Sociological Literacy: Norms; Folkways, Mores, Taboos
Levine and Wolff published an article about different ways that social scientists researched time in various cultures. See the article called Social Time here.
Using the article, please answer these questions:
1. How did the author conduct research about time in the U.S. and Brazil?
2. What did he find?
3. How does language shape how people perceive/experience time?
4. What other data did researchers use to study time around the world?
Norms are the shared expectations about behavior - the meaning applied to how we interact with a group of people. Norms vary around the world. One example of this is the norms centered around time, as in the article you read for homework. How do people from different cultures think about time differently? What do they consider late or early? These are norms. Here is a list of norms from around the world.
Why are norms important?
There are two important general lessons from norms:
When interacting with other cultures, recognizing norms is important because if we fail to acknowledge these differences, we run the risk of offending someone or even a whole culture of people.
Second, norms help us see that we have been shaped to behave a certain way; they are an illustration that we are socialized by our nurture. Norms an example of the shared meaning that we learn as we grow up.
And this graphic explains varying norms from around the world.
Sociological Literacy: Different types of norms; folkways, mores, taboos
Example of a dinner with your family and significant other.
Norms that are less important are called folkways. Folkways are not crucial to the order of society and if you were to violate a folkway people would not necessarily judge you. A folkway in the United States might be addressing adults by "Mr" or "Ms" or driving the speed limit. A folkway at a dinner party might be not putting your elbows on the table. Finally, a folkway at SHS might be showing up to class on time or
Mores (pronounce mor AYS) are norms important to the order of a society. If you violate them, it will cause a disruption in the social setting. It is worth noting that these mores, although very important to the society, are not necessarily laws. Similar to the ideas of time being a social construct, they are just the way that people operate and even though they are not written into laws, they are important to the function of society. The more of how to cross a street can be found in lots of videos on youtube. Watch this video of an intersection in India and think about who has the right of way? There may not be a law about it, but those drivers know what they are doing. Would an American know the more of how to cross the street? Note how the person crossing the street is aware of the norms of traffic and so the pedestrian successfully crosses without getting hit.
When I was in Italy, it took me six days to figure out how to cross the street. There were scooters and cars swerving everywhere and honking. Every time I tried to cross the street, cars would screech to a stop and swear at me in Italian. Then I figured out how to do it. Just walk a steady pace across the street and let them avoid you - and it worked! This knowledge of how to cross the street is an important norm, what sociologists call a more.
And a British explanation of Italian street crossing norms here.
Finally, the most serious norms are taboos. Taboos are things that you do not even want to think about because it is embarrassing to even imagine it. For example, look at this port-a-potty in Switzerland:
This port-a-potty was the creation of an artist in Switzerland. Would you be able to use it?
It looks like this from the inside:
Would you be able to use a toilet if it looked like everyone could see you, even though you knew they could not? This is a taboo because even though people could not see us, the mere thought of them seeing us would make us hesitant. In other words, simply thinking about doing this is embarrassing and so we don't want to even think about it. Perhaps, that is why we have so many euphemisms for using the toilet: using the john, the restroom, the bathroom, the lavatory, the men's room, washroom, powder room?
Have you experienced a different set of norms from another culture either by traveling somewhere or by meeting a foreigner here in America? What was it like? Were there misunderstandings?
Something else that you might want to inquire about is another culture's norms; where you would like to travel? What are all of the norms you should know if you travel there? Find out what unique norms exist in their culture. Here is a link to cultural etiquette around the world.
Look at these two shapes. One is called a maluma and one is called takete. Which is which? Even if you don't know, take a guess. Write it down without telling anyone what your answer is or CLICK HERE to answer.
Shape A Shape B
Now Look at these three color chips. Which one does not belong?
What is the importance of language?
Language is important because it affects how we think. When we think about something, we are using language inside of our heads so if we use certain words or do not have certain words, it may affect how think about things especially how we categorize something. We even think based on how words sound. For example, takete and malunga. Takete sounds harsh and therefore angular. Malunga sounds softer and rounded. But these are just made up words. What is the Saphir-Whorf hypothesis? The importance of language was first highlighted by researchers, Saphir and Whorf. Their hypothesis and conclusion was that language shapes how people think. The NY Times ran a story about how the idea of language affecting our thoughts. See that article here. Also, see this post about politics and how the use of English frames every debate especially the debate over gun violence. Here is a list of untranslatable ideas about love from around the world. Here is a book that highlights untranslatable words from around the world.
Finally, write down three words to describe a bridge:
Lera Boroditsky, professor of cognitive science and cultural psychology has published research that concludes language affects how we think. Her evidence is in the genderization of nouns in different cultures. Here she is explaining her research at Ted. Here is an explanation from NPR about Boroditsky's research and how language shapes our description of bridges.
This NPR story highlights how language affects our thinking, especially for bilingual speakers. Here (see page 43 of this doc) is a lesson from Carol Mukhopadhyay on classifying in other cultures. For each of the following sets, choose the item that does not belong:
Set 1. Auto, turtle, basket, bird
Set 2. Laundry, beer, clothing Set 3. A chair, a spear, a couch After you have made your selections, click here for an explanation.
The ASA's Society Pages shares research by sociologist Matt Wray highlighted on NPR's Code Switch. Why would using the term "white trash" support white supremacy? This New Yorker article explains the research of professor Adam Alter on the hidden power of words and naming.
Also, here is a study explaining that without language, numbers do not make sense. This episode of On Being from NPR is about Rabbi Heschel who insightfully explained "words create worlds." Here is a link to a medium article about Heschel and words. And this link to a passage about the importance of words from Heschel to William Blake. David Treuer is an Ojibway translator who explains the power and importance of language on this episode of On Being. The episode Lost in Translation from NPR's Hidden Brain is a social science podcast from NPR and this episode explores how language shapes our thoughts.
In sum,
Gestures and Language are important components of culture.
Language affects how people think about the world.
But, language and gestures can change because culture changes.
Last night at the debate, the President refused to condemn white supremacy when asked directly by the moderator, Chris Wallace. The exchange is here at NPR,
WALLACE: You have repeatedly criticized the vice president for not specifically calling out antifa and other left-wing extremist groups. But are you willing, tonight, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and as we've seen in Portland? Are you prepared to specifically do that? TRUMP: Sure, I'm prepared to do that. But I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing. If you look, I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace. WALLACE: Then do it, sir. BIDEN: Do it. Say it. TRUMP: You want to call them? What do you want to call them? Give me a name, give me a name, go ahead — who would you like me to condemn? WALLACE: White supremacists, white supremacists and right-wing militia. TRUMP: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what: Somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left. Because this is not a right-wing problem — this is a left-wing problem.
Obviously, people can choose to vote for whomever they would like, but let me be clear about this lesson, there are three relevant reasons to examine this:
I care about you all as students and people. I do not want you to get wrapped up in a dangerous and violent group like the Proud Boys or other white supremacist organizations, but 2019 was a third straight year in a row that recruiting for white supremacy groups was up. The ADL reports here,
The 2019 spring semester saw more extremist propaganda on campus than any preceding semester, with 161 incidents on 122 different campuses across 33 states and the District of Columbia. For the complete academic year, California had the most incidents with 58, followed by Kentucky with 22 and Oklahoma with 19.
Additionally, I care about the United States of America. There are very real threats to our country and to democracy and equality, as you will see below in the section titled, "Why is white nationalism dangerous?"
Sociologically, there is general research about white supremacy and specific research about Proud Boys. Also, this is an excellent example of ingroups and outgroup homogeneity (Unit 2) as well as the importance of language, shared meaning and culture (Unit 3).
White Supremacy Groups/Proud Boys
Who are Proud Boys?
Sociologist Peter Simi explains here the conclusions of his research about who is likely to join a white supremacy organization.
...rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric. Proud Boys have appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings like the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville. Indeed, former Proud Boys member Jason Kessler helped to organize the event, which brought together Klansmen, antisemites, Southern racists, and militias.
Charlottesville and white supremacy Kessler organized the 2017 protest in Charlottesville, VA when white supremacists turned out to intimidate officials, denounce Jews and threaten public order. Here is a video from Vice showing it:
Misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and anti-immigration. Some members espouse white supremacist and anti-Semitic ideologies and/or engage with white supremacist groups.
American Swastika on Amazon, A sociological monograph by Peter Simi and Robert Futrell about the white power movement. From Amazon:
American Swastika takes readers through hidden enclaves of hate in America, exploring how White Supremacy movements thrive nationwide, even as the country on the surface advocates racial equality. The authors explain the difference between movements such as the KKK, the Aryan Nation, and Skinheads, among others, then discuss the various ways White Supremacists cultivate, maintain, and spread their beliefs, largely under the radar of most Americans.
Authors Pete Simi and Robert Futrell draw on over a decade of research and interviews, from the infamous Hayden Lake Aryan compound in Northern Idaho, to private homes in L.A., to hate music concerts around the country. Through descriptive case studies, the authors look at hate in the home, talking with parents who aim to raise "little Hitler" and discussing the impact home schooling and cultural isolation can have on children. The authors also describe Aryan crash pads, Bible studies, and rituals, take readers through the hate music scene from underground bars to massive rallies, and examine how the internet has shaped communication and created disturbing new virtual communities.
American Swastika shows how White Power groups sustain themselves and grow, even in a nation that preaches equality and tolerance, and looks toward how we can work to prevent future violence.
...sociologists have continued to track how more traditional white supremacists have evolved alongside changing social backdrops and history. These scholars have documented how white supremacist movements in the 21st century have been shaped by whites’ perceptions of victimhood following increased immigration, globalization, and diversity in America:
Robert Futrell is a sociologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Pete Simi is a sociologist at Chapman University.
The night that Barack Obama was elected President in 2008, the White supremacist web forum Stormfront lit up with posts about racial extremists’ fantastical visions of violence to combat “White racial genocide.” On election night 2016, Stormfront lit up again as White supremacists expressed triumph with Donald Trump’s victory. They celebrated: “We finally have one of us in the White House again!”
Since the election, observers have tried to explain the sudden rise of the so-called alt-right, but to those who track the far right, there’s nothing sudden about it. Long before election night, White supremacists had become savvy at outwardly masking their real beliefs and intentions while most wrote them off as politically innocuous wackos. Having bided their time, they are reemerging to try to capitalize on a racially recharged political climate.
The collective surprise at White supremacists’ arrival on the national stage reflects a lack of attention to the varied and persistent forms of racial extremism that have long simmered in America. Since their heyday in the mid-1920s through the Civil Rights era, white-hooded Ku Klux Klansmen have stood as the timeworn face of White supremacy. In the 1980s, neo-Nazi skinheads fused a racist ideology and a punk youth aesthetic with visions of a global Aryan movement. Their militant public displays drew new attention, along with strong challenges from authorities and anti-racist groups.
Facing a mainstream culture that vilified racial extremism, White supremacists gradually withdrew from most public forms of activism. Movement leaders told their followers to avoid repression by limiting overt displays of their allegiance. Thus, many racial extremists began living double lives: they covered their racist tattoos, grew out their hair, hid extremist insignia, and outwardly projected an image that concealed their beliefs. Leaders also encouraged them to infiltrate institutions to secure influence. For instance, the FBI has watched White supremacists quietly maintain an active presence in police departments and other law enforcement agencies, while others nurtured their hatred in seemingly benign, everyday settings such as family homes, Bible study meetings, and local bars. They found sanctuary on the Internet, embracing concealment as a savvy survival strategy. As leaders advocated lone-wolf attacks to spark a “race war,” White supremacist activism morphed into a mostly veiled struggle to withstand integrationist forces.
Some racial extremists also worked to reframe their rhetoric to appeal to mainstream conservative Whites. To neutralize the public stigma associated with White supremacy, they recast racial and anti-Semitic hatred as “White heritage preservation,” “White nationalism,” and, most recently, “the alt-right.” This sanitized “white-collar supremacy,” as religious historian Kelly J. Baker calls it, casts Whites as minority victims facing reverse discrimination. Their rebranded White supremacy aligns with broader populist conspiratorial anxieties about demographic change, immigration, and governmental overreach pushed by far-right pundits and networks of militia, sovereign citizens, nativists, Patriots, Tea Partiers, Oathkeepers, and Birthers.
We must be clear: White supremacists beliefs have not changed. They only hope to create a softer veneer for their virulent racial and anti-Semitic hate. As the ADL notes, the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement, recently declared a ban on the swastika as a cosmetic overhaul intended to rebrand their look, draw in patriotic White Americans, and secure political power. These efforts are nothing more than a ploy to disguise the worst form of racial extremism.
We must also come to terms with the very real dangers racial extremism poses. For generations, White supremacy has spawned terror. Lone wolves like Dylan Roof lash out, believing they can save White America. For his part, Roof was directly inspired by the Council of Conservative Citizens’ “cleaned up” and rebranded White nationalism, which many observers thought would not motivate violence. The post-election wave of racial and ethnically charged crimes reflects a new boldness among racists and anti-Semites. But, if they do not attain the political power they feel entitled to during Trump’s presidency, we may still reasonably fear more extreme violence from those frustrated by the limits of institutional politics.
Sociology Literacy: Ingroups and Outgroups
the algorithmic rise of the “alt-right” by Jessie Daniels in Contexts (winter 2018)
There are two strands of conventional wisdom unfolding in popular accounts of the rise of the alt-right. One says that what’s really happening can be attributed to a crisis in White identity: the alt-right is simply a manifestation of the angry White male who has status anxiety about his declining social power. Others contend that the alt-right is an unfortunate eddy in the vast ocean of Internet culture. Related to this is the idea that polarization, exacerbated by filter bubbles, has facilitated the spread of Internet memes and fake news promulgated by the alt-right. While the first explanation tends to ignore the influence of the Internet, the second dismisses the importance of White nationalism. I contend that we have to understand both at the same time.
A Sociological Investigation of #NoWanks from The Cut Sarah Diefendorf, a sociologist and Scholars Strategy Network postdoctoral fellow at the University of Utah finds that membership in Proud Boys and other white nationalist groups is tied to gender; males are reacting to their decreasing status by trying to claim ownership over women and their bodies.
But note the language under the stipulations for the group’s fourth degree of membership: “engaging in a major conflict for the cause.” It’s a little unclear what that cause actually is, but this line on the Proud Boys USA homepage gives us a clue: “I Am A Western Chauvinist And I Refuse To Apologize For Creating The Modern World.” Though the Proud Boys claim to be open to all races and sexualities, and even seem to draw the rare non-white, non-straight member, they have attracted the attention of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who cite concerns over the group’s fondness for white nationalist memes, as well as their anti-Muslim and misogynist rhetoric.
If we look at these groups in the aggregate, we see something they all have in common,” Diefendorf says. “They are all talking about their relationships to sex and sexuality, and approaching those questions differently. But what they all have in common is their understanding of women.”
And that understanding, Diefendorf explains, involves a virulent sense of ownership over women’s bodies, combined with a feeling that they’re “losing power or control.” MGTOWs feel they’ve lost a gender war, and their revenge (?) is to remove themselves from the dating pool. Incels blame women for not giving them what they “deserve” (sex), and at least some of them believe violence is the right response. The Proud Boys, Diefendorf added, also feel an acute loss of power, but instead of bowing out or advocating “sex redistribution” like Incels and their sympathizers, their response is to focus on family and fatherhood.
“However,” she adds, “they believe in this gender essentialism and biological determinism that men and women have separate roles to fulfill, and that women have been taking over men’s roles. They believe that everyone — both men and women — are unhappy because of this, that women will be happier in the home. And that as men they should be in control over these women, provide for them, and be the ones in the workforce...
This article discusses how the current neglect of white supremacist violence impedes the development of terrorism scholarship. The decentralized organization of contemporary white supremacists is often confused with disorganization that has led some observers to claim that white supremacist terror (WST) poses a relatively benign threat and is essentially irrelevant. In contrast, I argue that white supremacist violence is part of a broader social movement strategy. Lastly, I discuss how four hot-button issues may contribute to a new large-scale wave of WST.
White supremacists present the gravest terror threat to the United States, according to a draft report from the Department of Homeland Security....None of the drafts POLITICO reviewed referred to a threat from Antifa, the loose cohort of militant left-leaning agitators who senior Trump administration officials have described as domestic terrorists. Two of the drafts refer to extremists trying to exploit the “social grievances” driving lawful protests....All three documents note that 2019 was the most deadly year for domestic violent extremists since the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995.
2019 the Deadliest Year for Domestic Terrorism in the U.S. from Voice of America.
More Than 175 Killed Worldwide in Last Eight Years in White-nationalist Led Attacks, from the Guardian
In the past eight years, more than 175 people around the world have been killed in at least 16 high-profile attacks motivated, or apparently motivated, by white nationalist conspiracy theories, including the far-right racist belief that nonwhite immigrants and refugees are “invaders” who pose an existential threat to the white race.
Documents: White supremacists wanted rally to start civil war from the Associated Press
A hidden camera captured members of a white supremacist group expressing hope that violence at a gun rights rally in Virginia this week could start a civil war, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.
"White supremacist and other far-right extremist groups have killed 51 police officers since 1990, according to a report published by the Anti-Defamation League last week. Left-wing extremist groups, including black nationalists, killed 11 during the same period.
In 2017 alone, black nationalists and other leftists killed no police, while white supremacists and anti-government extremists fatally attacked a police officer and two corrections officers, the report said."
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center published “End of Watch: 15 Law Enforcement Officers Murdered by Domestic Extremists Since the Oklahoma City Bombing,”an article that detailed the tragic deaths of 15 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty during violent confrontations with domestic extremists in the 10 years since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Since the publication of that article, an additional 40 law enforcement officers have been murdered by domestic extremists, a significant increase. The deadliest year was 2016, in which eight officers were murdered, followed by 2009, with seven deaths. Individuals who were either members of white supremacist groups or who subscribed to white nationalism were responsible for nine deaths, as were individuals who held antigovernment beliefs... neo-Nazi prison gangs (7), sovereign citizens (6)
White supremacists and other far-right extremists have killed far more people since Sept. 11, 2001, than any other category of domestic extremist. The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism has reported that 71 percent of the extremist-related fatalities in the United States between 2008 and 2017 were committed by members of the far right or white-supremacist movements.
June 8, 2014:Assassination of Las Vegas Police
Jerad and Amanda Miller, a married couple who are white and American citizens, scouted a diner in Las Vegas.When they observed two police officers eating there, they fatally assassinated one officer in the back of the head with a handgun, then shot the other in the throat. Both Millers then killed the second officer by shooting him multiple times after he attempted to fire back.[10] Afterwards, they dragged the officers' bodies out of their booth and covered one with a yellow Gadsden flag and a swastika. They pinned a note on the other body, which read: "This is the beginning of the revolution." They also stole both officers' guns and ammunition. During the restaurant shooting, the Millers loudly declared to other patrons that it happened to be the start of "a revolution".
American Hate book by Arjun Singh Sethi, an SHS student's uncle.
In American Hate: Survivors Speak Out, Arjun Singh Sethi, a community activist and civil rights lawyer, chronicles the stories of individuals affected by hate. In a series of powerful, unfiltered testimonials, survivors tell their stories in their own words and describe how the bigoted rhetoric and policies of the Trump administration have intensified bullying, discrimination, and even violence toward them and their communities.
We hear from the family of Khalid Jabara, who was murdered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in August 2016 by a man who had previously harassed and threatened them because they were Arab American. Sethi brings us the story of Jeanette Vizguerra, an undocumented mother of four who took sanctuary in a Denver church in February 2017 because she feared deportation under Trump’s cruel immigration enforcement regime. Sethi interviews Taylor Dumpson, a young black woman who was elected student body president at American University only to find nooses hanging across campus on her first day in office. We hear from many more people impacted by the Trump administration, including Native, black, Arab, Latinx, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, undocumented, refugee, transgender, queer, and people with disabilities.
A necessary book for these times, American Hate explores this tragic moment in U.S. history by empowering survivors whose voices white supremacists and right-wing populist movements have tried to silence. It also provides ideas and practices for resistance that all of us can take to combat hate both now and in the future.
White Supremacist Links to Law Enforcement Are an Urgent Concern
From the Brennan Center Michael German, an FBI agent who infiltrated white supremacists.
Too many local police don’t take the far right seriously — or they actively sympathize with them. For decades, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has routinely warned its agents that the white supremacist and far-right militant groups it investigates often have links to law enforcement. Yet the justice department has no national strategy designed to protect the communities policed by these dangerously compromised law enforcers.
Watch what happened when CNN went to Proud Boys rally CNN's Elle Reeve spent time with the Proud Boys, a far-right group, during a rally in Portland, Oregon. Hear what they have to say about their beliefs and reputation of being violent. On CNN.
Relatively small on 4chan in its early days, the movement has since considerably grown in size, notably helped by dozens of Facebook groups and pages with tens of thousands of members and followers. In order to evade Facebook restrictions on the word "Boogaloo", alternate terms like "Big Igloo", "Boog" and "Big Luau" are also frequently used.
Like other online movements born out of 4chan, Boogaloo Bois are steeped in the vernacular of internet memes and in-jokes.
From the Guardian, Anti-fascists linked to zero murders in the U.S. in 25 years
A new database of nearly 900 politically motivated attacks and plots in the United States since 1994 includes just one attack staged by an anti-fascist that led to fatalities. In that case, the single person killed was the perpetrator.
Over the same time period, American white supremacists and other rightwing extremists have carried out attacks that left at least 329 victims dead, according to the database.
