The antidote for othering
I grew up in what is Ecuador’s privileged majority: the mestizos, the result of Spanish colonizers mixing with the Indigenous population. Mestizos were the group that achieved independence from Spain in 1822 and has remained the largest ethnic group in … Continue reading The antidote for othering
Welcome and Release
The fruit of un-othering Somehow humans have weaponized finding our identity. We will decide who we are by alienating someone else. We form our group, not by receiving but through casting out and marginalizing. We make those who could be partners and friends into “the Other”. Humans are comforted but certainty even if that certainty eliminates options for making our lives and our world a better place. We can ruin ourselves with this stubbornness. Instead of embrace, we will choose differentiation and even scorn. Instead of welcome, we will choose mistrust and even assume a threat. Instead of hospitality, we … Continue reading Welcome and Release
Fear of a Black Planet: A story of mass psychosis
On the night of Halloween in 1938, Orson Welles panicked a nation when he aired a radio drama version of “The War of the Worlds.” The broadcast was an adaptation of H.G. Wells’s novel about a Martian invasion of earth. … Continue reading Fear of a Black Planet: A story of mass psychosis
Un-Othering the Otherers
This morning, my son’s best friend—I’ll call him Danny—got dropped off at our house before school. Normally, Danny rides the school bus that picks him up near his own house. But this week, his parents are driving him over here … Continue reading Un-Othering the Otherers
Un-Othering Our Systems
We need a national double mastectomy of sorts.
Let us start with removal. Before we can reconstruct anything healthy and life sustaining for all, we must first submit ourselves to the radical deconstruction of anything that has been touched by the cancer of racism or dehumanization of Creator God’s Image Bearers. Continue reading Un-Othering Our Systems
We Need to Address The “Othering Crisis”
Every community has its own history. My community, northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA), isn’t much different. NEPA has its destinations for skiing, hiking, and fishing. We have top schools as well as business incubators to start your business. You would think NEPA … Continue reading We Need to Address The “Othering Crisis”
The Power To Make A Change: Angels of Agency
December 20th of last year, the Netherlands issued an apology for its part in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Could that signal the beginning of the end of a discriminatory system established many centuries ago, or is it simply a blip … Continue reading The Power To Make A Change: Angels of Agency
Shamrocks, Snakes, Slavery, and Golden Souls at the End of the Rainbow
Being born on March 17, and having an Irish last name leads me to have more reflections and conversations about St. Patrick’s Day than the average person, as I’ve written elsewhere. Shamrocks: Legend has it that British-born St. Patrick used … Continue reading Shamrocks, Snakes, Slavery, and Golden Souls at the End of the Rainbow
Power to the People
I am not done with humanity! I believe that we are better than what many have been displaying for the last several years. Our country is one that is divided based on a variety of issues to include the value … Continue reading Power to the People
Three-Fifths 