Homework answers / question archive / Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings who discussed a different social justice issue than you did

Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings who discussed a different social justice issue than you did

Sociology

Share With

---

Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings who discussed a different social justice issue than you did. Explain the systemic barriers to effectively addressing the issue that they discussed. 

 

SOPHIA

Contemporary social justice issue

This week I chose racial profiling when law enforcement targets an individual suspected of a crime because of their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin (ACLU, 2023). An example of racial profiling is a 13-year-old named Stanley Davis III, who died after crashing his dirt bike while being chased by an officer in Boynton Beach, Florida (Zaru, 2022).

Have there been large-scale rallies and/or protests related to social justice?

There have been countless rallies and protests because of racial profiling. I will mention the rally held for Stanley Davis III. The residents of Boynton Beach, Florida, joined the family and friends of Stanley Davis III on January 1, 2023. Stanley was a fan of dirt bikes, many who attended the rally rode their bikes in honor of him (News, 2023).

 If so, have the rallies or protests made a difference in addressing or furthering the issue? Why or why not?

There were many rallies and protest held for Stanley since his death. The residents protested outside the Boynton Beach police department (Salzbank, 2021). The protests and rallies made a difference, and the officer was fired following the completion of an internal affairs investigation (Eppinger, 2022).

How have policy, laws, and public views about the issue changed over time?

Disciplinary actions were taken when the city’s pursuit policies and procedures were violated.

Who holds power on the issue, and who lacks the power? What are the implications?

In this case, the community and law enforcement hold the power on this issue. No one lacked any power when they came together.

If you could promote social change in relation to the issue, what would the outcome look like?

If I could promote social change regarding racial profiling, the outcome would be to make it mandatory for all law enforcement to have psych evaluations before hire and once a year after hire.

 

References

ACLU. (2023).  Racial Profiling: Definition. Retrieved from www.aclu.org: https://www.aclu.org/other/racial-profiling-definition

Eppinger, K. (2022, August 19).  Boynton Beach police officer in teen's dirt bike death fired. Retrieved from www.wptv.com: https://www.wptv.com/news/region-s-palm-beach-county/boynton-beach/officer-mark-sohn-fired

News, P. B. (2023, Janurary 1).  PHOTOS: Boynton Beach community members hold rally to remember Stanley Davis III. Retrieved from www.palmbeachdailynews.com: https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/picture-gallery/news/2023/01/02/boynton-beach-rally-held-dirt-bike-rider-stanley-davis-iii/10979958002/

Salzbank, L. (2021, December 28).  Family of teen protests outside Boynton Beach Police Department after dirt bike death. Retrieved from cbs12.com: https://cbs12.com/news/local/family-of-teen-protests-outside-boynton-beach-police-department-after-dirt-bike-death

Zaru, D. (2022, April 5).  Community members express anger over teen's traffic stop death after officer faces no charges. Retrieved from abcnews.go.com: https://abcnews.go.com/US/community-members-express-anger-teens-traffic-stop-death/story?id=83889270

 

SARAH

Social Justice Issue

The issue I chose from last week, and I’m continuing to choose this week, is the stigma surrounding the opioid overdose crisis hindering the response to the crisis and causing individuals with opioid use disorders to disengage. Once these individuals disengage, it is a repetitive cycle that results in poorer health outcomes, psychological distress, and a poorer quality of life (Tsai, et al., 2019).

Rallies for the Social Justice Issue

Rallies are happening constantly to spread awareness regarding the opioid overdose crisis, such as the rally of families at the White House in September 2022. People from all over the United States rallied in front of the White House to plead with lawmakers and officials to ramp up enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border to stop the flow of illicit drugs coming into the country, more specifically fentanyl (Kornfield, 2022). The government continues to state that they are asking Congress for money to fund Drug Control Programs and that they are taking the steps to discontinue illicit substances, but thousands of people continue to die while there is limited security at the border (Kornfield, 2022).

Policies, Laws, and Public Views

Public and enacted stigma can become structural stigma when they become encoded in cultural norms, laws, and institutional policies (Tsai, et al., 2019). Negative attitudes toward people with opiate use disorder can cause labeling. Laws criminalizing the possession and distribution of substances can create stigma. Policies regarding Medicaid requiring prior authorization and lifetime limits can create barriers to care. The language used to frame the crisis can influence norms about opiate use disorder and people with opiate use disorder among policymakers and their constituents, which directly affect the policies that are formed to help the crisis (Tsai, et al., 2019).

Power Control/Lack

Direct interventions to reduce public and enacted stigma may take the form of persuasive communication or educational interventions—such as those deployed through mass media campaigns, law enforcement training, or schools—designed to improve understanding about the causes of and evidence-based treatments for OUDs (Tsai, et al., 2019). The sustained, long-term impacts are unknown. Indirect interventions target institutions, such as mass media, instead of individuals. Mass media stigmatizes the crisis by how they report it.

How would I promote Social Change?

I would start with education on the damaging effects of stigma. We have the power to influence through mass media contributing to the stigma, I would find a way to use mass media to combat the stigma. The stigma can stop with positive words and references, as opposed to negative ones.

 

References

Kornfield, M. (2022, September 19). Families devastated by fentanyl rally near the White House. Retrieved from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/17/fentanyl-deaths-rally-white-house/

Tsai, A. C., Kiang, M. V., Barnett, M. L., Beletsky, L., Keyes, K. M., McGinty, E. E., . . . Venkataramani, A. S. (2019). Stigma as a fundamental hindrance to the United States opioid overdose crisis response. PLoS Medicine, 1-18.