Week 7

I always knew that social class had something to do with how we see people, but I never knew it had as big of an impact until we learned about deviance. Through this class, I learned that we view people as deviant based on their social standing, and how this may not always be fair.

In class, we watched the video, "The Line". Watching this video was eye opening for me because I did not realize how impoverished our country was until we watched it. Living in Lincolnshire, I always knew that I was in an Upper-Middle class home but I was not always acquainted with how everyone else lived. Hearing the statistics that only very few owned a home and a car in our country was shocking compared to the 3 cars my family owns. I always saw what my family had as normal, not even realizing how some people were living. This lesson, also learned through "Saints and Roughnecks" shaped my understanding of deviance and how it relates to social standing. Through this reading, I learned that if one is lower in society, they are more likely to be seen as doing something deviant than if they were higher in society. While I am lucky enough to live in a Upper-Middle class home, I have still experienced this judgement. This spring break, I went on a cruise to the U.S. Virgin Islands. While there, I met many kids around my age. The looks of judgement I received when they heard that I was from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago were resounding. Everyone just assumed that because I was from here that I drove a BMW and my family had 3 houses. In addition to this, people assumed that because I am in higher social class that I do nothing wrong and am a perfect angel. While I do not break any laws, that doesn't mean I am a perfect person. The realist in me knows that someday I will speed while driving or fail to use my blinker, but my sociological brain tells me that because of my social standing, I will most likely be not branded as deviant, only as making a small mistake.