Elian Gonzalez
It seems as if the last five months has been an update of the latest news and developments in the story of the most famous six year old, Elian Gonzalez. To date, I must admit that I have been somewhat biased and inconsiderate by not paying attention to the most recent developments because of the simple fact that I believed from the beginning that the boy should be returned to his biological father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez. With the timing of this assignment it has given me an opportunity to get caught up on all the facts of the Elian Gonzalez case and I'm glad I have taken this opportunity to do some reading of the last couple of reports by Newsweek. It also ties in well with a sociologist/theorist that we have been discussing in class by the name Baumgartner and the idea of "Social Control from Below". The idea of social control from below is one that we as humans come across day-in and day-out. Some of the factors that we come across in social control from below are the idea that this concept deals with the powerful and the powerless, the powerful can use physical discipline to control the powerless, the powerful can control social resources to control the powerless, and the powerless don't suspend their right to moral justice. T
It was an interview with Walter Polovchak, who went through the same thing Elian is going through back in 1980. Manuel tried to convince his nephew all winter long to come to the United States himself to try and fight for the custody of his son in person. I feel this is a direct reference to Lazarus, one of Elian's two uncles, offering money to Juan Miguel for custody of the boy. It is also important for me to point out that this has not happened yet, but it almost seems evident. hese are just a few of the ideas that factor into social control from below, but if you look into them a little deeper you can understand why I would say that we as humans deal with this idea on a daily basis. The first thing you have to try and understand is the fact that this is the single most available form of social control from below. The idea of social control from below, as discussed by Baumgartner, has many factors that influence the idea of being deviant behavior. In Baumgartner's explanation of non-cooperation it is clear that organized strikes are the most dramatic forms of non-cooperation. Most importantly, he was a little suspicious of the American government, as is the case for most Cubans. This action also points out Juan Miguel's love for his son, because it should have been really easy for a man with nothing to accept this type of money. These others include the lawyers that are representing both parties, the immediate family that includes Juan Miguel and his uncle Manuel, the Miami family who currently has custody of Elian and refuses to give him up, and lastly Elian who will have to live with the decision that should be rendered sometime soon. These forces include: rebellion, covert retaliation, non-cooperation, and appeals for support. This is made evident by the article in Newsweek entitled The Long Road Home.
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Acceptance Essays
