[Women] Dinner: Wednesday 6:00 pm

[Peg Clifford]

Dear Ladies,

The women’s dinner will be held this Wednesday at the elegant manse of Peg
Clifford in the quaint burg of Parkersburg, WV at six pm.

I will be serving colcannon: a vegetarian version and another version for
carnivores.

Vegans: You are on your own. Shari Miller told me that she will be bringing
quiche.

Bread, salads, desserts, or wine would be appreciated.

1729 Covert St.

Parkersburg.

The corner of 18th and Covert

The house is down the street from the old St. Joe’s Hospital (19th St.),
and a few blocks from PHS.

304-893-2622 call if you need directions.



*Some thoughts for discussion *

We talk a lot about “diversity;” however I would like to challenge us to

 define  THE OTHER

*How do you define your OTHER? *

The other

Retrieved from
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/other.html



*The Other*

The Other is an individual who is perceived by the group as not belonging,
as being different in some fundamental way. Any stranger becomes the Other.
The group sees itself as the norm and judges those who do not meet that
norm (that is, who are different in any way) as the Other. Perceived as
lacking essential characteristics possessed by the group, the Other is
almost always seen as a lesser or inferior being and is treated
accordingly. The Other in a society may have few or no legal rights, may be
characterized as less intelligent or as immoral, and may even be regarded
as sub-human.

Otherness takes many forms. The Other may be someone who is of...

   - a different race (White vs. non-White),
   - a different nationality (Anglo Saxon vs. Italian),
   - a different religion (Protestant vs. Catholic or Christian vs. Jew),
   - a different social class (aristocrat vs. serf),
   - a different political ideology (capitalism vs. communism),
   - a different sexual orientation (heterosexual vs. homosexual),
   - a different origin (native born vs. immigrant).

The Other is not necessarily a numerical minority. In a country defeated by
an imperial power, the far more numerous natives become the Other, for
example, the British rule in India where Indians outnumbered the British
4,000 to 1. Similarly, women are defined and judged by men, the dominant
group, in relationship to themselves, so that they become the Other. Hence
Aristotle says: "The female is a female by virtue of a certain *lack* of
qualities; we should regard the female nature as afflicted with a natural
defectiveness."

The group which is defining the Other may be an entire society, a social
class or a community within a society, a family, or even a high school
clique or a neighborhood gang.

*The Other and the Outsider*

The outsider frequently overlaps with the Other, but they are not
identical. The outsider has the possibility of being accepted by and
incorporated into the group; offspring are very likely to be accepted into
the group. The Other, however, is perceived as different in kind, as
lacking in some essential trait or traits that the group has; offspring
will inherit the same deficient nature and be the Other also. Therefore the
Other and the offspring of the Other may be doomed forever to remain
separate, never to become part of the group--in other words, to be the
Other forever.

So how do we embrace THE OTHER?

OK  OK ” Welcoming Congregation.” That’s wonderful, but when is the last
time you had dinner with a Trump supporter?

Let’s start with “rednecks.” When was the last time you hung out with and
really tried to listen to a “redneck”?  I would like to introduce you to
Trae Crowder  “THE LIBERAL REDNECK.”

OK OK he’s a redneck and uses a lot of bad language: try to listen anyway.

Our goal here is to embrace the other.

I think he is on to something important.  Three minutes of your time
please.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI_pSEbFQ3A





“I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of
criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event
for me. ”  ― Anaïs Nin
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