Beginning in July of 2016 and continuing on to the present day, protesters have been actively camped out near Cannon Ball, North Dakota; protesting as, or in solidarity with, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. Calling themselves “Water Protectors”, they are actively protesting a 1,172-mile long oil pipeline being built by a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners named Dakota Access (Time 1). The pipeline is proposed to run diagonally from Stanley, North Dakota all the way to Patoka, Illinois (Time 1). The deviance of the Water Protectors can be explained by two sociological theories; one being the Structural Strain Theory by Robert Merton and the other being Travis Hirschi’s Social Control Theory. How are these theories
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Structural strain, according to Joan Ferrante’s Seeing Sociology textbook, occurs within, “…a situation in which there is an imbalance between culturally valued goals and the legitimate means to obtain them” (221). With this theory, Merton wanted to show how belief in the “American dream” (i.e. success) is connected to deviant behavior. His Structural Strain Theory begins by examining where one starts off in life – be it their race, social class, gender, or sex – and how people are hindered or helped in attempting to achieve the valued goals by their starting place. The theory goes on to list modes of adaptation in response to structural strain including: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and …show more content…
When the Water Protector’s official appeal to stop the pipeline fell on deaf ears, legitimate means were officially no longer an option. Opportunities, historically for Native Americans, for reaching valued goals were “…limited or closed off to a significant portion…” of the population, so their “…sole emphasis…” turned into “…achieving [their] valued goals by any means necessary” (Ferrante 221-222). That imbalance between “…culturally valued goals and the legitimate means to obtain them…” (Ferrante 221) has led the Sioux to committing deviant acts such as camping out on private land, setting up barricades in the center of roads to block progress on the pipeline, and refusing to be moved (Time
Structural strain, according to Joan Ferrante’s Seeing Sociology textbook, occurs within, “…a situation in which there is an imbalance between culturally valued goals and the legitimate means to obtain them” (221). With this theory, Merton wanted to show how belief in the “American dream” (i.e. success) is connected to deviant behavior. His Structural Strain Theory begins by examining where one starts off in life – be it their race, social class, gender, or sex – and how people are hindered or helped in attempting to achieve the valued goals by their starting place. The theory goes on to list modes of adaptation in response to structural strain including: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and …show more content…
When the Water Protector’s official appeal to stop the pipeline fell on deaf ears, legitimate means were officially no longer an option. Opportunities, historically for Native Americans, for reaching valued goals were “…limited or closed off to a significant portion…” of the population, so their “…sole emphasis…” turned into “…achieving [their] valued goals by any means necessary” (Ferrante 221-222). That imbalance between “…culturally valued goals and the legitimate means to obtain them…” (Ferrante 221) has led the Sioux to committing deviant acts such as camping out on private land, setting up barricades in the center of roads to block progress on the pipeline, and refusing to be moved (Time