Sociology of Deviance

Activism versus Elitism: Reexamination

of the Battle in Seattle

Professor Helen Meloy

Wed. 6pm-9pm

Kim Richardson
I. Introduction: Elite deviance can unravel the very fabric of society but through social
movements, norms may be reestablished through cultural dynamism in which individuals find
identity again as people converge to interpret the situation.

When leaders and builders of society become the Greek definition of anomie, a- without and
nomos- law, stratified societies begin losing status. As a response to the absence of social norms,
levels of distrust increase and the intensity of cognitive dissonance become problematic. The
coping mechanism in mass societies often falls into compliance, which can be viewed as
secondary deviance.[ CITATION Lis09 \p 180 \l 1033 ] CITATION Wik094 \l 1033 Within social movements,
these traits are often catalysts for the formation of oppressed or suppressed groups, in the form of
social activism. Their purpose is to re-weave into the fabric of society, morals and values for
social change.

With elite deviance, social entities, such as communities, families and individuals reach an
anomie as norms start to erode through alienation and devocalization. Perhaps it is a reason such
personal behaviors, like denial and isolation exist. More specifically, societal reactions are the
modes of adaption by Robert Merton’s anomie theory; conformity, innovation, ritualism,
retreatism, and rebellion, which are usually a preservation response of defenselessness.[ CITATION
Col09 \l 1033 ] In elite deviance, corruption, fraud, and deception runs its course and beyond but
Merton’s anomie and strain theory are generally applied in criminal justice studies, which
focuses on the individual and personality. The general solution in a broad population and in the
functional mode is when punishment is swiftly, severely and publicly acknowledged.

Eric Goode in his chapter, What Is Deviance?, he explains definitions of deviance and normative
deviance may be a way for society to define elite deviance in its corporate structure. Attainment
in that culture is often acquired by norm violations of the general populous’ cultural values.
According to Goode, normative deviance also implies relativity, where an action or condition
that may be in conformity with the norm in one place or time may violate it in another.[ CITATION
Goo \l 1033 ] While defining reactive deviance, Goode also explains that normative theorists
believe that deviance can take place or exist in secret and that if nobody knows about it except
the violator, it is no less a violation of norms.[ CITATION Goo \p 17 \l 1033 ] In elite deviance this
seems to be the standard of operation.

When confronting elite deviance, social movements can be deterred by mainstream perspectives
and attitudes. One example being the study of deviance and its emphasis on individuality and
personal traits that distract scholars, law makers and heads of states from the control, corruption,
negligence and demoralization of larger social entities. This is explained in Goode’s section, Is
Deviance about Nuts, Sluts and Deviated Perverts? His concern was with the distraction of

Edwin M. Lemert’s theory here concerns pluralistic society in defining primary and secondary
CITATION Wik094 \l 1033

deviance as consequences of social labeling. According to Liska, primary deviation, as contrasted with secondary,
is polygenetic, arising out of a variety of social, cultural, psychological and physiological factors. It is the act of
deviant behavior that differs from secondary deviance, which is a social defense, attack or adaption to overt and
covert problems and it’s a reaction to primary deviance.
primary deviance in individual acts versus the unethical and damaging practices of the rich and
the powerful. For Goode, the study of deviation focused on stigma instead of the process of
domination, the exercise of power and the revolt against injustice.[ CITATION Goo \p 25 \l 1033 ]

The definitions of Goode’s reactive deviance are that first it must be observed and then secondly,
condemned or punished. Reactive deviance can also be considered conformity and obedience,
seen in Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford prison study. The study also explored the pathology of
power, that’s defined as the “freedom to exercise an unprecedented degree of control over the
lives of other human beings.”[ CITATION Hon09 \l 1033 ] The key word here, I struggle with is
“unprecedented”. In the age of technology’s widespread ability to inform the public, we are
entering an era where elite deviance is truly being observed or heard about, for many for the very
first time. Undoubtedly and realistically, on the grand scale of corruptive and wrongful acts of
the elite, is, for the most part historically modern. “Modern” referring to that it has not existed to
the degrees of the past in terms of scandalous, immoral and unethical domination, Goode’s idea
of the relativity is critical for the formation of activists and their vision for the future. In this, a
small reference to globalization should be acknowledged as it is a relatively new 20th century
concept and elite deviance concerns not just one area of the world but the entire globe.

II. Research Questions

Under what conditions does a social movement exist?

Under what conditions does a social movement, such as the Battle in Seattle affect elite
deviance?

The assumptions are that elite deviance is an ultimate corruption that can destroy society with
greed, immorality and deception. Currently, corporatization is the ruling class and in
conjunction, at times with the political class. Both filter down unethical behavior to the very core
of society. This power can renders citizens to feel and become helpless. In the words of Edmond
Burke, “All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing” and “The price
good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men”.[ CITATION Bur09 \l
1033 ] CITATION Wik094 \l 1033 Burke was known for his American and Indian sympathy and his literary
works were considered fundamental for US government in its conception. His ideals and critical
analysis in the politics of the late 1700’s, is quite pertinent to the relationship of elite deviance
and society of today.

Social movements are not created by government but by the people of that government. The
capital exchange within a social movement is giving and receiving of accounts in social
interactions (ironically this idea was found in John Curra’s chapter, The Relativity of Predatory

Edmond Burke was a political philosopher, member of British parliament, was in opposition of the
CITATION Wik094 \l 1033

French Revolution, and viewed as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism. His first published work was
titled, A Vindication of Natural Society: A View of the Miseries and Evils Arising to Mankind.[ CITATION Wik \l
1033 ]
Violence).[ CITATION Cur \l 1033 ] Today’s post-modern exchange may concert mass media news
but more recently, social networking and blogging has been the cultural exchange for
information. This discord, if ignored or unregulated is what creates discomfort, distrust and
dissonance within society. However, the more information is found on elite deviance the more it
resonates with the average citizen who might have thought they were unaffected.

This is similar in thought to the conflict theory of Austin T. Turk’s works, which explains
conflict between those who have power (authorities) to control behavior and those who do not
(subject) in coordinated relationships (institutions).[ CITATION Lis091 \p 210 \y \l 1033 ] Here
there’s differential in the cultural values of stratified society, in the middle class, they rarely
struggle over abstractions or behaviors, like Turk states. However, it is not that they are not
struggling financially but by the means of maintaining stability is not directed in action that leans
towards deviance. Generally, the middle class are the good of society who don’t deviate to
abnormal behavior or violate social norm. The middle class represents the “institutions”
described here. The upper middle class and middle class, in the funnel effect explains the social
construct of reality for these groups of people in society as the reference group for the ideal in
our standard of living. [ CITATION Mel09 \l 1033 ]

III. Review of the Literature

A. Fast forward to the 20th century, the battle that ensued in Seattle’s 1999 protest was intended
to acknowledge the various corrupt and unethical policies of the WTO (World Trade
Organization). Other agendas were labor issues, the environment and consumer protection as a
collaborative effort for the people of Seattle regarding awareness; however some exceeded this
with rebellion that bordered on revolt of the masses. It was a failed demonstration of our basic
Constitutional right to assemble along with the First Amendment, freedom of speech. In
retrospect, 10 years later, some of the protest was a reenactment of the social movement of the
1960’s, the era of when it was hip to dissent. The context of civil disobedience and its revival
was in many ways a longing for days long gone and of the past. In theory, the works of Henry
David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience should resonate in our conscious minds concerning elite
deviance but in examination of the extent of corruption among the powerful elite, Thoreau’s
answer might be more astute. Wikipedia states, “Thoreau is frequently quoted as espousing that
the true place for a just man is in prison.”[ CITATION Wik092 \l 1033 ]

Unfortunately, the Battle in Seattle resulted in just that. It escalated into a riot with police power
dominating the situation resulting in the use of tear gas, pepper spray, concussion grenades and
rubber bullets and over 600 arrests of nonviolent protesters. According to reports, media
personnel trying to do their jobs were arrested as well in the midst of chaos. Citizens were
detained on buses for over 20 hours, peeing in cups, most of these people refused to identify
themselves.[ CITATION Kat08 \l 1033 ] Aside from the stance of some groups, (vast variety of
organizations were comingled in this “coop”), there were some that had legitimate standing in
perspective of issues being discussed at the WTO’s conference. The AFL-CIO had some
successful rallies showing disapproval of the talks and rallying together in solidarity.

B. However, many others got wind (perhaps through rumors) of corruption, unethical and
scandalous topics and went to protest or to participate. Dancing in the streets before serious talks
might have been protesting for some but to me it seemed a bit satirical. While watching the
video in class, I couldn’t help but think of the hippy sit-ins of the sixties. It seemed to trivialize
the situation and reinforce the idea that people are out of touch or not exactly living in the
present. I found some of the people in the footage to be disruptive of the original task of
protesting or resisting elite deviance. Concerning perspective, Shibutani’s work reflects much of
my own philosophical thinking. He explores the context of our lives as such, “the environment
in which men live is an order of things remembered and expected as well as of things actually
perceived. It includes assumptions of what is plausible and what is possible. Without such an
order life would be chaotic; even doubts become possible only within an unquestioned frame of
reference. Mutual understanding and concerted action become possible only when
presuppositions are held in common, but perspectives vary in the extent to which they are shared
with other people.”[ CITATION Shi09 \p 148 \l 1033 ] Goal setting might be a good example and
though the intentions of those in protest of the WTO’s conference, it seems as though the
solidarity was missing, the vast differences in concerns of organizations that marched can
enumerate the amounts of social alarms affecting the US and world but the disorganization of the
events in Seattle seemed to just portray rioters in the street (often at fault of mass media).

IV. Methodology

In research for this paper, at the last minute I decided to discuss social activism after viewing the
video in class, Battle in Seattle. I found that much of what we have been learning all semester,
somehow equated to what was going on there. It is elite deviance that is so troubling for me as
one who is deeply affected by institutions. In addition to struggling with interpersonal deviance
that’s affected my whole childhood, where victimology has my personal cross to bear, I’ve
always wondered why my intentions were never fruitful. In elite deviance, I see victims across
the globe, I aim to understand it.

V. Application of Theoretical Framework

Ironically, perception in the definition of situation that Shibutani explores, involves the future
predictability of events or even emotions. Here is textbook Herbert Mead on social psychology:

“Our experience of the self is one which is an experience of a world, of an object.

The subject does involve the object in order that we may recognize that the
subject is essential to there being an object present. According to our scientific
conception, the world has arisen through millions of years, only in the last
moments of which have there been any living forms; an only in the second of
 these moments have there been any human forms. The world was there long
before the subjects appeared”.[ CITATION Str56 \p 15 \y \l 1033 ]

In accordance to defining a social movement and its history, the comparison function of
Shibutani’s works should be viewed in the context of mass societies, pluralistic groups; “[This
builds] on Dewey, Park and Sapir emphasizing that society exists in and through communication.
Shared perspectives are the products of common communication channels. Variations in outlook
arise through differential contact and association; the maintenance of social distance- through
segregation, conflict or simply reading different literature- leads to the formation of distinctive
cultures.” [ CITATION Shi09 \p 150 \y \l 1033 ] For effective social change, the sharing of
information resources and the depth of analysis is essential in mass cultures.

The news flash of events in Seattle’s WTO protest seemed to miss the radar, perhaps because of
other concerns filtered through the media like, the Y2K scare or jubilance for the fact that the
century was turning ushering the year- 2000. The historical outlook of big events, such as riots,
cool down quickly in main stream media and often leaving the residual effects for educators,
scholars and thinkers to sift through. The saying, “Tomorrow’s headlines is quickly yesterday’s
news” shows the relativity of time and space and that somewhere in-between, we’ve missed a
whole day of news. Nonetheless, a quick breakdown of events after Seattle’s battle in 1999
transpired in changes of law enforcement’s public policies and how to handle such incidents in
the future.

Eventually, the aftermath resulted in the resignation of Seattle’s police chief, Norm Stamper
(who admits wrong decision making), continued worldwide protests of the WTO, IMF/World
Bank and NAFTA and other issues concerning globalization. In 2007, a federal jury found that
the City of Seattle had violated protester’s Fourth Amendment constitutional rights, concerning
arrests without probable cause or hard evidence.[ CITATION Wik091 \l 1033 ] US District Court
Judge Marsha Pechman previously ruled the same as the jury. According to Seattle Times Local
News, jurors were asked to determine if the city violated protesters’ First Amendment rights to
free speech and their Fourth Amendment rights protecting them from unlawful search and
seizure. Their findings were that the city violated citizens Fourth Amendment right from
unlawful detainment without probable cause but did not find that the First Amendment right to
free speech was violated. The arrests were not made as a result of city policy aimed at quieting
anti-WTO viewpoints.[ CITATION Bow07 \l 1033 ] Many were charged with failure to disperse and
other misdemeanor accounts.

As a case study, it is important to review the incident in Seattle. The way the City of Seattle
handled the crisis in its aftermath with litigation and law, enforce the ideals of protest in its pure
form, remembering social change requires civility. The jurors’ decision restored faith in the Bill
of Rights which highly defines our citizenship and our views of how US government is supposed
to be. The city paid over $800,000 in multiple claims concerning police misconduct. Aside
from the residual costs of city cleanup and police overtime, the damages to local businesses from
vandalism and lost sales equated to 20 million dollars. The British House of Commons seemed to
think the city clean-up was 9 million and lightly poked fun at the fact. Researchers stated in
Millennium Trade Talks and the ‘Battle in Seattle’ report that:

 The US delegation was angry because its hard line on workers right’s had flopped;
 Developing countries were angry with the US, which had, in their view, tried to support big
corporations like Boeing at their expense;
 The street protesters were angry that their “stop the WTO” campaign had actually worked rather
too well;
 Angriest of all were the Seattle authorities who had a $9 million bill for cleaning up the town
afterwards.[ CITATION Hil99 \l 1033 ] CITATION Wik094 \l 1033

Micro Theories

In criminology, those theories are relative to the history of the criminal justice system, which is
relatively new in light of modern civilization, particularly mass societies as a social institution.
The various schools of thought range their findings from biological, physiological, psychological
and sociological factors. Social class, ecology and social disorganization are often reiterated in
criminal motivation. With the idea of rationalization in criminal behavior, the individual self can
be held accountable as a weights and measures approach to consequences. In respect to these
theories, it is important to observe police entities as a subgroup of society. They are also
required to be held responsible as well as reflective in their actions as a group, particularly due to
reputation. If a police force wants to be seen as a good force in the community, their actions
must reflect dependability and sense of duty to community and those involved. In essence, their
social construct requires them to act accordingly. It is a structural/functional perspective,
meaning police forces have a high level of social or normative consensus and norm violations are
definable.[ CITATION Lis09 \p 282 \y \l 1033 ] Also, police and community can join forces as
functional groups that build symbolic interaction, similar to one on one in interpersonal
relationships; the idea here though is similar to Erving Goffman’s concept of impression
management of a subgroup as a whole.[ CITATION Mel09 \l 1033 ]

The precursor for the Battle in Seattle and police response would be the Rodney King riots that
occurred in 1992, seven years earlier. The video footage of the beating opened eyes as well as
scrutiny in police misconduct. The public response after the jury acquitted the officers involved
was nothing but a ruckus that involved further violence and destruction of property. Yet within
all the contention, a mass mob occurred, by a public decree and a communal statement that
people were frustrated and enough was enough. The ideas of racial inequality can be defined as
the “enough”. In the Rodney King riot, social change was not motivation to act like that of the
Battle in Seattle. It was the residual effects of the social movement of the sixties, the Civil
Rights era. The Civil Rights era is still in effect and racial relations have been in discourse for

The research paper, Millennium Trade Talks and the ‘Battle in Seattle’ gives detailed accounts of
CITATION Wik094 \l 1033

the WTO’s meeting in Seattle and for those rallying for the protesters in Seattle, one should read the report. Their
views represent the U.K. but insightfully written.
some 50 years now and still going. It is not decades or years that define a movement either. It is
about effective leadership and responsibility of mistakes or errors. The combination of activists,
organized protests, dissenters, nonconformists and rebels in one place is a recipe for chaos.
Usually they have different agendas and making sense of it is the difficult part. In the Battle in
Seattle, I’d say that previous conditions in Seattle’s changing work force and economy were the
divisive/decisive/derisive nature for many to make a stand but I found that common ground was
not clearly identified from an outsider’s viewpoint. However, Seattle’s citizens did make the
point that they wanted to make, which was to be the “Protest of the Millennium.”

It is also important to have a spatial outlook for a real social movement to progress. I would
refer here to the issue of gay marriages as well as homosexual/lesbian relations in society. These
issues are a social movement in degrees of individuality. It is not one that can appear
instantaneously, simply by the fact that discourse has not been previously established. One can’t
wake one day and state, “I’m gay and have rights”. Your rights were already established, it is in
wake that one is gay that acclamation and assimilation of sexual preferences into a heterosexual
society or the norms of that group that is in conflict. For many gay and lesbian people, issues’
concerning their sexuality is a social movement but I’d consider it an ex post facto movement
that really lies in the heart of men as moral debate. In research, I came across an unknown
author with some intriguing insight concerning the social construction of reality:

It took another peculiar event to change the fear of inherited errors into a positive
doctrine; that was the Great French Revolution of 1789, or more precisely the
conservative response to it. The basic point made by, for instance, Edmund Burke, was
that it was neither possible nor desirable to start from scratch, from tabulæ rasæ, as
(according to the conservatives) the philosophes and the revolutionaries had tried to do.
We are, after all, not blank slates, we do not evolve our thought out of pure abstraction,
but inherit our modes of thought and categories from our ancestors; our intellect as much
as our institutions and our feelings are part of a vast social fabric, stretching back into a
literally immemorial past. So we can't start from scratch; but we can modify our
inheritance. Yet (the conservative argument continues) that inheritance is the product of
millennia of sifting and winnowing; however imperfect it may be, it has in fact endured
and worked for a very long time, and as such is not to be lightly tampered with, much less
completely rejected in favor of very recent and very speculative, hence very uncertain,
substitutes, especially not when serious matters of human life and happiness are at stake.[
CITATION AutNA \l 1033 ]

As a heterosexual, I approach the question of gay marriages. It is not about equal rights or moral
issues but my sense of historical interpretation of civilization which is based around the
institution of marriage involving the idea of procreation. Yes, gay/lesbian couples have the right
to children and some with ability to procreate as well but the ideas of masculine and feminine in
context to male and female differences that combined for the purpose of procreating. It seems
like a missing equation in same sex marriages. It is not that same sex couples can’t raise healthy
functional families but for me it is a violation of cyclic reciprocity, similar to yin yang. Also, it
seems more like a violation of my perception of time regarding historical rhetoric concerning
norms of male and female relationships. Perhaps my definition goes beyond modern concepts
and conventions of today but that is what my issue is for legalizing same sex marriages.
Basically, I’m requiring more discourse before I can reach esthetic distance according to Scheff’s
Theory- Flow Chart.[ CITATION Sch09 \l 1033 ]

However, my viewpoint is esthetical compared to legal rights to be taxed equally or represented

by contracts equally. As previously stated, a person who wakes up one day and states, “I’m gay
and I have rights” should understand that they always had those same rights. I had thought that
domestic partner laws addressed these issues but I could be mistaken. In the arguments for gay
marriages, it seems as though they do not. If this is the case, then maybe readjusting domestic
partner laws should be changed. Regardless, the issue is not about sexual identity or even
biological differences because like cultural diversities, I believe in biological diversity as well.
An important point that Berger and Luckmann state in The Social Construction of Reality: A
Treatise On The Sociology of Knowledge is that social order is not part of the "nature of things,"
and it cannot be derived from the "laws of nature." Social order exists only as a product of human
activity.[ CITATION Ber66 \l 1033 ] Nonetheless, I must address that these personalized issues on
our individualism or sexuality does distract us from the bigger picture. In light of recent political
scandals, wars that are annihilating inhabitants of this planet (like Darfur), environmental issues,
like global warming and the decentralizing our government in favor of privatization, my views
on gay marriage is rather banal.

So is homosexuality a secondary deviance and does labeling theory apply here? I rather state
that, like previously said the issue is not homosexuality or who identifies themselves to it, but in
the labeling theory, the idea of misinformation, ignorance and lack of knowledge of the issue is
pertinent.[ CITATION Lis092 \l 1033 ] Elite deviance is a real issue that needs to be understood,
addressed and confronted for social harmony. All other implications of deviance seem
secondary to me. Returning to Turk’s work on the conflict theory, he states, “Subjects are
defined as sophisticated when their knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of authorities
enables them to manipulate authorities, thereby allowing them to violate authority norms without
open conflict”.[ CITATION Lis091 \p 211 \l 1033 ] Here is the theory of fight fire with fire; any
firefighter knows that controlled fires are effective methods of curtailing larger ones.

In recent years, firefighters have learned to “read” fires and their paths as well as reconnaissance
the scene, by object, location and origin. In some ways, an effective social movement should
learn its path first before acting. For a social movement to engage battle with elitist groups
organizations and individuals must understand the same things, like identifiers, in Shibutani’s
definition of the situation, he’d consider that as criteria, perhaps we are in need of more criteria
to combat elite deviance.[ CITATION Shi09 \l 1033 ] Rome was not built in a day but it was destroy
within weeks, basically what’s been done cannot simply be undone. Curra details it more in
section, The Social Construction of Reality, restating Berger and Luckmann, “humans construct
so much of the reality within which they live that it is difficult to identify one reality that exists
for all people….because most social encounters that people have a typical and ordinary, they do
not call into question the taken-for-granted nature of human experience and the apparent
objectivity of social reality is continually reaffirmed in every interaction.”[ CITATION Cur \p 7-8 \l
1033 ] This leads to the attitudes and perspective for the general public concerning elite
deviance. It is similar in thought to Leon Festinger’s theory on cognitive dissonance, where
individuals seek consistency in their beliefs, attitudes or opinions.[ CITATION Fes09 \l 1033 ]
Sciences and communication systems are becoming more evident and consistent in its pursuit of
knowledge. It is filtering down to individuals’ cognitions as well; this is particularly true for the
criminal justice system and the collecting of evidence. Choices are being affected even if slight
in comparison to before.

Concerning the criminal justice system, there seems to have been significant changes within the
policies, awareness and exploration of alternative methods. It may be confined to individual
departments more than the whole US criminal justice system. Police units have become much
more communal. Evidence can be seen in sensitivity training, integration of minorities, and in
public exposure of specific corruption or abuse that can’t be denied, as seen on TV, i.e. the
media. Recent riots occurred in San Francisco (2008) after the death of Oscar Grant by a transit
police officer, Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle shot Grant in the back while he was in custody,
handcuffed and lying face down. The officer’s argument was he confused his gun with his taser.
However, video clips of the shooting immediately appeared on the internet from cell phone
recordings. The riots seemed a more natural response and most likely expected in the urban area
of Oakland and again an expression of anger rather than a protest of social disorder. The
incidents in Oakland and in the LA riots were tangible incidents where the reaction was an
emotional response based from a community’s outrage. Here is the difference from social
movements or general protests. By definition social movements must encompass that “we have
the power”, organized people to act rather than react and with purpose to work towards change.
It is inherently different from a riot, by the fact that riots are usually spontaneously and an
emotional response to certain circumstances.

Social movements may be unnecessary as we know it, in form of protestors and rioters. It then
becomes a more of a cultural revolution, one that’s integrated into society through artistic
measures and composition. Wikipedia defines it as, “an integrated pattern of human knowledge,
belief and behavior that depends on the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning.” It is
evident that while corporations are capitalizing on globalization, cultures are in fact becoming
extensively multicultural. The skills of individuals living in today’s world need to learn to walk
both lines or at least see them merging. Multinational companies and corporations know this and
use it for their benefit. For an individual in a very larger “ponzi” scheme, perhaps media
literacy, along with emotional intelligence can elevate social change and move people to act.
Social movements are to help people regain perspective and share resources.

VI. Discussion and Conclusion

In US history, we often forget the struggle of Afro-Americans and the relativity of time for them
in comparison to today’s movements. Four hundred years versus four or five decades ago, black
people were finally given the right to vote (the Civil Rights era) and just at the end of another
decade, the right to vote for an Afro-American as president. Though, many only see him as
black and forget he is biracial and bicultural. I find that helps him walk a fine line at times as
well as both at the same time and eventually merging them into one, like in his campaign slogan,
“Yes, We Can.”

It is necessary to acknowledge the textbook, Elite Deviance by David R. Simon as a resource that
details and uses historical analysis of elite deviance.[ CITATION Sim08 \l 1033 ] The text defines
deviance in view of corporate and political deviations and connects the dots historically and
empirically. In addition relies on defining elite deviance as a social process along with the social
construction of reality theory concerning power and the distribution of wealth. The statistics that
Simon has gathered and continually collects is alarming. The trend in his 27 years of research
shows a pattern as well as growth in elite status, money and power. All, of which, is relative to
the 1999 Seattle protest of the WTO’s Convention and concurrently other sociological theories
concerning deviance.

First, it’s important to define who the elite are and what makes them deviant. Statistically they
represent less than 2% of the population.1 In Simon’s text, his research into corporations,
government agencies and businesses is extensive and scary at the same time, the amount and
depth of it truly is monumental for the modern world as we know it. Elitism has always existed
in Western civilization, from the Egyptians to the Romans. Modern elites have seen their share
of scandals, corruption and indiscretions but since Vietnam, the legitimacy of these issues seems
to have been incorporated to its culture. The terminology is defined by C. Wright Mills in
Curra’s text as higher immorality, similar to moral insensitivity.[ CITATION Cur \p 46 \l 1033 ] A
street thug robs someone by gun and that’s immoral but someone diverts millions of dollars from
the public, that’s business. Much of which is common sense to active listeners as well as social
activists. It is through Scheff’s Theory Flow chart that our cognitive dissonance is moving from
under distance to over distance without ever having esthetic distance.[ CITATION Sch09 \l 1033 ]
Similar to my thought on tomorrow’s headlines is yesterday’s news and how we seemed to miss
a day somewhere. So in social movements, there is a yearning for the past, present and future.
In today’s age we should be lucky to find what’s present.

As large corporations began to market the concept of globalization, the internet has made the
modern man to expand and broaden the scope within the concept of borderless morphing of
technology. The Third World has been restructured and renamed as “underdeveloped” countries,

1
Wikipedia has a condensed look at social class that gives insight to various countries and eras that define the
upper class/elites. Some important stats: 1978 upper upper class household income was over $60,000 ($183,000
in 2005 dollars), 2002 capitalist class was 1.5% households made over $250,000 while 146,000
individuals/households having incomes $1, 600,000 or more (.01% of population)2005 1% in upper class household
income over $250,000, with 5% income over $140,000[ CITATION Wik094 \l 1033 ]
meaning still having possibilities. In addition to new concepts, individuals also have continuous
possibilities. Shibutani states, “each social world, then is a culture area, the boundaries of which
are set neither by territory or formal group membership, but by the limits of effective
communication”.[ CITATION Shi09 \p 151 \y \l 1033 ] Generally, citizens end up playing Catch 22
with the media, while sifting through high speed technology for truth.

For Seattle-ites, some solidarity had been reached in terms of creating a scene that was
recognizable. The court ruling following arrests and other complaints, eventually gave American
citizens what they were demanding- a sense of reality and a game with rules of fairness. In many
ways, the Battle in Seattle is a progressive approach to unite rather than protest. If the police
trends reflect accountability in their fight against corruption in their own units, perhaps we have
closer ties to role models that sustain us and provide protection. The need to for sustainability
for officers of the law is that their physical lives depend on each other as a whole unit rather than
one fractured by personality traits. Artistic culture is what sustains us in mass media but how
much does it protect us?

Recent research reveals Hollywood has made a movie to be released in fall 2009, ten years later.
The Battle in Seattle is made by major actors and first directorial debut of Stuart Townsend (a bit
frustrating in Google search to pull up this than the actual event in 1999). As the story hits
mainstream America, movies ability to move us might help take things seriously and perhaps it
will seep into our subconscious which in time brings conscious living.

Apart from everything else, I had some difficulties in Simon’s text on his view of the personality
traits of corporate leadership. His description of attachment disorder was too similar to that of
serial killers.[ CITATION Sim08 \p 287-288 \y \l 1033 ] Someone once called another person I
know, a sociopath and I’d never heard the term. I had heard of psychopath. However, many of
what elite deviant behavior mirrors is that of a sociopath. It is scary to think. Many despise the
former President but his motivations, I think were naïve. He is a different form of scary but
really comical. I am a person of quotes so I will end it with three good ones, two from President
Bush.

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says,
fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." – President
George W. Bush

“I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what’s moving. I rarely read the stories,
and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves.” – President George W.
Bush

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop
questioning.”- Albert Einstein
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