In all communities that we encounter throughout life there is often an in-crowd and individuals that are outcasts. Typically the "other" group has less in common with most of the individuals in the community. Sometimes people fit in or out of a group based on one specific attribute such as money or religion. As an individual encounters different communities throughout life they will be considered a part of the in-crowd of some communities and an outcast in other communities.For me, there are a few different groups that I clearly belong in and others that I am a clear outsider.
To start, in my home community I would consider myself an insider. I know the culture of my neighborhood, how it functions and how to act in this area. One key attribute that makes me an insider in this community is that I can recognize certain actions or behaviors made by people in this community that would not be made clear without words to individuals who are not apart of this community.On the other hand another community that I am involved in would be the Dickinson community where I would consider myself an "other". I consider myself an outsider in this community for many reasons, first being a minority at a predominantly white institution.
When individuals lack similarity in culture it impacts many aspects of those peoples interactions such as differences in expression, communication and relatability. In addition to this I am not an athlete nor am I in a sorority which are two key attributes that make people belong in this community.This impacts my perception of how I define these groups.For example many people would probably describe the Dickinson community as "better" in comparison to my home community because it is an academic community where people from different backgrounds can live and learn together.However my personal perception of this community is that although I can thrive academically there are more aspects to life than academics and because this community lacks diversity of individuals that I have more in common with, for many additional reasons I would not consider this community "better".Although this community provides some benefits it lacks some aspects that allow me to thrive in my home community.
The idea of "othering" is very practical.Naturally ,people will always gravitate towards individuals that they have more in common with and stay clear of individuals who they have less in common with simply because its easier to get along with people you agree with."Othering" can be a big social conflict especially when individuals are treated as outcasts for reasons that are not within their control.I think treating someone as an outcast because of their race or economic status is on a completely different spectrum than treating someone as an outcast because they are not in a sorority or don't play a sport. In this I am saying that "othering" can be worse in certain instances. Being in a sport or greek life is an interchangeable attribute that can allow an individual to become apart of the in-crowd where as characteristics such as race, gender and religion are not.
Socially, individuals can use this to their advantage by only entering communities that are predominantly filled with individuals that have similar attributes as them or being a leader and deciding what attributes are required to be considered apart of the in-group of that community.In discussing Orientalism this idea of othering was prevalent and obvious. In one part of the reading by Edward Said there is questioning as to if there is a true need for cross-culturalism.This sense of resistance in the beginning of the reading set a stern tone towards orientalism, it was very clear who the "other" was.At times the reading describes orientalism as "a discourse from sameness and a problem of difference".Socially I find this very troubling because it very closely reminds me of other societies.For instance the Rwandan genocide is an extreme example of what can happen when "othering" takes a turn for the absolute worst.Although I describe this as an extreme example the harsh reality is that in comparison to other instances in history many other groups have undergone similar instances of othering.
If I had to define othering I would describe it has having a lack of sensitivity for differences amongst individuals within a given community. At times the reading also describes orientalism as outdated. Despite the differences of orientalism amongst islamic culture there is much to appreciate for what orientalism offers historically and culturally.Too often in society we see confliction as a negative aspect of a community whereas more often than not it can be a great opportunity for collaboration in some way.
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