Why do people practice othering?

We look around at the people we are exposed to every day, and even in this age of "enlightenment" we see people who create distances between themselves and others for no viable reason.

Discrimination and prejudice are based on something specific: race, color, sex, age, religion or a myriad of other things.

But people who claim to be open-minded and accepting often make the choice to dislike someone else without so much as a specific reason. "Funny vibes" from someone has become grounds to avoid a person.

Everyone likes to think he or she is open-minded and accepting of other people the way they are and the way they choose to be.

But still people draw lines between themselves and those they consider "different."

Usually the people who shake us out of our daily grind are the most influential people we meet, but because of the innate human fear of change, we sometimes never find this out.

This problem seems especially prevalent in our area of the country. The American South is probably the most prejudiced area in the world. Here, it is acceptable to not like someone because he or she goes to the wrong church or has the incorrect complexion.

Humanity is not something that can be measured from the outside.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. may have said it best in his famous speech: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Because of our own preconceived notions and self-imposed boundaries, we often take prejudices we have learned in childhood as the truth forever, but when considered carefully that sounds ridiculous.

Is Santa Claus real? What about the Easter Bunnyl? Part of life is growing and changing through experience.

We must not eliminate people from our lives based on one impression from the outside.

This practice of "othering," or creating groups that differ from ours and referring to these groups as "they," is so common in our society that it is a great wonder that anyone can connect.

We have all met that seemingly "different" person that eventually pleasantly surprised us. Conversely, we have all had people react to us as one of "them."

Nervous social anxiety may cause someone to make a bad first impression, but that does not mean that the person is not interesting.

We must not let prejudice, discrimination and preconceived notions or a bad first impression ruin chances at a valuable personal encounter.