THE OTHERNESS OF THE OTHER
Germaine Greere in her book, The Female Eunuch, wrote ... “Even if he is crushed against his brother in the tube, the average Englishman pretends desperately that he is alone.” This statement Sounds true especially when I commute in the London Underground. At a first, I would have thought it was just the British reticence at work. But, as I think a little more about it, there seems to be more to this. I think it is not only the unidentifiable “Englishmman” travelling on the London Underground, but also with everyone else on the tube including myself. It’s a strange characteristic that every one who commutes on the London Underground shares.
Instinctively, I would think it has got to do with the strangities of living in a cosmopolitan city. To a certain extent, it is a reflection of how little we trust "others". The "Enforced Cosmopolitanism" of living in a city is often full of insecurities that arise out of our own perceptions of the others. This may be partly because of uncertainties of arising out of our own ignorance of the otherness of the other and Partly, because we fail to intuitively acknowledge such otherness as co-existent and harmonic with our own.
The “Others” bring with them, a sense of curiosity and a sense of intimidation, drawing a line between the “our” and the “other”. A drastic affirmation of "ourness" by the other can only increase a sense of intimidation to the preceptors of such an affirmation. In retrospect, the created perceptions of such divergent otherness of the other, has manifested itself in nasty ways. It has created unseen and unknown ideas of identity and unwanted structures of power, laid the foundations of war and led to the destruction of vast masses of humanity, yet "it is stupefying that society does not revolt as a unit against the very sound of the word "war."
Shrenik
Germaine Greere in her book, The Female Eunuch, wrote ... “Even if he is crushed against his brother in the tube, the average Englishman pretends desperately that he is alone.” This statement Sounds true especially when I commute in the London Underground. At a first, I would have thought it was just the British reticence at work. But, as I think a little more about it, there seems to be more to this. I think it is not only the unidentifiable “Englishmman” travelling on the London Underground, but also with everyone else on the tube including myself. It’s a strange characteristic that every one who commutes on the London Underground shares.
Instinctively, I would think it has got to do with the strangities of living in a cosmopolitan city. To a certain extent, it is a reflection of how little we trust "others". The "Enforced Cosmopolitanism" of living in a city is often full of insecurities that arise out of our own perceptions of the others. This may be partly because of uncertainties of arising out of our own ignorance of the otherness of the other and Partly, because we fail to intuitively acknowledge such otherness as co-existent and harmonic with our own.
The “Others” bring with them, a sense of curiosity and a sense of intimidation, drawing a line between the “our” and the “other”. A drastic affirmation of "ourness" by the other can only increase a sense of intimidation to the preceptors of such an affirmation. In retrospect, the created perceptions of such divergent otherness of the other, has manifested itself in nasty ways. It has created unseen and unknown ideas of identity and unwanted structures of power, laid the foundations of war and led to the destruction of vast masses of humanity, yet "it is stupefying that society does not revolt as a unit against the very sound of the word "war."
Shrenik
posted by Shrenik Rao at 10:25 AM
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