Culture is anything that identifies you as a person. It makes you who you are and really reflects on how you act as a person and the role you play in society. Becker says in Becoming a Marijuana User, a user will not enjoy smoking pot until they have been taught by culture how to enjoy it. A (somewhat stretched) example of this can be the public bus system. I never have ridden a public bus before until I started taking it everyday to and from school this year. In general the etiquette and unspoken rules are something you do not learn until you are actually riding the bus. For example, swiping your pass/paying when you get on the bus, but when going southbound, not paying until as you are getting off. Most people are going to pay as they get on the bus the first time they ride the bus unless they are told not to pay right away. You have to be taught by society how the system works. Maybe that fact was something a lot of you knew, but I didn’t, and now I silently laugh to myself whenever I see someone trying to pay right away.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Do you know how to ride the bus?
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I think this is a great example because it really does push Becker's "social construction" into an everyday experience that most of us can relate to. I feel comparing it to something so simple helps us understand what Becker is trying to explain to us too.
ReplyDeleteI like this example a lot. I hadn't really considered the subculture of people who ride the bus instead of driving themselves places, and from the one or two times I've tried it there certainly is some knowledge required. I also like that you find it funny when other people go through the same problems that you encountered when you first started riding the bus, obviously they are inexperienced, but it has become so commonplace for you that it is hard to even imagine not knowing at this point.
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