ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the social reactions following the Pollard affair; its findings suggest the way in which a complex, pluralistic society copes with a threat to its moral boundaries. It demonstrates the impact of various worldviews, priorities, and beliefs on the way in which different subcultures respond to deviant behavior. The chapter is concerned with the public reaction to treason. It discusses three of the total ten issues or categories in detail: Pollard—the man behind the affair, blame and responsibility and reactions towards the punishment. The chapter presents three issues raised by the newspapers in the wake of the affair, issues which illustrate clearly the meaning of social reaction to treason in a pluralistic, complex society. The first illustrates how different subcultures described Jonathan Pollard, the man behind the affair; the second discusses the question of blame and responsibility and the third considers the way in which different segments within society responded to Pollard’s punishment.
