Deviance in The Worst Form: Murder

Submitted by: Samantha Mesa

          Deviance is anything that violates socially established norms or rules set by society. Norms are a set of standards that people follow that has been generally written or understood by society. Deviance can be a tricky matter because sometimes one thing can be seen as normal in one culture and deviant in another. An example would be getting a tattoo. In some cultures, it can be viewed as a sign that you’re of low class or have been to prison. In others, it can show tribal lineage, political/social status, or even personal strength. One of the most popular examples of deviance could be murder. 

         In December of 2009, Susan Powell went missing from her home in Utah. Police had been investigating her disappearance for a few months, and even had a prime suspect, her husband, Josh Powell. While enduring countless interviews and interrogations, Powell continued to deny any involvement in his wife’s disappearance. He eventually lost custody of his two children to Susan’s parents, and the children seemed to be happy about the decision. One day when a social worker was on her way to bring the boys to their father’s, the boys decided to run away of her and went into of Powell’s house. He immediately locked the door and wouldn’t let the social worker inside of the house. What happened after would disturb anyone with children. Powell proceeded to attempt to murder his children  with a nearby hatchet and then lit his house on fire. Authorities later found that Powell had planned the entire thing and had even left numerous voice mails to family members stating that he couldn’t live without his boys and said, “sorry, goodbye” at the end of all his messages. There is no word yet of whether or not Susan Powell is considered dead but investigators say the case is still open. 

         What Josh Powell did was extremely deviant. Not only did he kill his sons, and possibly kill his wife, he killed himself. Murder is seen as a deviant act and so is suicide. Killing a person from your own family is also something that is deviant because family members are part of you. Powell committed formal deviance, which is when laws are involved and he violated them. It's hard to say what will eventually happen with this case but hopefully some kind of justice is served.

Technology Is A WMD

   Submitted by Phialy Noun

     Our world is full of technological advances and media. As we grow older, we slowly adapt to the changes around us. We always have to get the latest thing out, but the question is why do we need to? Does it make us better than the person next to us who doesn’t have it? Are we really willing to pay that much money for a small difference in a product that was out just six months ago? The social medias are constantly trying to get us to buy their new technology. The media advertises in the streets, on TV and even your friend might try to persuade you to buy a new gadget.  With all these to deal with, it adds social pressure to ourselves.  Does technology cause us to be even more socially isolated?  How far down the line are we letting our privacy get violated? What we didn’t realize is that technology is our deadliest weapon. There is a term called cyber bullying, which means harassment by any form of an electronic material used on  another person.  A person can be bullied by what they don’t have, text messages, phone calls, wall posts on websites, videos, and the list goes on. Gossip is formed in a mass social network. People get labeled with by what someone else said or did.
   
    For example, A freshmen college student named Tyler attended Rutgers University Committed suicide. His roommate secretly recorded Tyler being intimate with another male in his dorm. He was exposed  through a webcam and the video was uploaded it online. Tyler was confronted about it and later posted on his face book wall that he was jumping off the G.W. Bridge. This was all because of conflict of self identity and a tiny camera. 

    Another example is in Missouri a Woman had made a fake account on a social media website called Myspace. She used the site to pretend to be a boy who had started to have a relationship with a thirteen year old girl named Megan. The hoax was created because the woman’s daughter wasn’t getting along with Megan.  The fake user started to bash on the girl and ended the relationship. Megan then hung herself. This video gives you  more detail of the impact of cyber bullying on society.







    To sum it up, we speak through  an electronic system which we can’t live a day without. Technology is making it too easy for us to become someone we don’t want to be. We limit ourselves face time conversations to deal with conflicts. We mouth off online but not say a word to that person directly in person.  People are becoming bullies or stalkers and not even realizing it.  We just post it up on line and hope that others will like it and join our hate club. The level of isolation is going to keep increasing because the more we interact with technology the more we avoid people. Why continue to only have a relationship with a lit up screen and a keypad?