Deviance in Society

When you think of deviancy you usually think of some illegal or evil act. In other words you think of deviancy in a negative sense. In class last week though we looked at deviancy in a positive sense. As an act of kindness that is outside of the norms of society. Things like helping an old lady cross the street, these acts really highlight the brighter side of human beings. In a culture that is over-saturated and emphasizes the darker side of humans in the media, it is both refreshing and sobering to hear of nobel acts of deviance. I vaguely remember someone's positive deviant act from years ago. When I was little, my mother took me with her to the super market and I walked off to find her a gift because her birthday was a few days later. When I found her gift and went to go pay for it the cashier told me I was short a few dollars, and to my surprise the cashier covered the amount I was short. This was not very meaningful to me until I remembered it years later, then I understood the gravity of the act. I realized how unusual what the cashier did for me was. And how it made me feel to be on the receiving end of the act showed me how rare and meaningful it really was.