“Black Lives Matter” Movement & Police Brutality As much as the subjects of “Black Lives Matter” and police brutality are getting stale and cliché, unfortunately it is still an issue that will not be corrected by hushed complaints and sweeping under the rug. However, this problem is not brand new; it has only escalated. Racial discrimination began in the times of slavery and has been an issue since—well forever. The discrimination has been toughest on minorities—like the African-American community. Along with the racial discrimination from society itself, some police and law enforcement figures have often abused their power and taken advantage of their place in the majority race. There are countless cases that have involved police brutality
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Trayvon Martin was an unarmed 17-year-old boy who was murdered by a Hispanic night-watch named George Zimmerman. His murder was thought to be racially motivated since 911 calls and evidence seemed to show that Trayvon posed no threat, only pursued because of stereotypes. Even though there was no proof of racial motivation, George Zimmerman was eventually charged with murder. After Trayvon’s death, there was a massive increase in publicized African-American deaths due to law enforcement “protocol” or rather the failure to follow it …show more content…
Conflict theory is a social theory deriving from the perspectives of Karl Marx—a philosopher, sociologist and author of the Communist Manifesto. However, there are other sociologists such as Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams and W.E.B Du Bois who were associated with this theory. While many other theories focus on the operation and flow of society, conflict theory focuses on the patterns within society. Conflict theory more specifically states that social interactions in society result from conflicts between competing groups. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx talks about social conflict between the bourgeoisie (the capitalist class that held most of the wealth) and the proletariat (the working class). Marx stated that proletariat was oppressed and under the exploitation of the bourgeoisie. The workers would create products that the capitalist would sell for more than it was actually worth. There was profit from this system, but the proletariat did not benefit from it. According to Marx, this system would lead the society to self destruct. He believed the the continuation of exploitation would cause the proletariat to hate the bourgeoisie. As with most large-scale conflicts, the hatred would lead to war—a revolution. The revolution would most likely result in the overthrow of capitalism and those who support it. Then a new equal society would rise until the cycle
Trayvon Martin was an unarmed 17-year-old boy who was murdered by a Hispanic night-watch named George Zimmerman. His murder was thought to be racially motivated since 911 calls and evidence seemed to show that Trayvon posed no threat, only pursued because of stereotypes. Even though there was no proof of racial motivation, George Zimmerman was eventually charged with murder. After Trayvon’s death, there was a massive increase in publicized African-American deaths due to law enforcement “protocol” or rather the failure to follow it …show more content…
Conflict theory is a social theory deriving from the perspectives of Karl Marx—a philosopher, sociologist and author of the Communist Manifesto. However, there are other sociologists such as Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams and W.E.B Du Bois who were associated with this theory. While many other theories focus on the operation and flow of society, conflict theory focuses on the patterns within society. Conflict theory more specifically states that social interactions in society result from conflicts between competing groups. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx talks about social conflict between the bourgeoisie (the capitalist class that held most of the wealth) and the proletariat (the working class). Marx stated that proletariat was oppressed and under the exploitation of the bourgeoisie. The workers would create products that the capitalist would sell for more than it was actually worth. There was profit from this system, but the proletariat did not benefit from it. According to Marx, this system would lead the society to self destruct. He believed the the continuation of exploitation would cause the proletariat to hate the bourgeoisie. As with most large-scale conflicts, the hatred would lead to war—a revolution. The revolution would most likely result in the overthrow of capitalism and those who support it. Then a new equal society would rise until the cycle