The wild (white) ones: comparing frames of white and black deviance

Abstract

In this case study, I establish how a racial privilege shields whites from being framed as deviant by using two racially segregated motorcycle rallies as a naturalistic experiment. I conduct a content analysis of reader posts to online newspaper stories about the biker events (which regularly include deviance) and discover the bikers, their behaviors, and the proposed community reactions are framed in nearly opposite ways. Posters attribute a 'white innocence' to white bikers, framing them as upper class exemplars of American Individualism who temporarily suspend their morality during the rally by drinking, exposing their nude bodies, and ignoring newly passed laws, banning loud mufflers, and requiring helmets. Posters claim these unpleasant, although non-dangerous forms of deviance can be ignored, overlooked, and even celebrated as defiant acts against authority. The white innocence can appear racially innocuous until compared to the perception of black bikers who engage in similar behaviors at their rally but are framed as underclass criminals who attend the rally to steal and murder. This reveals how a usually unseen privilege shields whites from entanglements with the criminal justice system, as posters also call for further policing of racial minorities.

Race, police, and the pandemic: considering the role of race in public health policing

“…More broadly, scholars note the dearth of research addressing the causes and consequences of White privilege in the context of criminal justice processes and the social construction of crime (Smith and Linnemann 2015). In response, an emerging body of research has begun to explore how social constructions of crime and related criminal justice responses account for what Eastman (2015) terms "white innocence," or processes that "rationalize, excuse, and overlook White deviance" (239). Some of this research explores how mug shots of White women are viewed with empathy (Dirks, Heldman, and Zack 2015), how White militant radicalization is often associated with aspirations for individualism rather than violence (Wood, Jakubek Jr, and Kelly 2015), and how mass shootings committed by young White men are often attributed to mental health factors rather than a predisposition to violence (Heitzeg 2015).…”

“…As this emerging body of research suggests, racial disparities in the enforcement of public health guidelines may be a product of pro-White biases in addition to anti-Black biases. That is, research is needed to examine the implications of, for example, "implicit white favoritism" (Smith, Levinson, and Robinson 2014) and "white innocence" (Eastman 2015) for public health policing. It may be the case that law enforcement is more likely to rationalize, overlook, or excuse public health violations committed by White Americans, consequently affording them the ability to protest public health guidelines without fear of police intervention.…”

Ethnographies of Race, Crime, and Justice: Toward a Sociological Double-Consciousness

“…These suburban youths have access to alternative methods of solving disputes and benefit from the belief held by those in power that they deserve a second (and third, and so on) chance before criminalization or incarceration. Scholars have also turned their attention to the way that White privilege leads to double standards of deviance (Eastman 2015, Feinstein 2015, Few 2005, Heitzeg 2015. For example, Feinstein (2015) shows that boys of color were more likely than White boys to report feeling that community members viewed them as criminals prior to arrest.…”

“…Another emerging trend within this area of research centers around the discourse on race and deviance, paying particular attention to the role of Whiteness. By uncovering how privilege operates, these studies take on a perspective that helps to show power differentials and the unequal ways in which the justice system treats racialized individuals (Eastman 2015, Henne & Shah 2015, Hughey 2015, Netherland & Hansen 2016.…”