Sunday, September 25, 2011
Practice Makes Perfect
While reading Becker's article I thought of smoking pot as art or skill. In the article, he repeatidly said that to enjoy it, smoking techniques had to be performed properly in order to maximize the effets of the pot. Also that it may take serveral occasions of smoking pot to perfect the smoking techniques and to fully experience the effects. In the article Becker repeatidly mentioned how a new user would have to learn how to enjoy the effects of the smoke and in order to enjoy the effects, the user would have properly perfom the techniques. While reading the article I veiwed smoking pot as a skill like riding a bike, reading a book or swimming. In order to enjoy riding a book or swimming a person would first have to properly perform the techniques of swimming or balancing on a bike ortherwise it would not be that enjoyable, like drowning. Mainly what I thought was interesting, was that smoking pot wasn't the same as smoking a ciggarret or drinking alcohol where the effects of a buzz come automatically without any skill by the user. Smoking pot is more like reading a book, it takes practice to learn how to read (smoke and get the effects) and then once you know how to read and it is easy, you are acceptable to enjoying the book(enjoy the effects the smoke has on your body).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
When I read Becker's article, I don't think I understood it as a comparison to other practices, such as swimming, bike riding, or reading. Although, it is mentioned multiple times in his piece that pot smoking may take practice and it's something to learn through a process, I think the 'point' was more based around the language that needs to be learned.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned your surprise in hearing that pot didn't have an effect right away, because people don't know how to get it. Becker was bringing to light the idea that people may not find enjoyment from the pot at first, or may not even know that they are high, because it takes a process for them to develop the vocabulary that identifies them as being high. He mentioned an incident where a first time smoker had an almost panicked reaction because he or she was not aware of what their feeling was. This is because that user had not yet identified with the language used to describe oneself as being high. As a result this user could only identify with calling them self insane.
It is true that they have to learn the techniques and learn that it could be an "object of pleasure." The part of the process I thought You left out was the process of learning, and finding out how to use a common vocabulary that pot smokers use to identify themselves as high.
I think that Becker does identify using marihuana as a skill that has to be learned and acquired, but it's more than that. The use of marihuana required the entire culture of pot users in order for use to continue. The social addiction of pot use I think was at least equally important as the methodology of using pot. Without the social group, people wouldn't continue to use the knowledge they acquired on how to properly smoke.
ReplyDelete