Howard Becker in his essay Becoming a Marihuana User stated that “the presence of a given behavior is the result of a sequence of social experiences during which the person acquires a conception of the meaning of the behavior, and perceptions and judgments of objects and situations, all of which make the activity possible and desirable.”
This statement can be applied to marijuana use, but also can be applied to many different behaviors and activities that people enjoy.
In the realm of drugs, many people use and enjoy certain kinds in recreational use. From Marijuana to alcohol to coffee, people have found that they enjoy the effects they perceive and experience.
Our culture is constructed in a way that perpetuates the social acceptance or social rejection of certain drugs. Marijuana has a particular negative connotation in our culture. The intertextual meaning of the practice is pretty prominent in people’s minds- the word “stoner” pops into our heads, leading us to picture some dude in dreadlocks and tie-dye, sitting in his basement smoking a bowl. Maybe watching Pineapple Express. Or The Office. Something funny, of course. The smoking sub-culture is just that. A sub-culture.
On the other hand, coffee is also a drug, yet our culture as a whole is addicted to it. Starbucks rules our lives. If your town doesn’t have one, your town is behind the times. Dated. Coffee has a history in our culture; in the past, it has been frowned upon, even banned in some countries. The “coffeehouse” was something to be equated with an underground “rave” of the 90’s. It indeed was a sub-culture.
Enough people exhibited the pleasure from coffee that Becker explained in relation to marijuana, the government perceived it to be no threat, and the coffee sub-culture dissipated, leaving the coffee industry to grow and become the everyday drug of choice for millions.
The point I’m trying to make is that culture dictates how we see things, how we feel about things, and whether we condone, condemn, or partake in certain activities. You might have considered the first part of my title to be normal and the second part to be deviant. Becker states you have to recognize the effects of a drug and learn to enjoy the sensation it has on you... but firstly, I think that one has to see something for what it is, not what society has taught you to think it is, before you can experience it to its full potential.
Whether its smoking, knitting, or playing chess, one shouldn’t have to worry if it’s considered wrong, boring, or nerdy; if it’s pleasurable to you, you shouldn’t need society’s nod of approval.
I definitely agree with what you’re saying about society telling us what’s right and wrong. There are many things out there that are legal and still addicting like alcohol and caffeine as you were saying along with energy drinks nowadays and fast food. People should make their own choices about what they want to do without having their culture persuade them into making decisions. But it can be hard sometimes not to listen.
ReplyDeletei agree with the fact that every person has the right to do whatever they want with their lives, whether it be to live it or to end it. However much this sounds good it is almost impractical. Noone lives as an island. And you are a subject of your environment, you society. Socially evrything you do will aways affect someone else whether you like it or not. What we should rather look at is how much we should allow the boundaries set by the society affect our lives as individuals rather than pretend as if those boundaries exist. It is only when we learn to inco-operate our individuality with the society that society and personality can coexist.
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