Blog author Dr. Patricia Arredondo
The following blog was recently published by Dr. Patricia Arredondo, (link to her website) a leading American Psychologist, educator and diversity / leadership consultant, (see Wikipedia bio) who serves with me on the board of the impactful and unique nonprofit “Gay Sons and Mothers.”
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In our consulting endeavors, we emphasize the need to be mindful of the diversity of employees, students, administrators, community groups and residents in nearby cities and towns. Simply said, there are across and within-group differences and similarities that may prove challenging if one is not curious. People differences more readily stand out often leading to assumptions, biases, and both cognitive and behavioral stereotyping.
When we learn that the new supervisor is from Mississippi, images and assumptions about how she speaks—most likely with a “southern” accent come to mind. Having stereotypes of people is usual, but acting on a stereotype or bias can be harmful, disrespectful, and plain wrong.
“Othering” relates to stereotyping and microaggressions and occurs in different social and workplace settings. For example, people in IT departments are often labeled “techies” and individuals who prefer machines to people. Professionals in DEIB offices are othered because they may be seen as only caring about “minority” issues. Othering often leads to the marginalization of an individual or of a group without a basis for the judgment held other than the perception that they are different somehow from the mainstream or norm. This ingroup/outgroup behavior affects individuals’ sense of belonging and inclusion in the workplace, school, or community. Has this happened to you?
Othering has emanated on a highly visible national scale. Recent disparaging comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH have led to bomb threats, name-calling, and other denigrating statements. When you are relegated to outgroup status because of othering, you are rendered defenseless. How do the Haitian immigrants defend themselves when mistruths are spoken? The voices of authoritarian men minimize the immigrants’ humanity and also suggest they are a group separate and apart from other persons. Denigrating others creates social divisions that may take a long time to recover from, and in this example, are also psychologically harmful.
In this period of cultural and social frenzy, we need to be mindful to ask questions first and not assume, find the middle ground, and be compassionate to those whose humanity is denigrated. As I see it, we also lose a little bit of the soul of America when we don’t speak up on behalf of the “other”——Kudos to the Springfield Mayor and the Ohio Governor for speaking up.
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Some of my past related blogs:
I also wrote about the impact of the false narrative of Haitian immigrants eating pets in “Words Can Cause Great Harm – the Case of Springfield, Ohio”
In “Another Way to View Immigration,” I address the irrational hate toward immigrants in American politics.
