Instances of police brutality often create a tremendous resonance within the affected community. The events including Breonna Taylor and her death due to excessive force by police officers in Louisville, have generated significant outrage from African-American representatives (Green et al., 2021). Breonna’s partner stated that as the police did not identify themselves, he presumed that burglars were attempting to enter the apartment and fired a legally owned firearm in self-defense. While returning fire, the officers shot Breonna eight times, resulting in her death. Given that this event’s circumstances imply the fault of police representatives, who presumably acted upon racist stereotypes, the African-American community was severely impacted by this incident. Numerous protests and social campaigns were gathered in support of Breonna Taylor and her partner, with activists supporting the eradication of hurtful attitudes evident in multiple police endeavors (Hoofnagle et al., 2020). The created tensions substantially damaged the already declining relationship between police officers and African-Americans, causing further conflicts.
Although deviance might have negative repercussions for a community, originating the decrease of social stability, it can also demonstrate the norms’ injustice. The strain theory can excellently explain the numerous protests and riots initiated by African-American representatives who lack the cultural means of attaining a proper education, job opportunities, and other necessary objectives (Huck et al., 2017). Moreover, the access to illegitimate opportunity structures and the demand to use these possibilities to accomplish an appropriate level of well-being, as suggested by Cloward and Ohlin, frames African Americans as deviants and criminals (Huck et al., 2017). However, the opportunity to achieve social change and establish a proper level of racial tolerance is often considered a substantial benefit of deviant behavior, as suggested by the rational choice theory. From this perspective, even though the movement towards eliminating racial disparity began as a deviant action, it can further alter society, promoting racial acceptance. The events highlighting racial injustice could positively influence our society, maintaining an appropriate level of awareness regarding the issues encountered by African-Americans and prompting a change in police behaviors.
References
Green, D. A., Williams, B. A., & Park, K. (2021). Crisis counseling for Black Lives Matter protests. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 43(3), 198–211.
Hoofnagle, M. H., Mubang, R. N., Joseph, D. K., Joseph, B. A., Christmas, A. B., & Zakrison, T. L. (2020). Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Statement on structural racism, and the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Annals of Surgery, 272(6), 911–914.
Huck, J. L., Spraitz, J. D., Jr, J. H. B., & Morris, C. S. (2017). Connecting opportunity and strain to understand deviant behavior: A test of general strain theory.Deviant Behavior, 38(9), 1009–1026.