loose game, medium pair

[Augustus3000]

suppose you are playing in the party .5 1$ game or similar craze structured game with almost everybody seeing 4th. you get dealt 8s split or not whatever. usually nobody raises b4 flop unless they have a really big pair and sometimes not even then; very passive players. do you raise to thin the field and charge players with lesser hands or do you just call and hope to catch good later? any input greatly appreciated.