Herbert Blumer

Herbert Blumer, an American sociologist, was interested in symbolic interactionism and methods of social research. His main focus was how actors give particular subjective meanings to different social symbols and objects. This is in relation to how they adjust their behavior depending on the meaning that they have given to the objects, in a significant situation. This lead him to believe that individuals create their own social reality through individual and collective action (Alexander 1987). I have just written a paper on Blumer's position on 'the problem of order'. Due to the research that I conducted, while writing my paper, I feel that I am slowly getting a grasp on his theories and who he was as a symbolic interactionist.

I am an Australian university student, currently studying abroad in the US. I am planning on traveling a lot while I am here and taking in as much of the culture as I can. On my travels so far, I have noticed a lot of similarities and differences in the meanings behind symbols and social objects between Australia and the US. Back at home, people often speak about how Americanised" we are due to the fact that our media is heavily filled on American based stories and information. However, since being here, I have noticed that there really is a big difference in the cultures and the way that society runs, in each country. This week, I ventured in to New York City (again) with some friends. While walking around the streets of Manhattan, it is easy to stumble upon objects that are given specific meanings by society.

While walking along the street, my friends and I stumbled upon a bicycle that had been painted white and was decorated with bright, orange flowers. The first reason that I noticed this was because of the contrast of colours but I quickly realised what this actually was. I had seen this symbol quite a bit at home. Generally, when a bike is placed along a road or in a heavily trafficked area, it represents the death of someone who was cycling. It was a symbol that represented the activity that the victim was participating in at their time of death.

The bike that is pictured above is situated along 9th Avenue, where a cyclist had been killed. Without knowing the people who had organised for this symbol to be placed there, the meaning behind it needs to somewhat be interpreted. It would be fair enough to assume that the bicycle was used as a way to remember this person and their place of death, as well as what may have been their hobby - riding. Attached to the pole that the bike was leaning against, was a plaque that said "RIP" (rest in peace), along with the name and some details about the person who was killed. Even if this plaque was not there, due to socialisation, I was able to understand what the symbol meant.

The use of a bike as a representation of the place where a cyclist has been killed is universal, as I discovered upon doing more research. I found out that this symbol is actually called a "Ghost Bike" and is used as small memorials for cyclists who have been killed or hit on the street, whilst cycling. I found it interesting that this is a symbol that is shared among many cultures and groups withins society.
For more information on Ghost Bikes, you can click on the link below:

Ghost Bikes - NYC

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPTrbXBkp6NJdsbbV5lfqA4GwpechTQPQGLBculYBN1TD88L_X0Mz3yhTjOJKm4aRsX6c0iHDQT-OkccsroBrAgL8qjtilVm7l0TrwxxLXEaQ-qNGZdOUbdtRmjar6PsuQuaNzzwlbueX/s1600/ghost+bike.JPG

So, how does the use of this symbol relate to Blumer? 

He suggests that members of society give certain meanings to social symbols and objects, which encourages us to adjust our behavior depending on the meaning that the objects and symbols are given, in a significant situation (Alexander 1987; Calhourn, Gertes, Moody, Pfaff, and Virk 2012). As I previously stated, my eyes were originally drawn to the "ghost bike" due to it being visually appealing. For a split second, I didn't realise what it represented, so all I thought about was it's physical characteristics. However, once I saw the plaque and had a quick think, I realised what it symbolised. This realisation caused me to slightly alter my behavior. I instantly regretted calling it beautiful because I felt as if I was disrespecting the person/thing that it was representing.

References:

1.     Alexander, Jeffrey C. Twenty Lectures: Sociological Theory Since World War II. New York: Columbia University Press.

2.  Calhourn, Craig, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, and Indermohan Virk. 2012. Contemporary Sociological Theory: Third Edition.