Social Problems and Sociological Perspective

The society today is devoid of problems. The issues people face in their lives range from personal problems to broader social issues. Personal problems are those that affect an individual personally and are ones that a person, whether alone or with his or her close relations can conclusively deal with.  Social problems on the other hand,  is a term that refers to the social conditions and situations that disrupt or cause damage to a society such as crime, racial segregation, unemployment, poverty,  violence and police brutality among others; conditions that are beyond an individual’s control.  Social problems have their causes and drivers deeply rooted in the social structure and the culture of the underlying society.  Sociological perception helps understand the issues and problems facing a society as social issues rather than individual issues. Sociological perception is heavily anchored on the aspect of the sociological imagination. Sociological imagination refers to the vivid awareness of the existing relationship between various experiences and the wider society. Sociological imagination helps in viewing and perceiving the various experiences that people go through socially and how they interface with other problems in the society. Sociological perspective helps in viewing problems and issues of life from the social lenses rather than from an individual perception.

The disproportional rate of the arrests and conviction between the whites and the blacks in the United States explain the concept of the close relationship between race and criminology. Victimization of the blacks is a common thing in the American sociological setup whereby any black youth is perceived to be a thief, swindler, or even a murderer at any given time. The blacks, even though innocent, are always seen as those that have a larger capability to commit a crime as compared to their white counterparts. Most of the arrests made on the blacks are majorly unfair and based on perceptions rather than checking the factual details on how and why the crime under consideration actually happened. While racial discrimination has diminished with time, its impacts are very evident and persistent even in the judiciary systems where the probability of a black person being convicted without trial in the courts and institutions of justice is higher compared to that of the whites.

Police violence and brutality is one of the leading causes of the deaths of young men in the United States today. Police violence is the use of excessive or unnecessary force by the policemen and other personnel affiliated with the enforcement of law on civilians and suspects. The cases of police violence and their related deaths are higher in the people of color compared to their white counterparts. In the course of life, one out of a thousand young black men is expected to be killed by the police whether erroneously where a blame is unfairly laid on a person or for a given reason. The probability of being killed by the police peaks between the ages of 20 to 30 years.  While most cases of police brutality and the associated killings mainly involve men, women at a smaller extent are known to die as a result of manhandling by the police and other bodies that keep the adherence of law and order in check.

WE’VE HAD A GOOD SUCCESS RATE ON THIS ASSIGNMENT. PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH PapersSpot AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT

Race and racial discrimination form a hidden root of criminal activities and behavior. Sociological perception of crime, criminal activities and delinquency emphasizes on the underlying environment as well as social interactions as the causative agents rather than biological and psychological factors that might be involved. Due to racial discrimination, the access to education opportunities is minimized for the African Americans, Indians and the Latinos in the United States. Lack or limited access to a higher level of education brings in the higher rates of unemployment in the camps of the people of color. Consequently, there is the increased rate of unemployment which leads to the related cases of poverty where a person or a family survives on at most a dollar per day. Since there are needs and requirement for survival, cases of unemployment and the related poverty levels force many young people to engage in criminal activities such as theft, burglary and even murder. The consequences of such criminal activities are cases of police brutality, arrests and in most cases, life imprisonment.

Drug and substance abuse is a rampant social and individual problem in the current day United States. Law enforcement strategies have been put in place to control and manage the distribution and the use of the illegal drugs.  A study conducted in 2013, however, indicated that 21.6 million Americans that were over the 11 years of age either abused or were dependent on drugs and alcohol (Fellner 1).  While the study showed that there were a higher number of whites who abused drugs compared to the number of the people of color, black Americans are disproportionately arrested and convicted and even incarcerated for drug abuse charges. The white drug users, distributors and even those that are dependent on the drug or alcohol use are taken to rehabilitation centers where they are taken care of and treated and then released to go back to the society. This race disparity is one of the major outcomes of the racial discrimination that exists in the United States today.

Drug overuse and overdose is one of the leading causes of unintentional deaths in the US today and opioid addiction leads in this aspect. The public health institutions insists that all members of a society, that is, the parents, teachers, advocates, pharmacists, doctors, mental health providers and law enforcement agencies  are all instrumental in alleviating the impacts of opioid addiction. By working together, members of communities and societies can effectively launch that advance the preventive and mitigation strategies used in the prevention and treatment of the cases of overdose and also ensure that there is a safe opioid prescription given at all times. With the entire community working together, institutions such as police will stop the creation of scapegoats when arresting people and this will foster a healthy police-civilian interaction. The ‘Just Say No’ campaign in the 1980’s and the 1990’s, for instance was one of the ways that the society worked together in the war against drugs and substance abuse.

In conclusion, sociological view on the various issues and problems affecting both individuals and all members of a society is more effective that an individual view of the same. The sociological perspective is better in handling social problems in that it brings the entire society to look for ways of prevention and mitigation that help the individuals involved and also bring a peaceful coexistence of all. Through the sociological views, people are able to come together as a cohesive body and combine their efforts in effectively combating the vices and issues that affect them as a community.

Works Cited

Fellner, Jamie. “Race, Drugs, and Law Enforcement in the United States.” Human Rights Watch, 14 July 2010, www.hrw.org/news/2009/06/19/race-drugs-and-law-enforcement-united-states.