Final paper of Sociology
ANSWER
Collective social behaviour refers to a mode of organisation in a society where people are categorised into groups that vary on socioeconomic factors such as race, education, wealth, income, social status, gender or occupation. The topic has historically appeared on the media for a long time and in social theorist research such as Karl Marx and Max Weber. This analysis focuses on collective social behahiour with regards to gender from a New York Times article that was published on June 29th 2020. The article presents two groups of people in conflict with one another as a result of the social inequality in the U.S. class system, one being the United States police department and the other being African Americans. For a long time, statistics have indicated that African Americans, particularly, black men are more prone to crime-related activities in America comprising drug-related felonies and theft and burglaries among others. The situation prompts many in the police department to perceive a threat and consequently respond in hostility towards the race and gender in a manner that does not match their crime which has often lead to death or serious injury.
A good example of the factors addressed in this paper is a New York Times article that features Byron Williams, fifty years, black and in the year 2019, cycling without a safety light in Las Vegas. After a confrontation with the police, Mr William is documented to have died in police custody saying that he could not breathe and repeating it 17 times. The article also features Eric Garner, another black man in New York City in 2014, who was caught selling untaxed cigarettes by the sidewalk. Again Mr Garner died after being put on chokehold crying that he could not breathe. And in another most recent case that caused a total public outcry George Floyd was caught using a fake $20 bill and after a confrontation with the Minneapolis police force, died in chokehold pleading that he could not breathe. The three are just examples of what happens in confrontations between the police and the black community in the unaccounted being wrongful arrests and prosecutions, mistaken shooting by the police and mistreatment including deprivation of sleep, food and water while in police custody among many others. The article observes that the cases, “show a pattern of aggressive tactics that ignored prevailing safety precautions while embracing dubious science that suggested that people pleading for air do not need urgent intervention” (NY Times). This essay will present collective behaviour evidence from media releases and analysis using the socialigical concepts and theories to present an overview of the prevalence od social inequality and change in the United States of America..
The situation presents reflects more on the Conflict Theory researched by Karl Marx (1818 – 1883), where he explained society as a collection of people belonging to a variety of social classes. These classes are in constant conflict in a competition for resources among them food and housing, education and employment among others. The concept explains the singling out of black men on the topic of police brutality. These reasons include the fact that the cases all happen in the poorer neighbourhoods of the United States meaning that the victims were of low or no income. As a survival mechanism, the turn to crime like using a fake $20 bill or selling untaxed cigarettes or riding a bike at night without a safety light.
Secondly, the scenario presents the police department with a conundrum where they have to ensure the safety of the streets but are often tasked with the duty to constantly keep black low-income young men from causing trouble in the areas they patrol. Thirdly, is the generalisation of the black young men insubordination component by the various police departments causing them to be more aggressive in a confrontation with them that with another Caucasian young female or male committing the same crime. And lastly, the view by the entire black community that the police are enemies and threats to their survival. These factors propel the conflict theory as Max Weber later added to the theory saying that different groups are affected differently based on race, gender and education level.
The article itself by New York Times covers the issue as an inequality problem with a subheading stating, “The deaths of Eric Garner in New York and George Floyd in Minnesota created national outrage over the use of deadly police restraints. There were many others you didn’t hear about” (NY Times). The issues discussed are presented as social problems in the society making the authors aware of the social conflict that exists. Statements like “Mr Floyd’s dying words have prompted a national outcry over law enforcement’s deadly toll on African-American people, and they have united much of the country in a sense of outrage that a police officer would not heed a man’s appeal for something as basic as air” makes it very clear that the authors support an idea that terrible crimes have been done towards a specific race of people and it needs to stop.
These larger social differences present the strong with an urgent necessity to maintain order to preserve their ongoing relationships. One way to do this is by having a brutal police force with a deadly instinct almost absent in emotion and feeling. Mr. Chauvin displayed this at its best. First, he did not bother to confirm Mr. Floyd’s concern about him being claustrophobic. Secondly, when Mr. Floyd complained about not getting enough air, he made a snide remark about how talking uses oxygen and that he should shut up and conserve oxygen (BBC.com). Thirdly, he ignored the pleas of bystanders, for instance, the lady who observed Mr. Floyd’s nose bleeding. And lastly, Mr. Chauvin held a man in a chokehold for more than seven minutes. These facts line up with conflict theory, where paramount that the police are this deadly to hold power for the strong and wealthy. Jacobs (1979) observes that “the most direct way to maintain order, one logical implication of conflict theory is that law enforcement personnel should be most numerous in metropolitan areas where differences in economic resources are greatest” (Jacobs 1979).
Karl Marx suggested that as far as there were humans and these humans did things and said things, there would always be conflict and variation in social status. The middle income black men living in the United States could likely continue to suffer injustices not because of a biased police department but because of the current status of the society. Social conflict is unstoppable and has to happen. It is no wonder that the greatest nations in the world begun their success stories after a major conflict like civil wars or world wars perhaps in line with the wise saying that, before calm, comes the storm.
References
Jacobs, D. (1979). Inequality and police strength: Conflict theory and coercive control in metropolitan areas. American Sociological Review, 913-925.
Nytimes.com. Three Words. 70 Cases. The Tragic History of ‘I Can’t Breathe. Retrieved on 5th August 2020 from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/28/us/i-cant-breathe-police-arrest.html
