Ian Ence

Professor Maenhardt
English 1050
5 July
Othering: The View of a Majority (Part 1)
Prejudices, Opinions and stereotypes are constantly changing. We have
seen the transformation of ethnic groups and the views that each one has of
the other. It would be convenient to say that the views of the majority have
softened completely towards minor groups, but that is not completely true.
Othering continues due to race, religion, and origin. Since diversity runs
deep in our DNA, achieving perfect unity as a human race is virtually
impossible. We can, however, continue to improve and accept the
differences. I believe that othering is diminishing, but will never completely
be removed from our society and we will never treat minority groups as
equals because natural differences separate us all.
The first example can be found in the first analysis of diversity of Week
One. A Somali family was the first of their kind to move to the United States
due to a war-torn Africa. They hid from othering in the States by remaining
mute until the Somalian influence became the majority in the American
school. Jama, the first to immigrate from Somalia to Eden Prairie, Minnesota
states in Toppo and Overburgs One Somali's crusade:
Before the controversy, "we never spoke in public," says the softspoken Jama. "We never advocated for our kids. We never advocated

for our housing rights or employment rights. We lived in the shadows

of society for 15 years. Now, all of a sudden, we are standing at the
podium questioning the wrongs, just having the courage to advocate
for our kids. That rubbed the wrong way, some people." (Toppo,
Overburg).
From this story of Jama and his Somalian family, we see how the voices
of the majority will suffocate those of the minority to the point where they
will no longer be heard. Strength in numbers has much to do with deciding
who will rule as the majority group and who will be hushed. The population of
foreigners in our society has increased dramatically throughout the last two
centuries, therefore othering declines.
Another aspect that proves the diminishment of othering is the
language barrier. In Anzaldas How To Tame a Wild Tongue she explains
how growing up on the border where language barriers were greatly
protected between two ethnicities was very difficult. She says, I have been
straddling that Tejas-Mexican border, and others, all my life (Anzalda 525).
By doing so, Anzalda was forced to live a type of double life where
speaking Spanish at elementary recess was good for three licks on the
knuckles with a sharp ruler (Anzaldua 524). Min-Zahn Lu also experienced
the same thing in her youth when she states despite my parents and
teachers attempts to keep home and school discrete, the internal conflict
between the two discourses continued whenever I read or wrote (Lu 151).
Society has made a huge transition by accepting cultures and ethnicities

instead of restraining them. Spanish, along with hundreds of other languages

are taught to majorities in their own countries, encouraging people of all
races, beliefs, and origins to become bilingual and more diverse. Those who
are bilingual and of varying ethnicities often receive scholarships, career
opportunities, and money in order to demonstrate equality within businesses
and schools. The widespread teaching of tongues has been a great blessing
to society, but othering will live on due to the majority always preferring to
speak their native language.
In A More Perfect Union, President Barack Obama analyzes the
transition that this country has made on the basis of equality since its
formation and he encourages all to continue on that path. His effort to muffle
the noise of othering is led by, as he states, my unyielding faith and the
decency and generosity of the American people (Obama). Obama believes
racial difficulties are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather
problems that confront us all (Obama 477). Dominique Davis from class
stated in his analysis during week 3 that Obama pushes for more equality
for African Americans and presents a strong respectable opinion. Obama
realizes that the issues of collective othering and racism have come a long
way, but shows hope for continued progress in the future.
Much like President Obama, we all wish for a more equal country in
which othering will have a miniscule effect on its citizens. Although othering
will never be removed from our society due to population differences and a
division of classes in every culture, measures can be taken in order to reduce

the effects of othering in our country. Thanks to increased immigration

leading to greater numbers of ethnic communities and language education,
we can hope for greater acceptance and diminished othering.

Ian Ence
Professor Maenhardt
English 1050
7 July 2016
A More Perfect Union by Barack Obama (Part 2)
The speech A More Perfect Union given by the then Senator Obama,
and future President of the United States, was delivered during the
Democratic Party presidential nomination on March 18, 2008. He addressed
the recent controversial remarks made by his former pastor and friend,
Jeremiah Wright. Obama used his response to open the door to broader racial
issues found within the United States, such as white privilege, black anger,
and racial tension between the two dominant groups.
Carrying the political power that a Senator does, Barack Obama had
the responsibility to maintain equality between white and African American
citizens and not be biased in his address. His rhetorical stance may have
been swayed naturally due to his ethnic background, but I dont believe he
sided with the African Americans on the subject of racism. He acknowledges
that since the formation of this great country, we have strived to meet the
goals of our forefathers. Under the Constitution, this country promised its

people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be
perfected over time.
Obama shows personal connection to the topic through his expression
of emotions (pathos) during his speech. He demonstrates personal relevance
to the topic by stating being the son of a black man from Kenya and a white
woman from Kansas, having been raised by two grandparents who served
the country during very troublesome times. By stating his origins of both
white and black ethnicities, Obama uses the ethos appeal which gives him
credibility to the subject, validity to his speech, and also a neutral ground
from which he could address the nation without showing prejudice. He
involves pathos in order to draw the audiences emotions into play and
hopes to capture all listeners under the idea that working together we can
move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no
choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

Works Cited
Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. San Francisco:
Aunt Lute, 1987. Print.

Lu, Min-Zhan. "From Silence to Words: Writing as Struggle." College

English

49.4 (1987): 437-48. Web.

Obama, Barack. A More Perfect Union. Democratic Party Presidential

Nomination. National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PV. 18
March 2008.

Address.

Toppo, Greg, and Paul Overburg. Diversity In The Classroom. USA Today.
Gannett

Satellite Information Network. Web. 2 July 2016.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/25/minnesotaschool-race

Words from Dominique Davis in Week 3 on discussion of Obamas Speech A

More Perfect Union.