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Outsiders By Howard S. Becker

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Outsiders Howard S. Becker 1. “When a rule is enforced, the person who is supposed to have broken it may be seen as a special kind of person, one who cannot be trusted to live by the rules agreed on by the group. He is regarded as an outsider. But the person who is thus labeled an outsider may have a different view of the matter. He may not accept the rule by which he is being judged and may not regard those who judge him as either component or legitimately entitled to do so. Hence, a second meaning of the term emerges: the rule breaker may feel his judges are outsiders.” This quote from the book Outsiders by Howard S. Becker gives the idea that there are social laws, or “rules”, and when broken you are considered an outsider. This is shown when Becker, as seen above, says, “When a rule is enforced”. What he says also sets up the different points of view. When Becker says, “person who is supposed to have”, he means the person who breaks the “rule” may not consider it a rule at all or just not think it applies to him, “a special kind of person”. Showing how the deviant person sets himself/herself apart from the general public, this person will not be offended by the people who judge him because he sees the said judger as an outsider himself. Because the “outsiders” or said rule breakers can see the people not breaking the social norms as outsiders too, it sets up a subculture or a deviant society, where there is mutuality in non-conformity. On page one-hundred and

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