Evelyn Lupancu

Reflection #4

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, people of color make up 37% of the
U.S. population yet 67% of the prison population. This number, strikingly large as it is, could
only have grown since the data was collected in 2001. Even more so, black men are six times
as likely to be incarcerated as white men. While it is hard for many individuals to admit,
implicit racial bias and clear socioeconomic disparities are inevitable features that plague our
society. While the criminal justice system has come a long way in terms of evolving to
support the needs of members of the United States, it is clear that there are still flaws that
inhibit every single individual from being treated as equal as race continues to create
division. The social strain theory, coined by American sociologist Robert Merton, can be
seen as a framework for understanding how strain affects individuals, inducing pressure on
them to succeed and fit the mold of society, evidently focusing on how these individuals
cope with strain. Merton’s intent was to add onto the ideas developed by Emil Durkheim,
focusing on the idea that deviance, any action that goes against what is expected, is essential
to the functioning of society. Deviance can be seen all throughout the history of African
Americans in the United States. Rosa Parks, who violated social norms by refusing to give
her seat up to whites, is the perfect example of deviance and the influence it can have. This
butterfly effect, a phenomenon in which a small event in a complex system can have large
effects elsewhere, would later lead to the Civil Rights Movement, a major deviant movement
inflicted by the black population. Merton discovered that achieving success in society was a
goal that could either be obtained in one or two ways: by conforming or deviating. As a
result of the sometimes unrealistic goal of success, people tend to go to great lengths to
achieve said “success”, even if it costs them. Ritzer includes the example of a an
entrepreneur who can’t afford to launch his own company. As a result of this strain, he may
be tempted to embezzle start-up funds from his employer. Society can have tremendous
influence on individuals, causing them to put their morals on the line when it comes to
achieving success. Crime is increasingly becoming more intertwined with strain, as African
Americans have had to deal with the consequences of the racial disparity they continue to
encounter.