A boy at school has a pale face, purple lips, ratty hair, and dirty clothes. His teeth are gapped and yellow. Rumors that he is a “druggy” start to arise. He begins to feel like an outcast and decides to accept this judgement as who he is supposed to be and begins to hang around a rough crowd. Eventually, he starts carrying. Back at school, a teacher asks to look into his backpack and finds drugs. Soon, word of the discovery spreads across the student body and the “I told you” phrases begin. Society relies on labeling others; it has become a property of human nature. We’re surrounded by them in the places we shop in and the products we buy. Though it has limitations, we as a group have the tendency to move past them and label the people in
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When he returned to school, word of him being a “druggy” spread across campus, and teachers were suspicious of what he may be in possession of. They asked to check his backpack and found what was expected – drugs. He was expelled and kicked out of his home, so he returned to his deviant social group. The trappings of labels evoke the very traits that are complained of. The boy is being encouraged to absorb the labels as a part of him by society’s reactions to his behavior. Thus, ensuring a drug related …show more content…
With no guidance in a world surrounded by drugs, the boy started dealing and using. He was arrested and convicted for drug related offences. Resulting from being officially labeled as someone with a history of drug abuse, the probability of him further engaging in drug related behavior increased. He began taking hard drugs in prison. This behavior, in turn, isolates the boy from effective social control, cuts him off from many legitimate opportunities, and opens up illegitimate opportunities to him. When he was released, he turned to drug related crimes to finance his life. He took an overdose of laced drugs and dies at the young age of 19. While many of his peers saw this situation to be stereotypical, others would see it as a self-fulfilling prophecy that is a result of being
When he returned to school, word of him being a “druggy” spread across campus, and teachers were suspicious of what he may be in possession of. They asked to check his backpack and found what was expected – drugs. He was expelled and kicked out of his home, so he returned to his deviant social group. The trappings of labels evoke the very traits that are complained of. The boy is being encouraged to absorb the labels as a part of him by society’s reactions to his behavior. Thus, ensuring a drug related …show more content…
With no guidance in a world surrounded by drugs, the boy started dealing and using. He was arrested and convicted for drug related offences. Resulting from being officially labeled as someone with a history of drug abuse, the probability of him further engaging in drug related behavior increased. He began taking hard drugs in prison. This behavior, in turn, isolates the boy from effective social control, cuts him off from many legitimate opportunities, and opens up illegitimate opportunities to him. When he was released, he turned to drug related crimes to finance his life. He took an overdose of laced drugs and dies at the young age of 19. While many of his peers saw this situation to be stereotypical, others would see it as a self-fulfilling prophecy that is a result of being