Describe Blumer's typology of crowds, including the more recent inclusion of protest crowds

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Blumer developed a typology in which crowds are divided into four categories: (1)

Casual crowds are relatively large gatherings of people who happen to be in the same

place at the same time? if they interact at all, it is only briefly. People in a shopping mall

or a subway car are examples of casual crowds. Members of a casual crowd have

nothing in common. (2) Conventional crowds are made up of people who come

together for a scheduled event and thus share a common focus. Examples include

religious services, graduation ceremonies, concerts, and college lectures. Each of these

events has preestablished schedules and norms. Because these events occur regularly,

interaction among participants is much more likely? in turn, the events would not occur

without the crowd, which is essential to the event. (3) Expressive crowds provide

opportunities for the expression of some strong emotion (such as joy, excitement, or

grief). People release their pent-up emotions in conjunction with other persons

experiencing similar emotions. Examples include worshippers at religious revival

services? mourners lining the streets when a celebrity, public official, or religious leader

has died? and revelers assembled at Mardi Gras in New Orleans or on New Year's

Eve at Times Square in New York. (4) Acting crowds are collectivities so intensely

focused on a specific purpose or object that they may erupt into violent or destructive

behavior. Mobs, riots, and panics are examples of acting crowds. A mob is a highly

emotional crowd whose members engage in, or are ready to engage in, violence against

a specific target—a person, a category of people, or physical property. Mob behavior in

the United States has included lynching, fire bombings, effigy hangings, and hate

crimes. Mob violence tends to dissipate relatively quickly once a target has been

injured, killed, or destroyed. Compared with mob actions, riots may be of somewhat

longer duration. A riot is violent crowd behavior that is fueled by deep-seated emotions

but not directed at one specific target. Riots are often triggered by fear, anger, and

hostility. A panic is a form of crowd behavior that occurs when a large number of

people react to a real or perceived threat with strong emotions and self-destructive

behavior. McPhail and Wohlstein added protest crowds to the four types of crowds

identified by Blumer. Protest crowds engage in activities intended to achieve specific

political goals. Examples include sit-ins, marches, boycotts, blockades, and strikes.

Some protests take the form of civil disobedience—nonviolent action that seeks to

change a policy or law by refusing to comply with it.