Elian Gonzalez

A detailed Summary of Elian Gonzalez

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. T

In relation to three distinct parties that have played a major role in the Gonzalez case, I feel as if they have each shown a distinct characteristic of social control from below, if not more than one. The first party that we would look at would be the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Alex Penelas. It seems as if Penelas has taken part in the idea of non-cooperation in respect to the idea of social control from below. This is made evident by the article in Newsweek entitled The Long Road Home. In the article Joseph Contreras and Evan Thomas write, "Having recklessly declared that he would refuse to help the Feds enforce the law two weeks ago, Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas more sensibly called for calm last week." It seems as if the mayor has come to his senses since then, but he has not fully cooperated with officials. The next group that we can discuss would be the local Miami supporters of the efforts to keep Elian Gonzalez here in the United States. The first act that of social control from below that they have taken part would be non-cooperation. This is quite obvious because they don't make the situation any easier by threatening to not let the Feds get through to pick Elian up. The next act of deviance in respect to social control from below would be the idea of rebellion. The idea of rebellion is open violence against the social superiors. This is the most visible of social control from below, but it is also important for me to point out that this is also the least likely to occur. It is also important for me to point out that this has not happened yet, but it almost seems evident. Contreras and Thomas point out in their Newsweek article, "But the hotheads were still linking arms outside the modest bungalow where Elian lives, and his two great uncles and their phalanx of lawyers were in effect daring Attorney General Janet Reno to brave the mob." If this doesn't point out signs of rebellion, then I don't know what does. Lastly, the actions of maybe the most important players have to be discussed. Elian's U.S. family has definitely engaged in the concept of non-cooperation. This is a given. They have also engaged in a couple of other forms of social control from below. The first would be a form entitled covert retaliation. Covert retaliation is an active, aggressive form of social control from below. Baumgartner also considers it a "secret" form of social control from below. The actions that go into covert retaliation are so covered and so secretive, that people sometimes look past its aggressiveness. I feel this is a direct reference to Lazarus, one of Elian's two uncles, offering money to Juan Miguel for custody of the boy. The Newsweek article points out, "His (Juan Miguel) uncle Lazaro began arguing that Elian should stay in Miami and even offered Juan Miguel money (reportedly $2 million) to give up his claim to the child." It seems as if Lazaro is trying to buy Elian from his bio

Some common words found in the essay are:
Juan Miguel, Elian Gonzalez, Janet Reno, Forces Powerless, Control Below, Gonzalez United, Manuel Miami, Castro Craig, Fidel Castro, Juan Miguel's, control below, social control, social control below, juan miguel, idea social control, elian gonzalez, form social, form social control, idea social, covert retaliation, major players, miami family, idea non-cooperation, control below idea, government help major,

Approximate Word count = 1965
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics