Deviance

Deviance is something that occurs every single day in our society, and it is actually an important part of society. Without it, society would be boring and lost. The media feeds off of social deviance, and without deviance the media would have almost nothing to cover.
Such an instance of this is Johnny Manziel. Manziel was a quarterback at Texas A&M, and was then drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2014. He is an electrifying player who is very fun to watch on the field with his play style, but it was his off-field issues that led to him being cut by the team.
Johnny has been despised by the NFL and many fans after his many mishaps. Here are a few of these many mishaps: he flipped the bird to the opposing sideline during a preseason game. He was constantly tardy or absent at team meetings and team activities. He was accused of assault on his ex-girlfriend. Many pictures of him partying arose when he instead should have been focused the game of football, or at least focused on improving himself as a person.  At one point, Johnny was into so many bad things, that his father came out and said that he would be surprised if his son would have lived to see the age of 24. I think it says a lot about somebody if their own father says something so harsh.
Since his release from the team, he has had an apparent wake up call. He visited a rehab facility for his drinking problem in attempt to better himself, which is a good step for him to take. He has since tried to make an NFL comeback, and I hope that it works out for him. He has tried to overcome his deviant life, and I think that it is a step that more people like that should take.

Freddie Gray and Mike Tyson vs. Society. Who fails who?

Many people grow up in very tough situations. People all over the US grow up in crime-infested neighborhoods where being a delinquent is the norm. These people are shaped to think that it is okay to live that way, even though it isn’t how things should be. However, I think many of these people don’t try as hard as they could to help themselves out and be somebody. I think that the large majority of these people have a lot of potential, and that they have it in them to change. If they really put their minds to it, they can make something out of themselves, rather than just using society as an excuse to why their life didn’t turn out good.

I personally think society doesn’t help people like Mike Tyson or Freddie Gray. I think the places where they grew up shaped them into people who stole, got into fights, or got into trouble with drugs, or many other things that have gone unspoken.  However, I think that Mike Tyson ended taking good steps, and he did what he needed to do to be somebody. He worked hard to get big places in life and it really payed off for him. He saw his chance to make something out of his life, and he took full advantage. Although he grew up in a bad situation, he made it out. He made millions of dollars and became very successful even though his background didn’t make that easy.

Freddie Gray was also shaped poorly by society. He grew up in a tough neighborhood. Society again taught him that drugs, violence, and other criminal activity was an okay way to live. This most likely had an effect on him and how he went about his life. But I still think that just like everyone else in this outstanding country, he had opportunities to succeed. He could have done more for himself and society than he chose to do. He made poor decisions, such as running from the police, assaulting a family friend, and doing drugs. He could have made much better decisions, but he continued to fall deeper and deeper into the hole that society dug. Instead of digging himself out, he chose to not do anything about it.

So all in all, I think that society shapes these people and tries to pull them into bad lives. But I think that it is something that can be overcome. Anyone can make the effort to better themselves and change themselves and others for the better. I think that society fails them to begin with, but then they fail society in return.