‘Other’

I guess wherever one goes in this world, one is is always going to come up against some people who see one as ‘other’ and will therefore close one out of their orbit.

The concept of ‘other’ – not like oneself. Different, threatening?

Forms of being ‘other’:

Foreign – encompassing:- A different race. The same race, but from a different culture. ‘Not from round here’, which can simply be from a different county or town.

Disabled.

Not Heterosexual.

Not neurotypical.

Having opinions or a lifestyle that don’t resonate with yours.

Let’s start again – Other – having opinions or a lifestyle that don’t resonate with yours. Pretty much in a nutshell, though I stress that this is not to glibly diminish the severity of the other concepts I have listed.

Earth is home to all of us, we are all ‘Earthlings’, we are all Human. Humans all have pretty much the same building blocks. Why then is there so much distrust, distaste, fear, dislike, hatred of those that we perceive to be different from us?

I’ll never ever understand it, not ever.

Why would one not acknowledge; serve a coffee to; employ; buy from; engage with; befriend etc someone who is different from oneself? What possible justification can one have for ostracizing someone based on their being other than oneself?

This does beg the question though, what about me? How do I feel about people in my orbit who don’t necessarily agree with my point of view. I like to think I am at the very least civil. There are strands of polite respectful behaviour that I believe we should all adhere to. Humans aren’t adhering to a basic concept that is at the base of all we are – simply to respect one another. We don’t have to be bosom buddies, but surely we can all find a way to live and work and interact together without the denigration of being ‘other’.