Essay on Elian Gonzalez

Elian Gonzalez Term Papers

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It seems as if the last five months has been an update of the latest news and developments in the story of the most famous six year old, Elian Gonzalez. To date, I must admit that I have been somewhat biased and inconsiderate by not paying attention to the most recent developments because of the simple fact that I believed from the beginning that the boy should be returned to his biological father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez. With the timing of this assignment it has given me an opportunity to get caught up on all the facts of the Elian Gonzalez case and I'm glad I have taken this opportunity to do some reading of the last couple of reports by Newsweek. It also ties in well with a sociologist/theorist that we have been discussing in class by the name Baumgartner and the idea of "Social Control from Below". The idea of social control from below is one that we as humans come across day-in and day-out. Some of the factors that we come across in social control from below are the idea that this concept deals with the powerful and the powerless, the powerful can use physical discipline to control the powerless, the powerful can control social resources to control the powerless, and the powerless don't suspend their right to moral justice. These are just a few of the ideas that factor into social control from below, but if you look into them a little deeper you can understand why I would say that we as humans deal with this idea on a daily basis. In the case of Elian Gonzalez and his father's attempt to regain custody, this concept of powerful versus powerless runs a whole lot deeper than just these two.

The idea of the powerful versus the powerless plays a major role in this idea of social control from below. The circumstances don't change either when looking at the Gonzalez case. It seems as if these "subordinates" and "elites" were the major players from the beginning and still continue to be the major players to this day. If you had to put a label on who the "elite" group would be I guess you would have to say the Miami family, who consist of Lazaro, Delfin, and the surrogate mother, who currently have custody of Elian. In this same instance I would have to say that the label of "subordinate" or disadvantaged would have to be placed on Juan Miguel, Elian's father, because he hasn't had any luck in trying to regain custody of his child and bring him back to Cuba. On a much larger scale the idea of subordinates and elites is one that the governments of both the United States and Cuba will control. It seems that overall the United States government with the help of some major players that include Attorney General Janet Reno and President Bill Clinton and the Cuban government with the help of their major player, Fidel Castro, are in control here and will have the final say in the matter. With this being said, it seems the title of overall subordinates could be placed on all the other major players in this lasting controversy. These others include the lawyers that are representing both parties, the immediate family that includes Juan Miguel and his uncle Manuel, the Miami family who currently has custody of Elian and refuses to give him up, and lastly Elian who will have to live with the decision that should be rendered sometime soon.

The idea of social control from below, as discussed by Baumgartner, has many factors that influence the idea of being deviant behavior. There are four distinct factors that influence social control from below and Baumgartner labels them as the "Social Forces of the Powerless". These forces include: rebellion, covert retaliation, non-cooperation, and appeals for support. All of these factors according to Baumgartner are a social attempt by the powerless to set the tables to an even scale. The most noticeable form of social control from below that we have seen in this case since November would be this idea of non-cooperation. For this concept to be true I must first explain non-cooperation according to Baumgartner. The first thing you have to try and understand is the fact that this is the single most available form of social control from below. All that is required is that the subordinate parties not do very much for that superior or elite party. This would be most evident in the fact that the Miami family hasn't cooperated at all with Juan Miguel or even the American government. It seems as they are set in their ways and their opinion and they feel as if the best thing for Elian would be to raise him in Miami as opposed to sending him back to Cuba with his father. It seems as if this situation is best summed up in an article entitled You Live in Fear written for Newsweek as a Web exclusive on April 12,2000. It was an interview with Walter Polovchak, who went through the same thing Elian is going through back in 1980. The only differences were that Walter was twelve years old at the time and he fled the Soviet Union, which was communist at the time. I feel as if says it best in a statement that reads, "He (Elian) can always go back to Cuba any time-that option is always open to him. But he'll never have the same opportunity to leave Cuba." With this being said, I still feel it is up to his biological father to make the decision, which he feels is best for the son he seems to love so much. It c n also be said that the crowds that have gathered in Little Havana and the protestors that have gathered in Cuban communities all over the country...

Newsweek. April 12, 2000. You should cite this paper as follows:

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