You may not be familiar with the term, “Othering.” It has to do with characterizing people as
being of “The Other.” Those individuals
grouped as “The Other” are bad people.
They are not good, regular people like you and me.
It’s a subtle technique used in American culture to
intensify group exclusion. You belong to
an identity group, and you want to be popular.
An easy way to accomplish this is to characterize non-group members as inferior
outsiders. The people not in your group
become “The Other.”
As the 2014 midterm elections approach, we will see this
technique employed in American political ads.
There will be the “(Insert Republican) is too extreme for (Insert State)”
advertisements that have been a staple of the Democratic Party for the past 20
years.
But watch for something more subtle. The graphic at the top of this post is
combined from two news stories that were featured last week. On the left is Evan
Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat and a recent entrant into America’s 1% culture. On the right is Carl
DeMaio, a candidate for Congress from California, running in San Diego’s CD-52.
The two hotlinks connect to news stories about these
individuals, but the graphics are what are instructive. One graphic displays a confident individual
who knows he is a member of the popular culture and is secure in his identity
group. The other displays a concerned individual who knows he is in danger and
conveys anxiety.
Both are public figures, but one is subtly cast as “The
Other.” You don’t have to know the back
story to understand that one of these individuals is in trouble and the other
is not.
Our news stories either humanize or de-humanize
individuals. Here are some examples from
the humanization side:
--Donald
Sterling is battling dementia.
--Robert
Byrd was doing what he had to do to get elected.
--Arthur
Sulzberger Jr. is simply caught up in tending to his media dynasty.
And this is the dehumanization side:
When you next come across a news story, take a moment to consider whether you are seeing “reporting” or witnessing “Othering.”
UPDATE 11/11/2014:
Carl DeMaio lost his bid for Congress. That's a shame, but it shows "11th hour smears" are effective.
UPDATE 6/15/2015:UPDATE 11/11/2014:
Carl DeMaio lost his bid for Congress. That's a shame, but it shows "11th hour smears" are effective.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Todd Bosnich, the DeMaio campaign staffer who initiated the smear, has taken a plea bargain from federal prosecutors. Mr. Bosnich says he fabricated the allegations against Mr. DeMaio and has entered a plea of "guilty" to obstruction of justice for lying to the FBI.
