, when individuals are left to govern themselves, they are directed by their beliefs and perceptions of the world (Holstein & Gubrium, 2012). The possession of an illegal switchblade by Gray depended on his personal view contrary to that of the Authorities. This led to a dispute resulting in his death. Emile describes the state of lawlessness as anomie. According to Durkheim, anomie is a property of the social structure where a persons desires and wants are not regulated by societal norms resulting in uncouth ways of pursuing their goals. This consequently leads to immoral deeds witnessed in the societies. The violent protests witnessed in Gray’s death present a society that has broken away from its regulations. According to the U. S Department of Justice (DoJ), an individual is innocent until proved guilty in the court of law. Hence, the injuries that caused the spinal damage and consequently Gray’s death illustrates a group of law enforcers who are acting contrary to the code of conduct in their profession. The ill-treatment received by the victim both when under police custody were is unlawful and warrant severe consequences based on the provisions of the law. When the institutions that are responsible do not fulfill human demands, they are forced to apply ways of meeting their goals and fulfilling their needs (Holstein & Gubrium, 2012). The violent response to Gray’s death by demonstrators presents a social institution that has failed to respond the needs of its subjects. The desperate calls through demonstrations were aimed at achieving the societies desires that the law had failed to meet. Durkheim explains that several factors that lead to anomie. According to Durkheim, economic influence is among the issues that result in an anomic condition in the societies. Durkheim maintains that the economic anomic situations deceive individuals into believing that they are responsible for their wellbeing hence they behave in ways aimed at achieving their economic independence. The behavior posed by persons in an attempt to be self-reliant maybe in contrary to the society’s norms. According to U.S DoJ, possession of some items by citizens is perceived as suspicious motive to cause crime. Though not found committing a crime, the possession of a switchblade raised suspicion of an awaiting crime among the police officers hence prompting Gray’s arrest. The demonstrations that led to the looting of business premises demonstrates economic anomic society that stands by waiting for an opportunity to rain down their economic anger at the slightest provocation. Emile explains that since the economic anomic desperation depend upon the source at hand; the poor in Gray’s case resorted to looting as means of achieving their desires and punishing a wrong deed. Durkheim also attributes an anomie to deviant social behavior among individuals in the society. Durkheim explains that social institutions exert indefinite pressure on certain persons to engage in unacceptable nonconforming conducts in the society (Holstein & Gubrium, 2012). The police forces as a social institution have different social attributes that affect its members. The failure of six police officers to recognize that the treatment they were according to a victim of crime was an awaiting time bomb explains the attributes that their social setting imparts in them. The beatings that led to injuries to Gray’s Spinal Cord is associated to a deviant behavior in each officer involved; this illustrates a lack of conformity to the conditions of handling a criminal awaiting trial. The deviant behavior is further shown in the violent demonstrations and lootings exhibited by the protestors after Gray’s death. Erving Goffman’s Dramaturgical theory in relation to the Baltimore killing In an attempt explain the human interaction and why people behave the way they do, Erving Goffman a renown philosopher likens life to a theatre, he describes that human beings are all actors playing their respective roles in the drama of life (Goffman, 2009). According to Goffman, an individual’s behavior is determined by time of an occurrence of an event. By this, the philosopher purports that individuals time the setting to display their behavior in order to gain social acceptance in the society. Goffman used the term Dramaturgy to describe human behavior. He explains that humans are their life’s director and directs all that happen in their daily lives (Goffman, 2009). Because of that, everybody is responsible for all the events in his life. In dramaturgical sociology, self-sense is considered an important factor in behavior. The sociological aspect explains that human beings behave according to the immediate scene presented in the surrounding. The move to carry autopsy on Gray’s body was to clear the uncertainties surrounding Gray’s death, this follows disputes among the victim’s family, the police and concerned citizens on whether the demise resulted from the injuries inflicted by the police or the death was natural. The response by the police department to charge the six officers responsible for Gray’s death was due to the scary scenes of demonstrations, destruction of property, looting and injuries witnessed during Gray’s funeral. The audience presented in the case pushed the authorities to behave in a way that would quell their aggressions to avoid damages and further injuries. Dramaturgy sociology studies the identity of a person in relation to the people and factors one comes across during the process of socialization in the society (Goffman, 2009). The theory explains that an individual’s identity is not static and is constantly remade depending on the dramaturgical model. The behaviors that different individuals in Gray’s case presented illustrate different dramaturgical models in play. The police officers and the demonstrator act in Gray’s case depict persons who behave according to the dramaturgical model that they belong in at a particular time. Gray’s possession of an illegal item that causes suspicion of an awaiting crime describes his dramaturgical model that is a people of ill motives. Goffman analyzes dramaturgical interaction in terms of individuals living their lives as those in a theatre. The analysis focuses on the status and roles of different individuals in the dramaturgical model. The sociologist explains that individuals behave in the social setting depending on the status that they hold in the society and the roles that they are charged with in the social environment. Cornel West’s theory on Race and Class in relation to the events in Baltimore Cornel West an American philosopher, activist and author expands the scope of sociology through echoing weber’s theories by studying race, gender and class as factors that affect the behavior of individuals in the American society. West dubbed US as a racist patriarchal state where white supremacy defines and dominates everyday life (West, 2007). In his writings, he describes white America as being historically weak-willed in promoting racial justice instead, degrading the humanity of blacks. The treatment accorded to Gray, a black American Echoes the words and writings of Cornel West. West maintains that the white supremacy has resulted in a degraded and oppressed black generation hungry for identity, meaning and self-worth (West, 2007). Were it not for the demonstrations witnessed in the streets of Baltimore, Gray’s death would have been swept under the carpet as Cornel West exerts that American Blacks have no worth in the U.S. Cornel’s sociological theories also touch on class in an attempt to explain the behaviors that individuals exhibit in the society. The philosopher points that the social class determines how individuals carry out their operations. Persons enjoying a high social class in the society are known to operate decently with utmost respect to humanity. The social class depends on the profession that an individual holds in the society. Cornel points that individual holding prestigious jobs have a sense of respect during societal interactions. However, social class that an individual holds can also be the origin of one’s unruly behavior towards others in the society. There are professions that are known to harbor unruly individuals. One such profession is the police forces. The occupation is known to train the officers to exercise respect and dignity while handling individuals that they come across during their discharge of duty. However, due to the nature of their operations and the subjects that they interact with in their line of duty, at times the officers are compelled to act with aggression when subduing their rude victims. The nature of the obligation that a profession undertakes maybe an origin of an attack this is in line with personal safety, followed by the discharge of duty. Gray’s case demonstrates a job that holds a high social class that can turn to be aggressive when discharging their duty. Pierre Bourdieu theory of Dynamics of power in understanding the Baltimore case Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist, studies the dynamics of power in an attempt to explain the nature of behavior in a society. Pierre’s sociological theory explores the transfer of authority from the topmost power holders to individuals in the lowest level in the organization. Pierre’s approach examines different institutions of power and their collaboration to ensure all persons in the society enjoy power (Bourdieu, 2010). The Baltimore case demonstrates a society exercising power at different levels and the effects that the power have on their operations. The police appearing prominently in the case illustrate how power is devolved from the higher organs of sovereignty. The theory also studies the rules that govern a community in relation to power distribution in the society. In order to enhance peaceful coexistence among members in a community, the organs of power ensure that rules are strictly adhered to. The aim of Pierre’s theory is ensuring a socially ordered society through the spread and maintenance of power across generations. The organs responsible for the discharge of authority are expected to exercise their duty in a manner that takes care of both the interest of the subjects and ensuring the society is safe from all possible threats. However, the abuse of power is seen as a potential origin of disputes between the oppressed and the law enforcers. The Baltimore scenario presents a community of law enforcers that exercised their discharge of duty oppressively. The excessive of power resulted in aggressions by the might who responded in fury to have their dignity restored. Conclusion The theories developed by the above philosophers help the human race and societies find answers to various behaviors exhibited by different subjects and power agents in the society. The Baltimore story is a perfect example of the consequences in waiting when individuals do not conform to the norms of the society. The theories highlight the cooperation between members of the society in ensuring a society that is safe for the existence of all its members. References Bourdieu, P. (2010). The dynamics of power. Oxford: Harvard University Press. Fantz, A & Botelho, G. (2015, April 29). What we know, dont know about Freddie Grays death. CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2015 from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/22/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-what-we-know/ Ford, M. (2015, April 27). Protesters and Police Clash in Baltimore. The Atlantic. Retrieved May 15, 2015 from http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/a-state-of-emergency-in-baltimore/391607/ Foucault, M. (2007). Technologies of the self: A seminar with Michel Foucault. Univ of Massachusetts Press. Goffman, E. (2009). Relations in public. Transaction Publishers. Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (2012). The self we live by: Narrative identity in a postmodern world. Contemporary Sociology, (31). Weber, M. (2009). From Max Weber: essays in sociology. Routledge. West, C. (2007). Keeping faith: Philosophy and race in America. Psychology Press. Read More