Introduction
A norm can be described as a pattern of behavior expected within a particular society in a given situation i.e. the belief that is shared and accepted as normal, shapes and controls people’s actions in the society. People who do not follow the norms within society are considered rude and defiant and are often stigmatized. Important norms in society are called mores and their violations are punishable with severe sanctions and are often enforced by law.
There exist at least two important reasons as to why norms may not be abandoned within a particular society. The first reason is that people are educated through their socialization process to follow a norm and most of the people will not stand against the norm. Secondly, even if a person doesn’t feel like following a norm, it may be in his/her best interest to follow it anyway because she/he may have no other choice.
In this research, I am going in the field to try and violate some two norms but taking caution not to break the mores to avoid landing myself on the wrong side of the law. In the process of violation of these norms, I do expect mixed reactions from the people who will be around to witness and even those who will have the privilege to get the news from those that will have witnessed. I do expect people to be surprised to a point of remaining speechless and others to laugh to a point of collapsing.
Methods
It was lunchtime and I was headed to the mess to have my lunch. I was in the company of several people, some of them my friends, with whom we were headed in the same direction. The road was busy with people moving in opposite directions. I was not talking to anybody and all of a sudden I broke into an animated conversation with myself not minding those people around me. Several people including my friends saw me do this, only a few people around could not see this because of the hurry in which they were. On reaching the mess, I ordered beef soup with a fork and immediately I started eating the soup using the fork. We were sharing a table with two friends of mine but I was trying the much I could not engage in any of their conversations. This happened three days ago.
Results
The moment I started my animated conversation, at first I did not draw anyone’s attention but after an interval of about one minute, everyone around kept quiet to comprehend what was actually going on. One of my friends asked me while wearing a very surprised face,” what’s wrong with you? Are you okay?” Another person going in the opposite direction stood still, his eyes fixed on me even as I moved on. Another person commented on a serious note while trying to grab my hand, “this person is sick, let’s take the person for medical attention.” But another friend of mine laughed and said that I was only joking which caused some argument between the two.
In the dining, the two friends on seeing me order soup and a fork only (and they had witnessed the animated conversation on the road) never took things lightly. They requested to know whether I was all right but I responded that nothing was wrong with me. An argument ensued culminating in I being forcibly grabbed and taken to a medical doctor for some close examination. While this was happening, the few in the room never made any comment or even show any facial expression. They were simply “minding their own business.”
Discussion
What happened during this experience was more than I could have expected. I didn’t expect people to exhibit so much concern towards my behavior in the process of breaking the norms. I did not expect to get to the extent of being dragged to the hospital against my will. It never dawned on me that people would be overly concerned about my breaking the norm. On the other hand, I did not expect a particular group of people to remain callous despite seeing me behaving out of the ordinary.
From what I observed during my research, I realized that majority of the people in society get alarmed when they see someone violating a norm. Whenever a norm is violated within a society, the first reaction of the people around is getting overly surprised and later on seeks to know the reason and cause for this. They want to find out the cause of this extraordinary conduct. Interestingly enough, whether they find out the cause or not they will always seek to come up with corrective measures before the situation gets out of hand. My friends’ initiative of taking me to the hospital is a clear indication of people’s willingness in society not to appreciate the breaking of norms.
On the other hand, from my observation, I found out that in society there is a section of people who would not care if a norm was violated or not. This might come about as a result of the violator not being directly associated with these people. This is indicated in the case where my friends dragged me to the hospital while other guys were seated enjoying their meal in the dining room showing no concern. Also, some people might not react in any way whenever what is held by the majority in society as a norm is broken since they might be foreigners in that particular society and are unable to tell the violation of a norm.
Carrying out this research was not an easy exercise and needed a lot of sacrifice and dedication. It was not a comfortable task since it involved participating in activities I was not used to carrying out. Breaking a norm, especially when doing it consciously, makes you feel really uncomfortable. I was so uncomfortable during the process but the justification within me was that I was doing it just for a while and for a worthy reason.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my norm violating experience has taught me one main and very important lesson in regard to society. Norms are valued highly in society and breaking them becomes an issue of concern. Norms in any particular society closely relate to customs and have to be followed at all times. Violating a norm brings discomfort among people in society and they end up lacking peace in their mind until the situation is resolved. Therefore, it is quite important for individuals to avoid violation of norms in any particular society.