Othering & the U.S. Political Divide
Unearthing and Healing the Dynamics that Fragment Us
Online | English
What will we be exploring in this Lab?
We all “other” in our personal lives in small and large ways, instantly making someone “bad” for something they do that causes us discomfort. Collectively, the dehumanizing of othering justifies war, genocide, discrimination and subjugation. Why does this reflexive behavior remain unconscious and pervasive despite the conflict and suffering it produces? This lab is an invitation to unpack the process of othering personally and collectively, and rather than othering it, welcome it as a once-important protective mechanism that can transform into an evolutionary invitation to healing discourse.
Who is invited to participate?
This lab is for those concerned about US political division, wanting to explore othering/polarization as a shared creation to be healed. It’s for activists seeking more sustainable pathways for their work, leaders addressing divisions in their organizations, and anyone concerned about the erosion of civil discourse wanting to contribute differently. All political perspectives are welcome, but the lab is not a forum for political debate. We want to unearth and embody the unconscious process of othering and find healing, evolutionary responses to the collective crisis of polarization in the U.S.
More about the journey of the Lab
We will create solid ground for our journey - building connection, group coherence, clarifying group agreements, and resourcing. We will explore the ways we other in our personal lives, helping them become less reflexive by getting to know them as protections, growing awareness of our felt experience, and learning to respond from more spaciousness. We will then apply this same process and roadmap to explore othering in strongly polarized issues in US political life and to find emergent possibilities for engaging political issues with more possibility.
When will we be meeting?
We will meet every 3 weeks, 12 times on Tuesday and 3 times on Thursday at 4PM PT/7PM ET Meeting dates are February 24, March 17, April 9 & 28, May 19, June 9 & 30, July 21, August 11, September 3 & 22, October 13, November 5 & 24, Dec 15.
