What makes you so normal? And if you aren't one of the normal people; what makes you so deviant???

Deviance:
Differing from a norm or from the accepted standards of a society.n. One that differs from a norm, especially a person whose behavior and attitudes differ from accepted social standards (The Free Dictionary, by Farlex).

As a person who has always seemed to shift away from what is considered normal by most “socially accepted” people and their standards, I guess I can say that I tend to take a deviant standpoint on a lot of things; at times I even do it just to get a reaction, just to see if I can offend someone, as rude and socially incorrect as that may sound. How do people like me manage to accomplish that? By understanding deviance and knowing that when you are considered deviant you are also considered an outsider. According to Howard S. Becker, in his most well known book “Outsiders (1963)”, culture is defined as “the shared understandings that people use to coordinate their activities”. He viewed deviance as “the cultural product of interactions between people whose occupations involved either committing crimes or catching criminals”. (Encyclopedia Brittanica). Does that seem fair to categorize those of us who defy the norm of society into those two groups?

It kind of all boils down to what is considered an appropriate reaction and opinion on things considered deviant in society, especially in this beautiful country of ours, where how you appear to others is of utmost importance, and especially what you say. You had better watch what you say…because one of the lovely, but at the same time, disgusting “normal” but not talked about behaviors in our society is to delightfully twist ones’ words around if what they are hearing is any way considered ethically or morally offensive or vulgar. For example, one genre of music that the majority of people love to hate, which happens to be one of my favorite genres; rap music.

Any possible negative comment that can be made about a genre of music is rap music. You can’t understand a word that’s being said, all they do is talk about bitches and money and use profanity because they aren’t intelligent enough to have a decent vocabulary; and so on and so on until I get so annoyed that I often will play a especially vulgar and degrading song just to get under that persons skin…..isn’t my behavior considered deviant right there? What makes certain rappers especially deviant to the world, that little thing about them that just gets under everyone’s skin and just pisses them off; but even people that hate it and find it offensive will sure as hell still listen to it and spend plenty of time talking about it, certainly giving that rapper a whole lot of attention, which is exactly what that certain rap artist wants and makes it known he was sent here to piss the world off? Who does that better than Eminem aka Slim Shady?

Eminem right from the start of his career pushed the envelope and the limits as far as he possibly could, with an amazing lyrical and vocal skill that even the toughest credit couldn’t deny, but with song that had lyrics that caused peoples’ mouth to drop open in shock, disgust, and horror at the audacity of this word vomit that was spewing out of this blonde haired, blue eyed, white boy rapper produced by rap legend Dr. Dre, causing everything from lawsuits to picket rallies and protests. When his second album “The Marshall Mathers LP” dropped in spring of 2000, I clearly remember watching the media attention and waves of shock and fury that was the backlash from it. I believe it had been called one of the most disgusting degrading albums to ever come out, a disgrace and an insult to music, as the album was nominated for several Grammy Awards that year. The most extreme furious reaction mostly centered around where Eminems’ most controversial album to date picked as the main topic, the gay community. This is where the protest rallies came in.

I am the first one to admit, “The Marshall Mathers LP” has extremely offensive, vulgar, and disgusting lyrics directed towards the gay community, I can understand their anger. For example, the last track on the album is a song called “Criminal” which is so derogatory to the gay community that anyone who listens to it can’t even fathom that someone could put out a song that is so very much a no-no to societies standards to talk about these things in such a way. The following is the intro and first verse to the song; and from the first line you see right away what you are about to get yourself into.
"Criminal"
[Eminem]
A lot of people ask me.. stupid f**king questions.
A lot of people think that.. what I say on records,
Or what I talk about on a record, that I actually do in real life…
Or that I believe in it.
Or if I say that, I wanna kill somebody, that…..
I'm actually gonna do it….
Or that I believe in it….
Well, s**t…if you believe that…
Then I'll kill you.
You know why?
Cause I'm a
CRIMINAL
CRIMINAL
You goddamn right
I'm a CRIMINAL
Yeah, I'm a CRIMINAL
[Eminem]
My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge
That'll stab you in the head
Whether you're a fag or lez
Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest;
Pants or dress; hate fags? The answer's "yes"
Homophobic? Nah, you're just heterophobic
Staring at my jeans, watching my genitals bulging (Ooh!)
That's my motherf**king balls, you'd better let go of ‘em
They belong in my scrotum, you'll never get hold of ‘em
Hey, it's me, Versace!
Whoops, somebody shot me!
And I was just checking the mail;
Get it? Checking the 'male'?
How many records you expecting to sell after your second LP
Sends you directly to jail?
C'mon!-- Relax guy, I like gay men;
Right, Ken? Give me an amen (AAA-men!)
Please Lord, this boy needs Jesus
Heal this child, help us destroy these demons
Oh, and please send me a brand new car
And a prostitute while my wife's sick in the hospital
Preacher preacher, fifth grade teacher
You can't reach me, my mom can't neither
You can't teach me a goddamn thing cause
I watch TV, and Comcast cable
And you ain't able to stop these thoughts
You can't stop me from topping these charts
And you can't stop me from dropping each March
With a brand new CD for these f**king retards
Duhhh, and to think, it's just little ol' me
Mr. "Don't Give A F**k," still won't leave….
[Chorus: Eminem (repeat 2X)]
I'm a CRIMINAL
Cause every time I write a rhyme, these people think it's a crime
To tell ‘em what's on my mind; I guess I'm a CRIMINAL
But I don't gotta say a word, I just flip ‘em the bird and keep going;
I don't take s**t from no one, I’m a CRIMINAL!
(http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eminem/criminal.html)

Now, who wouldn’t be offended by those lyrics? I totally understand why people are. But people are so blinded by the controversy and the profanity that often what Eminem is telling you in his own way is that when it all comes down to it, its just music. It’s entertainment. There are always going to be things you don’t like or agree with. That’s life though, so maybe it’s something you better get used to. Maybe one should think about choosing their battles too? Again, its just music. There are a lot more serious issues going on in the world other than song lyrics that might have offended someone or hurt their sensitive little feelings and made them cry. But Eminem is often misunderstood; so because of that he is deviant in the eyes of society. But that’s really what you should expect when you make the choice to sit down and listen to that rap song.

On the other hand,if you want to find a rap song that isn’t offensive to your precious ears, and still be considered part of the rap genre, listen to Will Smith’s pop/rap style; for his songs have no profanity and all his songs are mostly about love and family, or the main theme song for the soundtrack of the movie he is starring in, not to mention all of his movies are generally rated PG-13 or lower, mind you. Which means the whole family can sit down and listen to Will Smith together, as he is age appropriate for everyone. His music is the rap that is the normal, and accepted to society. He doesn’t offend anyone, it’s positive feel good music and he keeps it safe and plays by the rules. His song “Just The Two Of Us” is a heartwarming song that is written about his oldest son that almost puts a tear in your eye, as it is considered what’s normal to society and doesn’t threaten to corrupt the delicate ears of impressionable young children.

Just The Two Of Us :
Verse 1: Will Smith
(Now dad this is a very sensitive subject)
From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms
I knew I’d meet death before I’d let you meet harm
Although questions arose in my mind, would I be man enough?
Against wrong, choose right and be standing up
From the hospital that first night
Took a hour just to get the carseat in right
People driving all fast, got me kinda upset
Got you home safe, placed you in your bassinet
That night I don't think one wink I slept
As I slipped out my bed to your crib I crept
Touched your head gently, felt my heart melt
Cause I know I loved you more than life itself
Then to my knees, and I begged the Lord please
Let me be a good daddy, all he needs
Love, knowledge, discipline too
I pledge my life to you
Chorus:
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try
Just the two of us, (Just the two of us)
Just the two of us, building castles in the sky
Just the two of us, you and I……
(http://www.lyricsmania.com/just_the_two_of_us_lyrics_will_smith.html)

He plays it very safe, yeah? Perfectly obeyed all of societies rules. But as once said by one of my favorite women in the world, Miss Marilyn Monroe, “ If I’d observed all the rules, I would never have gotten anywhere“ (www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/62998). Rules are definitely made to be broken. The 2 videos that I have selected to drive my point home about what’s deviant and what’s normal could not be more blatantly obvious if it reached out and slapped you across the face. While using profanity of course! I personally don’t like playing by the rules if I can avoid it. I’d rather be deviant and break a few rules. I’d rather just be me instead of “normal” any day. You only live once, right? Better spend the time you have being you and not trying to mold yourself into everyone around you.

Works Cited
Becker, Howard S. “Deviance Definition”. Encyclopedia Brittanica Online. http://www.brittanica.com.
Becker, Howard S. “Outsiders.” Pearson, 1963.
“Deviance.“ The Free Dictionary, by Farlex. Online. www.thefreedictionary.com/deviance.
Eminem. “Criminal.” The Marshall Mathers LP. Shady/Aftermath, 2000.
Monroe, Marilyn. “Rules.” Good Reads.com, Online. (www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/62998)
Smith, Will. “Just The Two Of Us.” Big Willie Style. Columbia, 1997.
Word Count: 1892

Deviant?





Normal?