(no subject)
so translating conflict and violence really got me thinking today. we watched this clip from "aliens in america" to illustrate how we turn people who are different that us into an "other" which it the worst cases, turns into an enemy. the discussion went to why we make others, and concluded it was a mix of things, but mostly the desire to get the spotlight off your own shortcomings, and a side effect of making "others" is that you band more closely with people who also dislike the "other", like 9/11 and rallying around hating people of middle eastern descent. it eventually went into how we stop the otherness, and reconcile differences with compassion and understanding when you have been in the same position. but the example used to illustrate this was the "uncool" people in high school are nicer and won't subject other people to the same dehumanization.
here, i disagree. i notice people a lot, they fascinate me, especially group dynamics. but what i've seen those sorts of people are even more forcefully exclusive- if you don't fit into their sense of "lonerness" or what have you, the dehumanization is even more pronounced. they are nicer to some extent, but i find that they dehumanize the people that label them as uncool to a point that can almost be called cruel. there is a distinct lack of compassion, the necessary ingredient to resolving the making of others and enemies. for example, the shooters at columbine were made into "others", but they did not respond with compassion. they responded defensively, making their classmates into "others" and dehumanized them until they slaughtered them like animals with no regard to each individual's humanity.
in class, it was brought up that insecurity leads some to create others (removing spotlight), but then it also breeds insecurity in fears that your friends you have made hating someone else will eventually turn on you. so which came insecurity came first? it's sort of a chicken in the egg sort of thing. both are absolutely true. and i guess it's easy for me to see, this cycle driven by an individuals self realized discrepancies. but insecurity is such a natural thing. does that mean making "others" is natural? conflict, as we learned, is natural. the negativity comes from how we respond to it. when you really think about it, there isn't really a way for conflict to be negative, just impartial. there are differences, and it's the recognition of those differences with some added tension which presses the matter. can making others be a natural and sometimes healthy thing?we make others as an outlet to deal with our own insecurities in a physical form. but it's not healthy, like a cutter, who use physical pain as an outlet to deal with mental pain. it hurts many many people. there is the side effect of rallying people together around a common cause, but if that common cause is hate, does that make it okay? what is the cost of dealing with our insecurities at the expense of someone else?
and in understanding this, would it make anyone less likely to exclude someone else? is the need for acceptance and belonging so addictive that even with this knowledge we would ignore compassion, and continue making others? how does one cultivate compassion and let go of insecurities?
and now i've whiled away the time i set aside to work on english, and i'm hungry. boo you ideas that won't get out of my head. i had another two points that are now lost because of grumbles. it also seems like there is some grand truth lurking nearby, but i'm too distracted to see it. booo again.
here, i disagree. i notice people a lot, they fascinate me, especially group dynamics. but what i've seen those sorts of people are even more forcefully exclusive- if you don't fit into their sense of "lonerness" or what have you, the dehumanization is even more pronounced. they are nicer to some extent, but i find that they dehumanize the people that label them as uncool to a point that can almost be called cruel. there is a distinct lack of compassion, the necessary ingredient to resolving the making of others and enemies. for example, the shooters at columbine were made into "others", but they did not respond with compassion. they responded defensively, making their classmates into "others" and dehumanized them until they slaughtered them like animals with no regard to each individual's humanity.
in class, it was brought up that insecurity leads some to create others (removing spotlight), but then it also breeds insecurity in fears that your friends you have made hating someone else will eventually turn on you. so which came insecurity came first? it's sort of a chicken in the egg sort of thing. both are absolutely true. and i guess it's easy for me to see, this cycle driven by an individuals self realized discrepancies. but insecurity is such a natural thing. does that mean making "others" is natural? conflict, as we learned, is natural. the negativity comes from how we respond to it. when you really think about it, there isn't really a way for conflict to be negative, just impartial. there are differences, and it's the recognition of those differences with some added tension which presses the matter. can making others be a natural and sometimes healthy thing?we make others as an outlet to deal with our own insecurities in a physical form. but it's not healthy, like a cutter, who use physical pain as an outlet to deal with mental pain. it hurts many many people. there is the side effect of rallying people together around a common cause, but if that common cause is hate, does that make it okay? what is the cost of dealing with our insecurities at the expense of someone else?
and in understanding this, would it make anyone less likely to exclude someone else? is the need for acceptance and belonging so addictive that even with this knowledge we would ignore compassion, and continue making others? how does one cultivate compassion and let go of insecurities?
and now i've whiled away the time i set aside to work on english, and i'm hungry. boo you ideas that won't get out of my head. i had another two points that are now lost because of grumbles. it also seems like there is some grand truth lurking nearby, but i'm too distracted to see it. booo again.