Monday, October 26. 2020

Today's classes are: 

9:15 - 11:50 A Block Criminology 

12:30 - 3:05 D Block Social and Environmental Sciences

A Block Criminology - Okay so let's wrap this up...Organized crime by nature (according to Howard Abadinsky) is monopolistic - in other words organized crime groups want to have a monopoly over a specific geographic area for the illicit activity they wish to pursue. From Foreign Policy:

Drugs are just the tip of the iceberg. In the popular U.S. television series Breaking Bad, about a high school teacher turned methamphetamine kingpin, there was an instructive exchange. When the show's antihero, Walter White, was asked whether he "was in the meth business or the money business," he replied, "I'm in the empire business." The same can be said of the DTOs (Drug Trafficking Organizations), which are independent and competing entities. The sale of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and meth remains extremely profitable. The U.S. Justice Department has put the cartels' U.S. drug trade at $39 billion annually. But the DTOs have diversified their business considerably, both to increase their profits and to exclude rivals from new sources of revenue. For example, they are dealing increasingly in pirated intellectual property, like counterfeit software, CDs, and DVDs. The most destructive new "product," however, is people. The cartels have built a multi billion-dollar business in human trafficking, including the shipment of both illegal immigrants and sex workers.

Gangs are often considered "immoral" and their profit comes from many "immoral" things.  Immoral acts are distinguished from crimes on the basis of the social harm they cause. Acts that are believed to be extremely harmful to the general public are usually outlawed, whereas acts that only the harm the actor themselves are more likely to be tolerated. Acts that are illegal because they are viewed as a threat to morality are called public order crimes. I'll remind you that we already looked at the difference between what is deviant and what is criminal and this topic covers crimes that straddle the line between the two. People who lobby hard for their morals to become law are called moral entrepreneurs or crusaders. The power of moral entrepreneurs can be quite strong and we'll see that today.

Think about Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD). From Craig Reinarman's article Social Construction of an Alcohol Problem:

The credibility of MADD, especially at its outset, was impeccable. The parents of children who have been killed in drunk-driving accidents are exceptionally strong symbols. There are few groups of victims who can inspire as much sympathy and adherence as the grieving mother. And this is one of the central foundations of MADD's success. The organisation was started in August of 1980 in Sacramento, California by a woman named Candy Lightner whose daughter had been killed by a hit-and-run drunk driver with multiple DUI (driving under the influence) convictions some 4 months prior. During the criminal proceedings Lightner was appalled by the apparent leniency and lack of concern demonstrated by the justice system towards drunk drivers and the rights of the victim. The campaign began with her tireless lobbying in the initial months and a strong push to make drunk driving a political issue where it had previously not been. 

Consider the following: Sir Patrick Devlin stated…

Without shared ideas on politics, morals, and ethics no society can exist…. If men and women try to create a society in which there is no fundamental agreement about good and evil, they will fail; if having based it on common agreement, the argument goes, the society will disintegrate. For society is not something that is kept together physically; it is held by the invisible bonds of common thought. If the bonds were too far relaxed, the members would drift apart. A common morality is part of the bondage. The bondage is part of the price of society; and mankind, which needs society, must pay its price. 

As you can see, the power of moral entrepreneurs can be quite strong. So, to curb the power of cartels or gangs should we take some radical action? Should we cut off their source of income (like drugs and sex trade workers)? Here are two questions for you to answer:

1. Should drugs be legalized? Why? If you believe drugs should be legalized, think about whether all drugs should be legalized or just a select few. Why should certain drugs be legalized and others not? 
2. Should prostitution be legalized? Why? If you believe it should be legalized, should all the forms of prostitution described in your text be legalized, or only a select few? If prostitution were legalized should government be able to exercise some control over it? 

For the legalization of drugs question as you probably already know, the federal government legalized non-medical cannabis on October 17, 2018. So why? Part of the reason was that the proceeds from the illegal drug trade support organized crime and greater threats to public safety, like human trafficking and hard drugs.

For more check out this Vice article here or the video below..


For the sex trade question "Should we legalize prostitution"? Think about the two opposing views:

• Sexual Equality View The prostitute is a victim of male dominance. In patriarchal societies, male power is predicated on female subjugation, and prostitution is a clear example of this gender exploitation 
• Free Choice View Prostitution, if freely chosen, expresses woman’s equality and is not a symptom of subjugation.

To help, we will understand the different types of sex trade workers (street walkers, circuit travelers, bar girls, brothels, call girls and escort services). We'll look at some high profile cases (like all the way back in 2008 former New York state governor Eliot Spitzer or 1990's Hollywood "Madame" Heidi Fleiss who was quoted as saying, "I took the oldest profession on Earth and I did it better than anyone on Earth. Alexander the Great conquered the world at 32. I conquered it at 22."). It is important to note:

The Supreme Court of Canada struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws in a unanimous decision, and gave Parliament one year to come up with new legislation — should it choose to do so. In striking down laws prohibiting brothels, living on the avails of prostitution and communicating in public with clients, the top court ruled that the laws were over-broad and "grossly disproportionate." The government replaced the law with Bill C-36 (2014) which received Royal Assent and became law on December 6, 2014. These laws are being challenged once again in the Supreme Court of Canada. To find out more check out more on the escort agency challenge here.

For more stories about organized crime (especially a particularly interesting court case in Ontario and Manitoba involving the Bandidos) see:

Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia (OCABC)
Organized Crime - Vancouver Sun
Preventing Organized Crime - Government of Canada
Canada's gang hotspots — are you in one?
Hells Angels Under Pressure
The Aboriginal Gangs of Winnipeg
Girls and Gangland
8 Brutal & Violent Canadian Gangs You Never Knew Existed
Organized Crime in Canada - RCMP
Organized Crime in Canada - CISC
Youth gangs in Canada: What do we know?
The Nature of Canadian Urban Gangs (look @ section 2.1 - Definitions)
Public Safety Canada - Organized Crime Research
CBC News: Biker Gangs in Canada
Prime Time Crime: Gangs in Canada
A good video of the article from Vice above is:

D Block Social and Environmental Sciences - Today you'll have the first part of class to finish your water crisis poster. When it's time, we'll put the posters up in the class for a gallery walk. When you do the gallery walk, we'll place a sheet of paper next to each poster. You need a pencil or pen with you. When you go around to other posters you'll be asked to comment on what you see. As you would explore an art gallery, you'll walk around the room and consider each water crisis poster at least once. On the piece of paper next to the poster, you should write whatever thoughts or feelings come to mind. You may write as little as one word, such as “suffering,” or as many as a few sentences. If you’ve responded to each image and time is left, you should revisit images and add more impressions to the paper. You can even write short responses to your classmates’ comments, such as “Yes, I agree!” or “But what if … ?” Remember that you should use appropriate language, respond to one another’s comments kindly, and never cross out or obscure someone else’s words.

 

You may also comment around these starters:

List something that surprised you
List something that interested you
List something you like about what you saw
List a question that you have of the project
Write one thing you don't want to forget from this poster
Write one thing you'd like to share with the poster creator(s)

We'll try to look for similarities (common themes in the projects) - both in causes and solutions. Also we'll try to see other patterns:

What did you notice as you participated in the gallery walk?
What comments did you respond to? What comments received the most attention? Why?
What similarities did you notice between the posters? What differences did you notice?


Does water always lead to conflict?