Global Inequality

When researching inequality on the global scale it is important to see how the effects of each country actually effects our home country. Each country has something to distribute and share with the world and countries around them. Whether that something is a good or bad thing depends on the country and stratification. I'm interested in the countries that may not have much to contribute to the rest of the world and the reasoning behind such. I believe that each country that doesn't have much to contribute to society may not because of corruption in regards to who ever is running that country. Politicians in those country's may be stealing money from that countries export/import business. Most poor country's economy's are one sided and the leaders of such country didn't take the time throughout history to actually change the colony to a more economical state. Each country started off as a colony in many ways. Many country's such as America took the time to change from that colony a more agricultural/economical and technological state. Other country's such as Somalia for example throughout time never changed from the colonial state that they were in from the start and are still trying to transition into a more economical country. Global stratification being an uneven distribution of privileges, material rewards, opportunities, power, prestige and influence among individuals and groups shows the difference between richer countries such as America and poorer country's like Somalia.

social class in America

Social class throughout the world is very much in existence and in the United States plays a very prominent role in our society. In the United States there are four social classes. The upper class, middle class, working class, and lower class. 5% of the the U.S. population earn at least 614,000 annually and may earn ten times that amount or even more. Upper class individuals are very privileged. The drive the best vehicles, own the top businesses, and children attend the best schools/university's which in turn basically assures the families assets and businesses are going to continue to grow and stay within the family.
The middle class are made up of 40 to 45 percent of the U.S. population. The middle class society are more diverse in regards to race and ethnicity in the United States than the upper class. Many middle class individuals who are withing the upper middle class society are individuals who have pursued careers where they make on average 80,000 to 160,000 a year. The average middle class society make around 40,000 to 80,000 a year and most likely work less prestigious white collar jobs.
The working class in the United States are about one third of the population. The income within these households are around 25,000 to 40,000 a year and many of these individuals work blue collar jobs. These individuals are more vulnerable to financial problems caused by illness or unemployment. The lower class in the United States are a society that are considered to be poor. Our society seems to isolate the lower class especially when these individuals are ethnically and racially the minority. About 60 percent of lower class families rent homes in the most undesirable places throughout the U.S and usually live within rural southern areas and inner city's.
I believe social class in the U.S. is a very relevant situation. I also do not believe individuals should be judged because of how the look from the outside and where they come from in regards to social class. Never the less social class determines many individuals futures. A student from a working class or lower class society may not have the same opportunity's as a student from the upper class or upper middle class society. They most likely will not be able to afford the best university's to attend or educations. They may not even be interested in attending college because no one in their family did or they simply don't think they can do better than how they were raises. A child grows up and learns what they live and may not think that they can get out of poverty or the lower class situation.
Individuals from the upper class can also afford better health care when sick and the best medications/surgery's money can buy. They can afford the best representation when facing time in prison while individuals from the lower class receive representation from public defenders. Two individuals facing the same charges who come from different social classes will most likely have very different results in regards to the case. It may not be fair but this is simply how America and many other nations throughout the world operate and thrive. Social class matters so much in the United States, perhaps too much.

Technology and America

I do believe that we as Americans have become isolated because of technological advances. As stated in the book individuals throughout our country don't have to leave the house in order to network or even date. I do believe we also should be concerned now and in the future especially in regards to our children. We see children as young as 9 years old with cell phones and mp3 players not paying attention to their surroundings or interacting with others. I believe that Americans may also be overweight because lazy because of technology as well. Instead of going outside to play and meet new friends our children would rather play video games or Internet surf. The way individuals catchup with old friends and communicate with them is through Internet sites such as facebook and myspace. The effort just simply does not seem to be there anymore when it comes to friendships and relationships because we depend on out Internet and technology to do the job for us. Simple things such as a hug can be sent in a message or on the Internet to a friend who may be in need or just feeling low, I hope the Internet hugs really do the trick and make them feel better.

Although individuals still go to malls to shop and interact, if they don't want to go out they really don't have to because the same thing they want in the mall at certain stores can be found online at the stores website, the only thing that individual will have to pay in addition to the products are the shipping and handling fees but I guess they don't mind since they didn't even have to get out of bed to go out and shop. Technology, possibly shouldn't live with it but we can't seem to live without it.

Crime and Deviance (Domestic violence)

There is no typical domestic violence victim. There are no characteristics or criteria that exist to help individuals notice these victims and their cry for help. Victims of such abuse don’t look a certain way or love in certain areas of town. These individuals live upon us and look no different than any other man in this world. Male domestic violence victims could be older men who have been in the same violent relationship for years, they could be young men in high school or even younger who are being battered by young women they are currently in a relationship with. When domestic violence against male victims is being examined we must also include men in homosexual relationships, although this isn’t the basis of the research in this paper; the same rules apply for these victims as well. No matter what the victim’s characteristics or personality traits are no one should be mistreated by another person, especially a loved one or partner. In order to examine or understand intimate partner abuse against men we must first look at the statistics and information of such violent cases not only for research purposes but to also raise awareness which will eventually help lead to prevention. As stated on about.com in a section concentrating on men’s health and intimate partner abuse, in 2002 twenty four percent of the United States homicides that were results of domestic violence were male victims. Although this may seem small compared to the seventy six percent of intimate partner abuse female victims, the problem still exist and should be prevented before it becomes and even greater epidemic. A study in 1980 was conducted to show the rate of severe violence by men and women. In 1985 the rate for men was 3.0 down from 3.8, and the rate of women was 4.4 down from the original 4.6. In 2003 the National Crime Victimization Survey reported that twenty two percent of men experienced physical, sexual, and psychological abuse during some point in their life and that children sadly become injured during the domestic disputes. Statistics also show that men of different ethnicities than their partners are at greater risk of being a victim of domestic abuse from their partners than males who are the same ethnicity of their partners. The statistics found about domestic violence against men were not very in depth and were not easy to find. There may be many reasons why women choose to abuse their male partners. The batterers may give excuses and try explain the reasoning behind their abusive ways, some women may even try theories such as learning theories which states that the behavior has been learned and is hard to stop. There are ways for such violent behaivor to stop and gain control. I do not believe that there are enough laws and awareness about intimate partner abuse and while this is very alarming there are ways to begin the process of raising awarness and getting individuals who need help the help they need. Our society needs to change the way we deal with this matter and many others. The following are ways to raise awareness which will eventually lead to stopping this violence all together.

There are many ways to prevent domestic violent or intimate partner abuse. The most affective way to prevent and hopefully stop this vicious cycle is to raise awareness. Other ways to raise awareness would be to find out the root of the problem or become aware of the abusive situation began. Ways to raise awareness and prevention of domestic violence against men range from volunteering at a local safe house for battered men to simply speaking out about the deviant behavior and the pain it causes too many individuals throughout the world. Another way to raise awareness is to campaign about the situation. An individual can begin the fight against domestic violence by influencing government to pass more laws and enact higher penalties for domestic violence batterers. The national coalition against domestic violence is also a great way to raise awareness and aid in the prevention of domestic violence. Raising money or even donating an old vehicle or phone can help the coalition and the victims it tries to assist.
There are many resources about domestic violence against men. Websites such as The National Coalition against domestic violence website has various options for individuals interested in the fight against domestic violence to participate in. The information on this site is helpful for victims of domestic violence and batterers. Spreading the word and getting others involved in the fight against domestic violence is also another great way to help raise awareness which will in turn hopefully prevent further domestic violence cases. Local libraries can also assist in the fight against this growing epidemic by helping individuals find books about domestic violence against men. Anybody experiencing domestic violence, including men, should speak with their health care provider or contact 1-800-799-SAFE, a national domestic violence hotline.

Nature vs. Nurture

My views on the nature vs. nurture debate may be similar to many of societies views on the subject. Nurture is basically our environment and surroundings, an example of this would be if an individual born in and growing up in a ghetto in New York. It would be in this individuals "nurture" to do things in order to survive such as dealing drugs for money, stealing vehicles for neighborhood fame, or become part of a gang for protection. Individuals from a different environment will not have a similar understanding of nurture. An individual from an environment such as a suburb in northern Virginia would not have to participate in the same types of activities that the person from New York did. An individual from a suburb in Northern Virginia would probably be more involved in extra curricular programs and sports to keep busy and off the streets. The nature and this individuals surroundings allows for such as opposed to the person from New York.
Nature on the other hand is focused on who an individual is brought up or raised by, and their personality traits/genes. For example the same individuals from the scenarios used in the nurture explanation could have very similar experiences. The reasoning for this would be who that individual is raised by and heredity. Yes, the Northern Virginian is from the suburbs and has the world at his/her feet but what happens when this person is not raised by individuals who have good morals or integrity? What happens when this persons parents live in the suburbs and can afford to send them to decent schools because they are the neighborhood drug lords? This is where nature comes into play. Although this individuals environment(nurture) seems wonderful behind closed doors the way the individual they are being raised by(nature) is not as wonderful. This child will grow up thinking that being a drug lord is an actual good job choice and may try to follow in his/her parents footsteps. It is possible that the parents in this suburban household have hereditary traits that cause them to participate in such activities. Maybe their parents were abused by an uncle who is now registered as a sex offender and in turn they abused their children and made them feel small, to the point where they felt that they we rent worth much and would never amount to anything. In turn they believe that they may not be smart enough for college because they are used to hearing such things, so they opt for the only job they feel will make them lots of money without having to go to college, drugs. This just goes to show that the old saying "children learn what they live" contains many truths but an individuals traits come from their genes which comes from their ancestors and this could be the cause for many positives and negatives that a person possesses.
I believe that a persons nature his more realistic in regards to their outcome and choices rather than whats in their nature. There is never an excuse to become involved in deviant behavior but if a person is nurtured to think they have to kill or steal to survive then this is most likely the type of activity they will participate in.