The Person You Mean to Be by Dolly Chugh

Author:Dolly Chugh
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-09-03T16:00:00+00:00

Otherizing Made Easy

The sophistication and speed with which our minds can otherize is formidable. First, we figure out who is human. Then we figure out how human they are. It happens in an unconscious flash, leaving us to otherize those we may wish to support, particularly those who come from groups often marginalized in society.

According to the research, Mel was right. The more we get to know people as individuals, eye to eye, the greater chance we have of being builders, not just believers. From a distance, we (literally) do not see people as individuals.

My nervous mind must have been whisking through these otherizing processes when I first met Mel. I saw him as a category, not a person. Perhaps all that small talk at the start of the meeting was more important than I realized. The more I could tip my mind toward seeing the humanity in Mel, the less likely I was to otherize him.

I speculate that otherizing does not only emerge from people who are hostile or exclusionary but can also emerge from well-intended allies. Our good intentions can lead us to view those we wish to help from an otherizing distance. In fact, our good intentions make us especially prone to do so. Let’s explore four modes of well-intended behavior that can lead to otherizing.

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