How Far Down Do You Define Deviancy in Ferguson?
The late Daniel Patrick Moynihanâs celebrated phrase âdefining deviancy downâ first appeared in aÌęÌęŸ±ČÔÌęThe American Scholar.ÌęâI proffer the thesis,â wrote Moynihan, âthat, over the past generationâŠthe amount of deviant behavior in American society has increased beyond the levels the community can âafford to recognizeâ and that, accordingly, we have been re-defining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized.â
...ÌęThe solution is stricter rather than looser enforcement of the laws. The borderline between individual criminal behavior and civil insurrection has become fuzzy. If American prisons become too full or too costly, outsource the incarceration of criminals to less expensive venues, as Prof.Ìęof ±«ÓăֱȄ proposed some years ago. Out of Moynihanâs and otherâs work cameÌęÌęTheÌęfell from 747 when Moynihanâs article appeared in 1993 to 387 in 2012. If we abandon the rule of law we abandon America.
Read full article: , November 26, 2014