In the US, deviance has become more noted in the news, due to the constant arguments and discrepancies amongst views and stances of power. Most deviance is related to mass shootings or large destructions in America. Through the deviant acts of gang violence in Texas, we can see direct correlations to concepts of labeling theory and learning theory. A mistrial was declared on November 10, 2017, in regard to the Twin Peaks biker brawl that killed nine people, taking place in May of 2015. This brawl was between two motorcycle gangs, the Bandidos and the Cossacks. The Bandidos organized an ambush and through the argument, began firing on the Cossacks. It is said that “The Bandidos are considered part of the 1% outlaw biker world” (Lavandera, 2017). …show more content…
It is common to hear about street gangs in rougher areas of town, but to hear of a biker gang creating such violence was a surprise. The different mindsets between the Bandidos and the Cossacks were very intriguing. Because the Bandidos have such a prevalent presence in the outlaw biker world, they seemed to have statements that were more confident and they stood ground for their actions. It was more of the fact that they did what they did because they were loyal to their group and cause and did not want people to change that. The Cossacks had a very different approach, in the sense that they were the victims, so they were very strong in their statements that they were surrounded and attacked when in reality they came for a peaceful encounter and wanted to have a positive relationship with the group that was a dangerous and intimidating gang. It was surprising to see how violent and dominating the Bandidos were, and even more surprising to hear that there was a mistrial, as I perceived that the Bandidos were very at fault in this situation. This current event is a direct example of the labeling and learning theories. The labeling theory “focuses on the consequences of deviants’ interactions with conventional society, particular with official agents of social control” (Clinard & Meier, 2016). The learning theory “treats deviant actions as learned behaviors developed according to the same basic processes through which nondeviants learn conformity” (Clinard & Meier, 2016). Both these theories explain the actions had of the biker gangs in this