Sarah Anderson
H. Louise Bown
English 1050
February 10, 2013
Essay 1 Part 1:”Othering”
Is “Othering” Just A Majority Idea?
In today society “Othering” has become a popular word to describe the way we see ourselves in comparison to other ethnicities. It is mostly associated with feelings that the majority race has towards the minorities. But is it just the majorities that harbor these feelings?Why is Othering portrayed as aMajority “disease”? Don’t we all see others as being different than us?
What is Othering?
“Othering” has been given many definitions. Here are a few examples found through internet search engines: “Othering is a process or a rhetorical device in which one group is seen as "us" and another group as "them.” (Wikia), “n. philosophy: Theconstitutiveother; that which is not the thing, person or concept under consideration; something different or external.” (Reverb), “…it's a natural cognitive function of the human mind, necessary for us to be able to create a sense of self.” (Duncan), “Othering is a process that identifies those that are thought to be different from oneself or the mainstream, and it can reinforce and reproduce positions of domination and subordination.” (Johnson, Bottorf and Browne), “By “othering”, we mean any action by which an individual or group becomes mentally classified in somebody’s mind as “not one of us”.” (Norriss) All of these definitions portray “othering” as the awareness of a difference between our self and others. However, none of them suggest that it is a majority only issue.
To figure out whether or not “othering” can be tied to majority or minority, we need to take a look at the history of othering in both the eyes of the majority and the minority. We need to see what, if anything has changed over the years. And we need to look at why those things have or have not changed. More than just the race aspect of othering needs to be addressed as well, such as social or political events that have caused these majority or minority groups to vocalize the ideas of othering. Last but not least, we need to look at areas besides race where othering has played a major role in the History of this nation.
How do Majority Racial groups use “othering”? -- Past and Present.
In the history of this nation, the “white” population has been the majority. Through the conquering of Native American lands, slavery, internment camps, and immigration checkpoints, our history shows how minority groups have been pushed aside and taken advantage of for the good of the majority. Each of these events is unique and still has a powerful draw on today’s idea of racism among the Majority.
Many Americans in the Majority race feel we have more than compensated those Native Americans whose lands we took. Some even feel like we saved them from their own self destruction. The truth is that we took from them their way of life for our own gain. However, we did it in the name of progression so that made it ok, right?
Slavery was brought to the US as a way to help the “white” people to build their nation without having to get their hands dirty. Some think we helped generations of people to enjoy the progress and success of this nation. Where would they be now if their ancestors had not been brought to a land of plenty?
The internment camps were said to be for the protection of the Japanese Americans. Many saw it as a protection from them. Some believed, and it was later confirmed, that there were Japanese spies across the country. The government wanted the Japanese Americans to prove their allegiance. It is hard to know for sure, but I would assume that if the roles were reversed, the American people in Japan would have been placed in some kind of confinement.
In the eyes of the world the immigration checkpoints were seen as a beacon of hope for those who were oppressed. We welcomed them with our arms wide open—as long as they stayed on the islands until they were deemed fit to be American. After becoming citizens, many became great members of the society and gained wealth and notoriety. Some did not. Instead they were forced onto the bottom rungs of society, but there were many non-immigrants down there with them so, no harm no foul.
These were the ideas and excuses made by the so called Majority to help justify their treatment of those in the minority groups. So the question is, “Are minorities still treated this way today?” Some would say yes and others would say no. Yes, there is still racism in today’s society. Take the issues brought up during the 2008 elections for example. In his speech A More Perfect Union, concerning the racial remarks made by his former pastor, Barrack Obama states, “… [the remarks] expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country—a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right about America…” (477) A large part of the controversy that was brought up during this campaign was race related. Is racism as wide spread and oppressive as it used to be? No it isn’t. How else would we have voted in a Black president?
How do Minorities use othering?--Past and Present.
Is othering exclusive to the Majority groups? It may come from the treatment they received from the “White” man, but even the minorities are guilty of othering. In our history racism has come from both sides of the color chart. Just because the majority was more powerful does not mean the minorities are guilt free.
Some Native American groups were extremely violent towards the white man. The white man was blamed for everything even for the fighting amongst their own people. The early settlers did cause many problems, but there were problems in this country before the American colonists. The different tribes of Indians were always fighting and trying to take land and resource from each other.
Slavery was a terrible part of this nation’s history, but it did not mean you had slaves or even agreed with slaveryjust because you were white. Yet, some free blacks and slaves felt animosity towards all white people. Some free blacks rebelled against their employers and some took out their anger on innocent whites. These accounts are not always taken seriously because it wasn’t as big of a concern and those blacks were usually harshly punished. Frederick Douglass made some very revealing statements about his feelings towards whites in his speech What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Most of the speech was written in second person meaning he never associated himself with the audience. He spoke of their nation, their people, their holiday, and their founding fathers. His speech itself is a form of othering from a minority standpoint. (460)
Have things changed in the eyes of the minorities today? For most it has but for some, there is still a lot of resentment towards the majority and also towards other minority groups. There are a lot of stories of racial discrimination across the country and across the board. Sometimes, in mostly black communities it is hard to become a valid part of the society if you are white. Think about the beating of Reginald Denny. Most people forget about him because they associated his beating as retaliation to the Rodney King beating. He was targeted by black men because he was white.
Another instance of othering by a minority group comes to light in the story Nobody Mean More to Me than You and The Future Life of Willie Jordan by June Jordan. In this Essay Jordan writes of a group of black American students who choose to write letters to a newspaper in what they called Black English. They look at this as their language and not the language of the other (meaning white) Americans. (157) This shows that not all othering is bad; it is just a means of separating oneself from those who are different.
What sources have led to the progression or decline of othering?
Every generation of white Americans have had their target for othering. Some of my grandfather’s generation had issues with the Japanese and the African Americans. Some of the next generation had issues with Koreans and Russians. Some of my generation has problems with the Hispanic and Islamic. Each generation has been through conflicts of different degrees with different ethnicities. War and conflict plays a large part in any form of othering. Our country has grown, divided and grown again. With each external conflict it has had an internal conflict. The media and television have helped spread othering but have also made more people aware that it is going on. Seeing how the world lives and suffers can also influence the process of othering. It may not always help, but spreading the word about othering can make people more aware that there may be a problem.
Is it all about Race?
Many people would like to claim that othering is strictly about race. Othering can be about anything that makes one person different from another. In the history of this country we can see othering in things such as religion, education level, political preference, social status, athletic ability, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and many other things. Othering plays a big part in bullying. Language has also been a reason for othering. In her essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue, Gloria Anzaldua makes a great point of how her dialect made it difficult to communicate with those in her own community. Her language was often connected to the way people saw her. “If a person …has a low estimation of my native tongue, they have a low estimation of me.” (524)We can see othering everywhere we look; in our own homes, in the classroom, on the playground, in the office, on the street, in congress and even in the White House. Race may play a big role in the game of othering, but it is not the only player.
Are we doomed?
Does this mean that this country is full of terrible people? Are we doomed to failure? No, all it means is that we are different and no nation or people are perfect. As we progress there will be times of regression but we have so far been able to bounce back and become a more understanding and welcoming people. The majority and minorities need to work as one to bring this nation together. Obama made a great point when he said “…we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction—towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.” (476)
Essay 1 Part 2:Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetoric of the 3rd Generation
Margaret Mead was a cultural anthropologist who wrote books about the behavior of people. Her book titled And Keep Your Powder Dry: An Anthropologist Looks at America included a chapter called “We are all 3rd Generation”. My analysis of this selection is that she wants to persuade the readers that each generation of American follows the same process of rebellion and the need to be better than their parents. Her rhetorical stance on the subject shows she is very passionate about this idea and her arguments are very persuasive.
Mead starts with a story of two strangers meeting on foreign ground and finding a common bond in their past. This story can relate to a lot of people in the sense that we have meet people, who know people, who lived in the same neighborhood that we grew up in. This connection with the audience gives Mead the tight hold that keeps their attention and makes them want to continue reading. As she moves past this story she draws a connection of our generation to a 3rd generation of an American immigrant family. By using the relationship of a father and a son, she bring emotion to the writing that can both pull in the audience even more and begin to mold their understanding of her theory.
Mead mentions the words “3rd generation” over and over again which forces the reader to connect this word with her ideas. It is through those ideas that we then connect that word with ourselves. The chapter is written in third and first person to show her ideas and to connect her-self with the readers. Her process of first describing the generation of the American immigrant encourages the reader to think about their own grandparents and the ways in which their parent rebelled against them. She moves on to the 2nd and 3rd generations and the reader follows along in their own stories. The idea she places in the readers mind is that the 3rd generation is essentially doing what the 1st and 2nd did but in their own way. This lets the reader place themselves as the 3rd generation no matter how far back they need to go to find the 1st generation American in their line.
This book was written in 1942, so at the time, a lot of the audience would have probably actually been 3rd generation American. However, the way Mead has written it, we can all connect as the 3rd generation of a progressive family line. Another thing Mead mentions is our connection to this country’s founding fathers. With this she tries to persuade the reader of their connection to this country even if their family did not descend from George Washington.
I think Mead did a great job of describing her theory and explaining why she felt this way. She ends the chapter by summarizing this idea of the 3rd generation which leaves the readers with a more personalized view to connect with.
Works Cited
Anzaldua, Gloria. "How To Tame A Wild Tongue." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture; 8th edition. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 521-528.
Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 460-475.
Duncan, Hal. Notes From The Geek Show. 12 May 2009. 7 February 2013 <
Johnson, JL, et al. "Othering and being othered in the context of health care services." 2004. PubMed.gov. 7 February 2013 <
Jordan, June. "Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture; 8th Edition. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 157-167.
Mead, Margaret. "We Are All Third Generation." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture: 8th Edition. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 94-101.
Norriss, James. "Othering 101:What is "Othering"?" 28 December 2011. There Are No Others. 8 February 2013 <
Obama, Barack. "A More Perfect Union." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 476-483.
Reverb. Wordnik. n.d. 6 February 2013 <
Wikia. Geek Feminism Wiki. March 2012. 6 February 2013 <