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Christopher Root
Instructor: Stephanie Maenhardt
ENGL 1050 - Intro/Rdg Diverse Culture (HU,DV)
1 July 2016
Nature or Nurture: Othering for All
How a majority group collectively treats minority groups of races, cultures, and ethnicities is
referred to as othering. My goal is to discuss how that treatment may or may not have changed in the
short lifespan of the United States using examples from our reading. It is my opinion that othering is
nothing more than simple human nature; it is not something that occurs because one group is larger, more
common, or powerful than another. We place ourselves into groups along three major categories: the first
being heritage, the second having to do with the time frame of your existence and relative generation, and
lastly your socioeconomic status whether earned or through birthright. Though each has various
differences, a common thread running among them is the hope that we can set aside differences to one
day consider the entirety of humanity a majority so that othering will cease to exist.
A considerable amount of time and effort is expended placing ourselves into different categories.
Though we are all Americans, it is common for people to identify themselves with some sort of prefix,
such as Indian-American, African-American, Mexican-American, or Anglo-American. Separating
ourselves in this way is one way of identifying ourselves as part of a larger majority and this has been the
evolution of othering in modern times as it relates to heritage. Rather than looking forward from our
days where outright xenophobia was the accepted practice, we have continued to find ways to segregate
ourselves.
It is interesting to compare how much or how little has changed since the inception of our
country. In the early 1890s when cheap labor was necessary and immigrants were flocking to America

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with the promise of a new life, we decided it was necessary to set up two filters for those passing into
the country, those being Ellis Island on the east coast and Angel Island on the pacific coast. On the
surface, the excuse was that we were protecting ourselves from disease and crime. The truth, however, is
that Americans were acting on fear the fear of losing the majority, and rather than treating immigrants as
part of the collective, it was far easier to other them and place them solidly in the minority. Minority
groups themselves participated in othering. In Mary Gordons essay within our text, she expresses very
early on when describing her feelings toward the island that its the one place I can be sure my people
are connected to (Gordon). She views herself as part of the minority because of the way her ancestors
entered the country. The majority of immigrants entering into the country from the west coast were
Asians, and outright xenophobia by Americans prevented entrance there as well. While the number
passing through here was much smaller, the delays getting in were much longer and the poetry etched on
the walls of this internment area has echoed throughout history. However, the trend of reverse othering
continues there as one poet so eloquently states, I thoroughly hate the barbarians because they do not
respect justice (Unknown). This person is referring to Americans as barbarians and placing them solidly
in an other group. In yet another example, Gloria Anzalda falls into reverse othering when she
discusses her choice of language: Chicanas who grew up speaking Chicano Spanish have internalized
the belief that we speak poor Spanish (Anzalda). In each of these examples, it is likely correct that
these minority groups were at one point othered by a majority, but it is also correct that they view those
majority groups in the same light: as others.
How much have we actually changed from the immigration period of America? Xenophobia has
taken the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination to unimaginable heights in the
year 2016. He has placed the blame for our problems square on the backs of Mexicans, and one of his
major campaign pillars is building a wall to separate our countries. I can think of no better example of
othering, and whether we like it or not, this is one of the unfortunate realities of the nature of humanity
we feel safer in a majority and fear governs our actions. As is often the case, the truth of this issue is

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that the minority is often more vocal, and those speaking for moving away from othering often go
unheard except in retrospect, which seems to be constant in all periods of American culture.
The second line of division for discussion is generational. While the children of minorities and
majorities identify as a part of a larger group, they also take on the identity of the current generation. In
this sense, othering occurs when a generation of people identifies more with those in a similar age
grouping rather than those of similar heritage. Anthropologist Margaret Mead posits that we are all third
generation, referencing the idea that those who first migrated to this country are first-generation persons.
Those of the second generation would view their parents as others, as they are born American and are
looking to carve a new path for themselves. She describes them as passionately rejecting the halting
English, the half-measures of the immigrant (Mead). This continues on through the third generation as
they become even more Americanized and want to forge new lives in new locations and disown family
businesses often from the old country. Even with similar heritage and love for parenting, othering is a
fact of life for different generations of people.
This trend obviously continues today unhindered. The gap between young and aged has
dramatically increased due to incredible technological advances which give the advantage to those able
and willing to adopt youth culture and the changing world through social media. One interesting
phenomena that has developed is the fact that more cultures are intermingling, and the result are children
of multiple heritages. When reading the work of a classmate who had written an analysis of the prose by
Ms. Anzalda, she had explained a division between her and her child that has stuck with me, and I
figured it was worth sharing as continued evidence of othering. My husband is fully white (mostly
Polish), but speaks Spanish fluently which is good so my family can't talk behind his back, which believe
me they love to do to people. He has eastern European in his blood so our daughter turned out darker then
me which I deemed unfair and she takes plenty of opportunities to point out how much darker her skin in
then mine (she is 9) (Jurinak). It is interesting to see that she views her daughter having darker skin as

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unfair. From generation to generation, parent to child, child to parent the story stays the same:
Othering is simply a part of being human, not just a majority.
The last point Id like to make toward human natures tendency toward othering is along socioeconomic lines. My focus here will be on black Americans, as their story is central to the ethos of
America. In the infancy of the United States, division existed between those who would have slavery and
those who would abolish it. Othering took place simply based on the color of skin. While slavery is no
longer the law of the land, generational wealth has accumulated for the majority but the repercussions of
servitude have left an entire class of people struggling for equality. How appropriate then, are the words
of Douglass speech given to the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society on this, the Fourth of July weekend when he
so eloquently states, I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary (Douglass). While
this predates the Civil War, the words still echo loudly as generations of blacks still feel detached from
American History. Entire books have been written about the chasm of equality between black Americans
and society at large. Those in the majority have often cited crime statistics, single-parent households, and
welfare rates as evidence to continue this practice of othering rather than accepting the fact that
generations of wealth accumulation have given distinct cultural advantages in each of these areas. How
can it be fair that one should know how to get a good education and raise a family if they have not
previously seen how this is to be accomplished? It is obvious that as more time passes, the race rift
sharpens and magnificent events such as electing our first black president have finally been realized, but it
is also likely true that human nature will always emerge victorious and othering will continue.
The common thread linking each of these ideas is that hope springs eternal. During the infancy of
our country and through today, there has been othering in one form or another, whether that be from a
majority perspective or minorities aligning together against an oppressor. In each time period there are
always voices that speak to the ideals of the founders who proclaim that all men are to be created equal.
Othering is not something that will simply disappear because it is in our nature as human beings to form
collectives to feel part of something larger than ourselves. As our current president proclaimed in his most

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famous speech to date on race, it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so
many generations have come to realize over the course of the two hundred and twenty-one years since a
band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia. That is where the perfection begins (Obama).
While I believe it is not something we will ever be able to eliminate, it is something we can make
ourselves aware of and continue the work of bringing people together against impossible odds.

Works Cited
Anzalda, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." George, Diana and Trimbur, John.
Reading Culture. 2012. 521-527.
Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" George, Diana and
Trimbur, John. Reading Culture. 2012. 460-475.
Gordon, Mary. "More Than Just a Shrine: Paying Homage to the Ghosts of Ellis
Island." George, Diana and Trimbur, John. Reading Culture. 2012. 430-435.
Jurinak, Valerie. "Week 3 Homework." 2016. Canvas Assignment.
Mead, Margaret. "We Are All Third Generation." George, Diana and Trimbur, John.
Reading Culture. 2012. 94-101.
Obama, Barack. "A More Perfect Union." George, Diana and Trimbur, John. Reading
Culture. 2012. 476-483.
Unknown. Angel Island Immigration Station Poetry. 1910-1940. 30 06 2016.

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Christopher Root
Instructor: Stephanie Maenhardt
ENGL 1050 Intro/Rdg Culture
01 July 2016
How to Tame a Wild Tongue: Rhetorical Analysis
In reading through the responses for the Week 3 Assignment, there did not seem to be a piece that
evoked more emotion than the excerpt from by Gloria Anzaldas book Borderlands/La Frontera (1987)
entitled How to Tame a Wild Tongue. This is particularly interesting considering it was placed alongside
speeches by President Obama and Frederick Douglass, which have been proclaimed some of the most
powerful in history. I decided to analyze it for this reason, because I too felt the frustration of reading this
particular piece and wanted to take a deeper look at the structure behind it.
It is clear that this excerpt was chosen for this book because it challenges the reader through
language. Anzalda is a Chicana who can speak authoritatively on the subject of switching between seven
different types of language, dialect, and slang she has learned to intermingle over the course of a lifetime.
The piece opens by describing several events in her lifetime where she felt shame by simply being herself
and using the language she has grown up with. This evokes emotions of anger and empathy in the reader,
because it places you firmly in the position of being misunderstood when you have done nothing wrong.
The most outstanding and memorable portion of the excerpt is Anzaldas purposeful jumping
from language to language, using slang and different dialects throughout. There is a clear meaning behind
this in a lifetime of being restricted with regard to speech and interpersonal communication, she is
letting words flow freely onto the page in the format that her mind presents them. Even if you speak
English and Spanish, it is difficult to translate some of the slang or dialect because she intends it to be

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difficult. She is allowing you, as the reader, to experience the frustration she feels when communicating
with others.
Particularly heart-wrenching is the example she uses when speaking with other Chicana
feminists. To be close to another Chicana is like looking into the mirror. We are afraid of what well see
there. Chicanas have been shamed their entire lives for not speaking either English or Spanish, but
rather, what she claims is a forked tongue which is an interesting description, mostly for the fact that
anything with a forked tongue would be cold-blooded or could even be thought of as demonic.
It also stood out to me that the piece was written in short, choppy sentences. One could surmise
from this that it is a deflective measure, because the less you speak and the faster you convey information,
the less shame you will receive.
There are also several points in the piece where the pathos focuses directly on evoking emotions
of familiarity. When she speaks of reading her first novel by a Chicano, it brings to light the fact that
those of us in the majority have rarely ever had to deal with such an issue. Almost every book has been
translated into a language we can understand. She then speaks of the music she listens to and the shame of
being caught listening to it. Yet another example of something we would rarely consider. Lastly, she lists
traditional foods which have gradually made their way into everyday American culture. This definitely
strikes a chord with most Americans, as we are certainly well-versed at stealing other cultures food
stylings.
The conclusion of the piece is summarized by an explanation the suffering that occurs for not
acculturating. She likens the borderland conflict to her internal struggle to not lose her identity and the
shame she is made to feel for not doing so. Through her writing, I believe Anzalda perfectly conveys the
conflict she experiences daily when communicating with English speakers, Spanish speakers, other
Chicanos, or internally.