Complete Anthropology Discussion Responses
Please respond to two classmates posts,
PLEASE SEPARATE EACH RESPONSE
POST 1:
By
participating in the religious rituals of their society, people express a sense
of togetherness, unity, and belonging. This group aspect of religious practice
fosters deeper loyalty to one’s society. To be sure, all religions include
rituals that individuals may perform for their own benefit: private prayer to
petition the spirits and gods for aid; magic to achieve the same ends more
coercively; taboos that are followed to avoid misfortune; and positive acts
that foster luck, skill, and safety (Crapo, 2013).
I consider myself a fairly religious
person. To answer the question of whether or not Native Americans should be
able to perform their ceremonies while incarcerated or in prison, I don’t
believe there is a direct yes or no that can be associated with that question.
There are several underlying factors that must be justified prior to granting
some of these privileges. First and foremost, the safety of prisoners in
addition to that of the guards must be thoroughly considered. For example, “Prison officials are
concerned that sweat lodges and medicine pouches, normally off-limits to
non-Indians, could be used to conceal contraband weapons or drugs. They fear
that long hair might help inmates escape by making it easy for them to change
the way they look, (Dellios, 1993).” I am all for human rights as discussed
during week 1 of the course as I have a sister that is currently imprisoned. On
the same token, I believe that committing crimes and being incarcerated there
are certain liberties that are forfeited, because safety and funding have to be
considered. I do however believe that the same liberties should be granted for
all religions on an even and just playing field. If you do for one, you must do
for the other.
Crapo, R. H. (2013). Cultural
anthropology [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
Dellios, H.
(1993) Indian Prisoners Claim Spiritual Needs Ignored. Retrieved from: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-11-21/news…
POST 2:
Currently I am a part of the Episode Community. To summarize what the
episode community is, we are writers on this very popular app called Episode
Choose Your Story. The community gives writers an opportunity to get to know
each other, ask for help, share ideas, and socialize. I have been a part of
this community for about four years now and I really enjoy being a part of it.
The social control mechanisms that are applied in our group are
socialization, rewards, and gossip and social pressure.
Socialization
When socializing in the episode community I’ve realized that we all have our
own set of morals and principles “Moral values are the attitudes or rules that
govern our relationships with our fellow human beings” (Crapo, 2013).
Rewards
In the episode community we all like to stay positive and give credit when
credit is due “The praise and esteem of other members of the community is one
such reward” (Crapo, 2013).
Gossip and Social Pressure
Although most of the time in the episode community we are positive, things
can take a huge turn and sometimes we can get a little negative. In the episode
community, sometimes we tend to gossip and gossiping leads to arguments within
our community. Which makes more and more people in the community dislike each
other “Most people value the esteem of others, so gossip and community pressure
can be a powerful force in keeping people in line. The key to the effectiveness
of gossip is that word eventually gets back to the person being criticized”
(Crapo, 2013)
References
Crapo, Richley. H. (2013) Cultural Anthropology
Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUANT101.13.2
