Fear II

The seeds of social rejection are sown and nurtured through stigmatization, labeling, and myriad forms of discrimination.  Every act of group stigmatization arises out of the desire of a dominant group to establish, exercise, and maintain its dominance over less powerful or marginalized groups.  The elements of stigmatization include negative labeling, social separation of groups, establishment of social disadvantage, inadequate or denial of access to opportunities, stereotyping of groups based on generalizations, and often deliberate misinformation, attitudes, and beliefs.  The resulting stigma produces and is propelled by blame and prejudice against the stigmatized groups – manifested in words, actions, policies, etc. In turn, rejection motivates people to distance themselves from the sources of their rejection and brings them closer to those who are accepting. 

When this happens, several other possibilities are known to occur. Among other things, the individual grows in a sense of belonging and loyalty to the accepting group and further away from the dominant group.  In that context, a sense of commitment to national identity diminishes, and fear and distrust are enhanced. For this reason, among others, no society can expect to benefit eternally from socially rejecting any group(s) that make(s) up the society.  This is a lesson that seems to elude too many leaders in our current world. But, who will teach them and how can they learn when they have such incredibly fragile egos?

Certainly, the relationships between nations and the social groups that they categorize as the ‘other’ deserve ongoing exploration because, the realities of in-groups and out-groups notwithstanding, all groups that make up a nation share some commonalities that distinguish their countries from other countries and ethnic groups.  For example, there are characteristics that are distinctly American, distinctly European, distinctly African, and distinctly Asian. Those commonalities are shared by the generality of people from those countries, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, although it is also the case that even within nations, there are characteristics that are distinct to specific ethnic groups. This discussion is important, lest we destroy ourselves as nations rather than engage in an unending building of community in our collective and shared spaces.

It was not that long ago when we believed that our world had taken a different course and that increasing technological advancements were breaking down geographical barriers.  Therefore, terms such as “global village”, “cyberspace” and “chat room” became part of our daily lexicon for describing the inter-connectedness and narrowing of differences and space that the new technologies were driving.  Currently, hope no longer holds for such human inter-connectedness because of the disintegration of the thought process that was the foundation upon which our hopes had been built. In its place, xenophobia is taking root, as we see in South Africa, the United States currently, and several European countries.  Brexit was also in large measure a product of this reality. Hopelessness, helplessness and legitimate fear have become prevalent as individuals and groups find ways to cope with the stigmatization and sentiments of the new nationalism that seeks to maintain the old and create new “other” categories.  

To address the experience of fear and social rejection that marginalized groups face, societies must invest in the education of its citizenry around curricula that emphasize mutual acceptance and respect, as well as the history of the nation and people who inhabit it.  Lack of knowledge of history is destroying our world. It is also important to assist members of marginalized groups in developing and strengthening their social support systems. Emphasizing soft power to promote peace instead of war and educating the political electorate and office seekers would also be helpful in addressing the potential of social rejection.  We must work to ensure that policy is made and implemented by those who understand the intersectionalities of the constructs that define us, as well as the potential consequences of social rejection to any society. Since equality is impossible to achieve, every society ought to consciously promote equity by seriously addressing society’s tendency to marginalize individuals and groups.  If we can do this, then we will be on our way to leaving a better world for the generations that come after us.