The world is socially constructed and ‘if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences’ (The Saints and the Roughnecks). Lifton discusses Nazi Doctors at Auschwitz and the processes and socialization they underwent in order to function in Nazi extermination camps, which were socially constructed realities. Chambliss compares two youth gangs and their actions and how they were perceived by the community to show that there were consequences to perceiving the Roughnecks as more deviant than the Saints.
Nazi Germany was a reality shaped by Hitler and those in authority, blaming Jews and other unaccepted groups for the economic and social distress of the time. This ‘reality’ was socially constructed. It wasn’t the Jews’ fault, but reasons were supplied to go with the blame and in despair and desperation, the community was willing to accept the explanation and go along with the solution: wipe them out. As a result, the situation was defined as real and had real consequences. The doctors who participated in the extermination and killing of people were socialized into this society. They were socialized into believing that this was the solution to the overall problem, and even though it was bad, it was better than letting the situation prevail. They did what Lifton calls ‘doubling’ in that they developed two selves in order to cope with the horrible job that they had. There was the self that did the exterminating and the kind self that did nice things to those who were at the camp and were alive. They also justified their jobs as necessary and defined themselves as generally good people who just had dirty jobs.
Chambliss’ two groups, the Roughnecks and the Saints did a similar amount of delinquent acts, but because the public perceived them as different, the consequences for the Roughnecks and Saints were different. The Saints actually did more, but the public saw them as overall good boys who were involved in school and just having a little fun. They were rarely pulled over by policemen and often let off. Teachers gave them good grades because they were perceived as good students. For the Roughnecks, they were seen and treated just the opposite. They often got into trouble with the police and had a lower grade point average. The public thought they were bigger trouble makers because they didn’t dress as well and got into more fights, though they actually didn’t miss class as much as the Saints or take part in as many delinquent acts. There were real consequences to the way the public thought reality was.
In my life, there are real consequences to the way I perceive others and to the way I perceive myself. If I see myself as a bad person, useless, inadequate, and incapable of doing what I need to do, I usually am less productive on those days and have a sour mood. That mood and attitude can then cause me to be less polite and sometimes mean to others, thus causing me to be the bad, lazy, unproductive person that I perceive myself as. However, I am more productive when I feel like I am capable of accomplishing things. Similarly, when others believe I am a good and responsible person, their encouragement helps me to get things done and to do them well. They also then trust me with more things to do, and the more I have to do the more I get done, and thus the more productive and responsible I appear.
No comments:
Post a Comment