A random mental walk.

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Howard Halpern & "The Other"

In his obit, a letter Howard Halpern wrote to the NY Times shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was quoted:
“we are unlikely to harm a friendly neighbor because she has strong views about equal rights for women, but if we call her a ‘femi-Nazi,’ she becomes ‘the other’ — evil, dangerous, hated.”
I'll remember this the next time someone uses a similar term.  I doubt it will have much effect, though it may throw someone off their stride to have someone else tell them that their choice of terms is to consciously paint someone they don't like as the other. 

It seemed to work in the short term for the Nazis against Jews and gypsies, Idi Amin against ethnic Indians, Hutu Power Hutus describing the Tutsi as cockroaches (and those of their own who wanted co-existence as traitors), and any Balkin ethnic group of your choice.

How would it be phrased?  "Are you trying to paint them as one of Howard Halpern's 'Others'?"  Would there be a pause for an explanation? 

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