Last Sunday, I took a bus trip to the LACMA museum. I have
passed the museum many times before, but never had the time to go and check it out. Although touring the
museum was a great experience, the bus trip there and back was what I found
most appealing. Since we have been discussing in class what social difference
is, I paid close attention to the different people on the bus. As soon as I
stepped in the metro 720 on Wilshire/Westwood, I knew it would be an
interesting ride. The huge bus was crowded as always, with a multitude of
people sitting very close to each other, but mostly minding their own business.
I was not surprised to see that I would have to stand for the entire bus ride,
but I did not mind. I looked around me as the bus made me bump into people. I held onto the pole and tried my best not to
stare at people while I observed them.
The people on the bus were ethnically diverse. I saw many Asians, Latinos, African-Americans, and
just as many white people. It was a multi-cultural setting. While people were
neck and neck, bumming into each other standing up, I was careful to observe
any animosity or racial conflict, but there was none. I also observed the
diversity of not only race, but class identity. Divisions that occurred on the bus were racial, but not
very important because people of different races sat together closely. Class was not
what separated the people either, it is what brought them together on this
means of transportation. Most of the people on the bus seemed to belong to the 'lower' class, seeming to commute to and from work places on a Sunday afternoon. The sole idea that
they worked on a Sunday afternoon, was telling of the people on the
metro. It reiterated that class was not the issue anymore, and neither was
race.
The
issue I observed on this trip was about age. There seemed to be very different age groups on the bus.
There were college students, couples in their late twenties, early thirties,
middle-aged women and men, and even more senior citizens. I listened in on the conversation of some veterans that were in the front of the bus. They
started a conversation about how younger people in the city have a lack of
respect for elders. They were discussing how sometimes they come on the bus and
it upsets them to see that younger people are sitting down while the elderly
are standing up. They said the elderly should have priority and are more
fragile and prone to pain than younger people. One man stated that the children were not
always the problem, but how they were raised. I thought it was interesting to
hear them, because I too feel that there is a lack of respect for elders in the
city. However, was it really the parents upbringing or the city?
One of
the men was complaining about a young kid he saw on the bus one time. The kid
would not give up his seat for an elder, and the old man said he made the kid
stand up. I compared this to social difference and how
customs are affected by the fast-growing urban metropolis, as we can see
this throughout generations on transportation networks. While I think this
aspect is cultural, it is fueled by the post-metropolitan city because commutes on buses are long, so it is a first come first thing. The density on the bus can make people, even younger generations, vie for a seat ignoring the expected courtesy. This idea was very new to me, as I did not find age as a mode of social difference in any of the readings.
Hi Marina,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I really enjoyed your post about your bus trip to LACMA. I like how you chose to focus solely on the interior environment of social difference present on the 720 rather than the exterior environment. This gave a more detailed perspective on the types of differences in Los Angeles and how oftentimes they are not confined to one place or region. It was interesting how you commented that you were looking closely for any type of racial tension on the bus but instead found more similarities than differences. I think this is an important comment because Los Angeles really is a very diverse place. As I've been traveling around for this class, I've become to notice more social similarities than differences. Of course, there are certain areas of Los Angeles that are significantly more divided by race, ethnicity, or class, but more often than not I find myself in environments where it is difficult to discern the dominant social similarity. At the same time, you illustrated though how even in these environments, certain similarities do still sometimes exist, just not in ways that we expected. For example, you noticed that age seemed to be the largest dividing factor on your bus trip. This was a really interesting observation. Once you pointed it out, I also thought back on my different public transportation experiences and I definitely think your right. In an extremely diverse environment like the 720 bus in Los Angeles, race or class differences are often difficult to distinguish. But age is something that is always apparent. Just like race, ethnicity, or class, one's age can mean very different things. How one acts, who one associaties with, what one wears, etc. can be associated with one's age. I also enjoyed what you wrote about the older men whose conversation you overheard. It reminded me how significant generational divides in social norms can be. Your comment about parenting versus living in an urban environment also got me thinking. Perhaps those men entered the urban environment much later in life which may explain why they were unhappy with the "young folk" of today. If we contrast that with young people who have always lived in the fast-paced urban jungle then perhaps we can explain the stark differences when it comes to social norms. Norms are extremely dependent on one's environment and it would be interesting to further examine how different social norms are for those who live in a culturally diverse urban environment versus those who live in a less culturally diverse rural environment. Again, great post Marina!