Reflection 13

The concept of othering is not new to me. I’ve dealt with othering as a minority, dealt with othering as a woman, and dealt with othering as an individual. Todorov’s concept of “othering” is not surprising to me- it explains the very core of why the Natives were separated completely and treated so poorly. The euro-centric view that plagued Columbus and his men is entirely representative of that era. We discussed in class the concept of political correctness, but I stand by my statement that I made during the discussion. The era of political correctness is relatively new. Stepping on people’s toes because of political incorrectness, and a lack of sensitivity shown towards the differences seen in others is an age-old thing because of how commonly accepted it was to view the white/patriarchal/capitalist society as normal. Any deviation from this norm was automatically regarded with caution and some degree of fear. As a Christian, I acknowledge the fact that there is some sort of hubris associated with historic events tied to the religion itself- a stubbornness to accept that other cultures simply have a different way of worship, and may not understand the concepts of a Savior that many Christians are indoctrinated with since birth. However, I feel as though the only reason I truly understand this is because of how politically correct I was raised to be. My parents would never tolerate any kind of bigoted or prejudiced statements, or excuse any sort of biased behavior because it’s simply the way I feel. Our society has moved almost to the opposite side of the spectrum, approaching political correctness almost as a religious rite and great sensitivity with the utmost care. We’d like to think we’ve progressed so far from the time of the conquistadors that we can write books that show utmost disdain for the actions against the Natives.