English 111

Mini-synthesis peer review W13

Post your paper next to your name!

Insert comments into your own draft and intro drafts of two others!

At least 5 questions/suggestions each please!

Al Ramadan, Amenah R.

Benchley, Ross M.

Blades, Kody S. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YE7AzTIGBjdM2Za_ePvULAQ4cz3WIObyesDt1vCjsc8/edit?usp=sharing

Chapelo, Klare A.

Doyle, Lauryn R.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YFR93HYjp0U7y2SYoVcuECIuN9VO3eRL23JHWt8E-U4/edit

Lauryn Doyle

Eve Elden

ENG 111

10/9/2020

The Divided States of America: Overcoming Division

We all want to be connected, but after successfully doing so by finding a group in which we belong, we may end up inflicting an even greater sense of “outsiderness” on others who don’t seem to share this specific connection. Since we all understand how it feels to be left out and have that burning hole inside us to fit in somewhere, why are we so quick to ostracize others the second we begin to relax after finding our own clique? That is the exact opposite of how we should be treating others if humans made any sense, but we don’t so this now raises the issue of “us vs them”. Why are we so quick to be so cold to “others” and create unnecessary divisions between us, and is there anything we can do about it?

Self-awareness and simply having positive intentions (Or at least putting in the effort to) towards others can play a huge role in beginning to close the gap between “us” and “them”. We can start to overcome the division we inflict on ourselves first by simply realizing that the “others” we are so quick to be cold to are just versions ourselves hidden under different faces and languages. Being aware of yourself and your reactions to how the way people respond to you are crucial parts of the way you view and treat others. You can't start to understand others if you don't even recognize what's going on with yourself. William McCarter writes in his article, “The Anatomy of the Other” that “We define ourselves and secure our own identity through the creation and stigmatization of the other. This is a rhetorical device in which an “us” is constructed in relation to a “them” in which the defining characteristics between “us” and “them” mark our difference from one another.” Although we learn to understand ourselves through what makes us different from others, it is important to know that differences don't equate to “bad” or “less than”. Comment by Kelsey Rhind:

Another thing we can do to help lessen the divide between differing people is to actively appreciate uniqueness. Tom Gauld clearly illustrates how quick we are to write others off as “wrong” in their ways or beliefs if they are perceived as different, no matter how similar they end up being to our own in his cartoon “Our Blessed Homeland”. It is especially ironic to see this idea drawn out on paper; It’s sad that's what we look like when we are so quick to judge and hate each other. If everyone in the world were able to see this cartoon, truly understand it’s meaning, and apply that into their own lives, the would would be such an unbelievably better place. Agreeing with Gaulds idea, Sean Blanda, author of “The Other Side is Not Dumb” noted that “Over time, this morphs into a subconscious belief that we and our friends are the sane ones and that there’s a crazy “Other Side” that must be laughed at — an Other Side that just doesn’t “get it,” and is clearly not as intelligent as “us.” But this holier-than-thou social media behavior is counterproductive, it’s self-aggrandizement at the cost of actual nuanced discourse and if we want to consider online discourse productive, we need to move past this.” We can easily become too comfortable in our own little worlds and start to associate differences with “bad”, which then creates the issue of believing that people who aren’t like us are “bad”, thus creating an even larger division between “us” and “them”. Comment by Kelsey Rhind:

Blanda, Gauld, and McCarter are all able to talk about “otherness” in such a way that not only makes it seem positive, but makes you feel like the idiot for not realizing this sooner! Yes, the unknown can be scary, but the same thing over and over can be just as scary as well (picture living with your parents until the day you die).

It is important to be able to see the differences in others for not only their sake, but our own development as well, it is even more important that we see them in a positive light to positively affect us. Understanding why our differences make us unique and not different is just one small step in a marathon of goodness that has a possibility of achieving some level of unity with the “others” at the finish line. Blanda brilliantly said “Because refusing to truly understand those who disagree with you is intellectual laziness and worse, is usually worse than what you’re accusing the Other Side of doing.” in his piece, and I would have to completely agree with him. Having the compasion to understand the “others'' could be the simpler than expected solution to overcoming the division among us.

References

Blanda, Sean. “The 'Other Side' Is Not Dumb.” Human Parts, 7 Jan. 2016, humanparts.medium.com/the-other-side-is-not-dumb-2670c1294063.

Gauld, Tom. “Our Blessed Homeland.” Twitter, 1 Mar. 2015, twitter.com/tomgauld/status/571994690289061888?lang=en.

McCarter, William Matthew. “The Anatomy of The Other.” Medium, 23 July 2019, medium.com/liberation-day/the-anatomy-of-the-other-b5a2bc9ee7cd.

Hawes, Champagna

Johnson, Sheree L.

Knoblock, Kenzie J.

Kenzie Knoblock

Eve Elden

ENG.111.W13

Otc. 18, 2020

Judgement in Our World Today Comment by Maya Pfaff:

It takes around 5 or less seconds to form a first impression on someone. Have you ever thought what other people thought of you at first? Have you ever had a first impression of someone, and they turned out to be way different? I know for a fact I have judged a book by its cover before and been completely wrong, I did that with my best friend! At first, I was not too sure about how I felt about her. I had played her in sports before she moved to my school. On the court or on the field she was very competitive, so I had assumed she was mean. When she switched schools, I found out I was totally wrong, and we have been best friends ever since! This is just one example on how people are too quick to judge things they don’t fully understand. Comment by Via Prussner: Comment by Maya Pfaff: Comment by Via Prussner:

One way people judge something they do not fully understand is when they are reading. Corey Anton portrayed a very telling video, “On Being a Reader,” on just how much people judge while reading. Anton explains that readers make “quick to snap judgements” on authors without even taking the time to understand their writing. People are so quick to jump to an opinion or to judge either the writing or the author, that they don’t stop to think about what the author is trying to get across. The whole point of reading an informational writing is to learn and possibly even look at something in a different light. The author’s job is to challenge your beliefs and encourage your thinking. One tip Anton suggests readers start doing is imagine the author is in the room with you while you are reading. This will help readers not be so quick to assume and possibly even judge less. Think about it, you would not say something very judgmental or rude if the author was in the room with you. Readers also need to start “addressing” the author on their terms and stay true to the text. Some readers are not true to the text and assume things that are not there. This may create a false sense with the reader and may become confusing. I have noticed that when readers become confused, they start to get defensive and start criticizing the author on his or her writing or the text itself. Instead, they need to try to see the writing through the author’s eyes and try to depict the message the author is trying to get across. Readers overall need to get rid of their criticism, it isn’t good for their reading skills and they won’t understand the true text. Readers can even destroy the authors ideas due to criticism. Anton mentions that being a critical reader is being a bad reader. Readers should ask themselves how they are reading and learn from their past mistakes, become more open to the text and try to truly understand what is written in front of them. It’s ok if a reader is still confused and isn’t used to that way of reading; Anton suggests rereading the text to fully understand and find the meaning. Along with reading, people also use words to express their judgement. Comment by Maya Pfaff: Comment by Via Prussner:

Another way people judge things they don’t completely understand is the use of the word “other” and its true meaning. McCarter’s article, “The Anatomy of the Other,” was about negative stereotyping. He first starts off with stating that the word other doesn’t have a clear definition and that there’s no way to grasp the true understanding. He solidifies his knowledge by explaining this undergraduate experience. McCarter states, “Most often, in contemporary discourse, these defining characteristics are racial or ethnic in nature.” He is explaining that other is used to judge people and create a divide between them. He also mentions that other can be used to judge based on gender, sexual orientation, geographic, political, religious, and economical. No judgement is right, but judgement on something that people can’t control is just plain rude. Blanda’s article, “The ‘Other Side’ Is Not Dumb,” explains how we aren’t open to other points of views and that we automatically assume they are wrong. Blanda mentions a game that he plays called “controversial opinion”. There are some simple rules, people can only ask why a person thinks that way and can’t judge when they don’t share the same ideas. He explains that people will get offended when they learn that someone “isn’t on their side” and feel as if they need to persuade the person to think otherwise. Blanda states “In psychology, the idea that everyone is like us is called the “false-consensus bias.” He explains that this is common, people think that everyone shares the same ideas as them. We can’t assume that if people think differently than we do that they are any less intelligent or aren’t understanding. We need to be more accepting of other ideas and hear them out rather than shutting them down. Not everyone is going to think the same, that’s how our world is today. Think about it, would we even want everyone to think or share the same views? Both articles and authors stated compelling points that made me dive into my critical thinking. McCarter and Blanda both touched on the point that the word “other” is used negatively. They stated that we use this word to judge people and their beliefs. Comment by Via Prussner: Comment by Via Prussner:

People get judged every day and most times it is unfairly. No one knows what other people are going through and we should not judge people on one encounter where someone could be having a bad day. Tom Guald illustrates this idea in just one cartoon and along the way gets people thinking about how they might judge or view other people, becoming very contradicting. Tom Guald is a renowned cartoonist, who portrays his ideas through illustrations and comedy. He often produces work in New Scientist and The New Yorker. Guald is talking about the way that different regions view themselves, others, and the comparison between the two. A common way people judge each other is geographically, or by where they live. Some people think that people from other regions are lower than them or less intelligent. Some people that live in certain areas have a false sense that they are better or superior to other nations, just by where they live. Guald is opening his viewers eyes on how we judge other people and places, when we are just alike. For example, both places have the same architecture and aspects to them; however, they are looked upon very differently. It is all about perspective with this cartoon, optimistic or pessimistic. The left side of the cartoon is praising all the things that the right side is bashing. Guald is getting his message across by putting it into a comical form, that the readers will be more willing to analyze. He also clearly makes his point by having the same objects on both sides but uses different perspectives. He wants the reader to infer that people are judging the people on the other side by bashing them. He clearly portrays the image of judging people based on where they live. In every article the authors explain why judging is bad and some even go into detail about specific judgments people make. One thing all the authors have in common is that they can agree that judging is very negative and should be limited. Comment by Maya Pfaff:

Judgment is such a negative thing that it is a problem in our world today and needs solving; people need to understand we do not all think the same and that is ok. We need to try to understand other people and put our own thoughts aside. We must try to implement these tips into our everyday lives to not only save ourselves from offending people but open our own views to new ones. You do not always have to agree with other people or change your point of view, but you at least need hear them out. People need to start leaving judgment out of reading to fully understand the text, they should not be using the word other to discriminate against anyone or make them feel as if they are not normal, and they should not judge each other of make people feel beneath them. Overall, people should not be judging things they do not fully understand.

References

Blanda, Sean. “The 'Other Side' Is Not Dumb.” Medium, Human Parts, 26 May 2020, humanparts.medium.com/the-other-side-is-not-dumb-2670c1294063.

Gauld, Tom. “'Our Blessed Homeland' (My Cartoon for Yesterday's @Guardianreview) - Pic.twitter.com/EliUnCOpIZ.” Twitter, Twitter, 1 Mar. 2015, twitter.com/tomgauld/status/571994690289061888?lang=en. Comment by Maya Pfaff:

McCarter, William Matthew. “The Anatomy of The Other.” Medium, Liberation Day, 23 July 2019, medium.com/liberation-day/the-anatomy-of-the-other-b5a2bc9ee7cd.

“On being a Reader.” Youtube, uploaded by Corey Anton, 4 sept 2009, www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xMImAZ8LVh8&feature=emb_title

Kreiner, Emma J.

Larose, Kodi A.

Laury, Taniya M.

Morton, Azalea M.

Nelson, Olivia N.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BgD__03bW99wFGnpdDx0jQeZdFoawoPFS3IreO1LhHo/edit?usp=sharing

Newman, Summer M.

Peasley, Tim J.

ENG.111.W13

October 10, 2020

We have all judged someone else for something that we believe they did wrong. None of us are innocent of that. But by judging others we begin to place them in categories, marking them as outsiders because they’re different, they have a different opinion, or they have a different religion. But how much do we miss out on when we do this to other people?

All three of the authors talked about something called the other. And each author had their own idea on what an “other” was. In David Berreby’s article “Rituals and Traditions;It Takes a Tribe” He brought up the fact that humans need groups, it gives them a sense of belonging, and that is something that is important. To see just how important he said “Human beings will give a lot including their lives, for a group that they feel part of-- for “us” as in “our nation” or “our religion.” They will also harm those labeled “them,” including taking their lives.” Which may sound crazy but when we look at history we are so many examples of this. When someone has something that makes them feel included they will go a long way to achieve that. Berreby includes an interview with a student from the University of California “School spirit is important because it gives us a sense of belonging and being part of something bigger.” Again we see an example of how important a group is to us. And here we begin to see the problem when someone becomes an outsider, because being in a group is healthy. But when you don’t have that, what effects may that have on you. William Matthew McCarter brings this up in his article “The Anatomy of The Other” “When one sees a separateness between one’s self and the other, a feeling of alienation occurs.” The word separates people from those who some see as excepted for having similar beliefs. But when looking deeper into this everyone is still human whether they have the same beliefs or not, and they should be treated that way.

The feeling of alienation means to be isolated from a group in which they should be a part of. In Sean Blanda’s article we are given a picture that shows different sides. One is praised for having a glorious leader, great religion, heroic adventurers. While the other side is looked down on

Pfaff, Maya G.

Maya Pfaff

Eve Elden

ENG.111.W13

Oct 18, 2020

Stereotyping Comment by Olivia Nelson:

If you happened to ever be in high school everyone knows the number one thing kids tend to do is stereotype. According to Definitions from Oxford Language, stereotype means: “A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or group.” As much as we all wish we did not have to admit to, we all have stereotyped something some point in our lives, I know I have. Whether that thing is a group, a subject, or a specific person, the society we live in these days categorize stereotyping as something normal we all do. Comment by Olivia Nelson:

Stereotyping was a very hot topic between the past three authors I read from. All three authors tended to synthesize this subject in their own way and own perspective. David Berreby, William Matthew McCarter, and Sarah Blanda all talked about stereotyping in their articles. I relate this subject mainly to high school because I am a senior in high school who observes and sees the different “categories” that people place in groups every day without even realizing they are doing it. The awful reality and judgement that us humans have normalized. When stating who “belongs” in a group and who is on the “other side” of a group, tend to uproar rivalries and arguments very fast. Usually when it comes to deciding which side of the group you are on it is your personal opinion that people then place into a category. Some may be open to the other group's arguments and opinions but sadly to say, it mainly is not that easy. Comment by Olivia Nelson: Comment by Olivia Nelson:

One of the authors, David Berreby wrote a very important eye-opening article named, “Rituals and Traditions; it Takes a Tribe” Professor Sapolsky says, “humans alone among animals can think about what a tribe is and who belongs. ''Humans actually think about who is an 'us' and who is a 'them' rather than just knowing it,'' It is like humans cannot survive without being on a side competing with others. People are so concerned about belonging to a group that they will go to any lengths to be a part of one. This reminds me of a common trend I hear in the news, student deaths due to initiation. Students will do almost anything to “fit in” and may even risk their lives in the process. Berreby explains how students are the perfect subjects to run experiments on, they are thrown into a social society and are frantic to find their spots. Also stated in the article, “Professor Richerson says. Humans are ‘looking to be told what group they belong to, and then once they do that, they want to know,’ What are the rules?” Although I must admit a good rivalry is always fun, some people can take it to an extreme. It can get dangerous as we have seen in politics. We also need to take into consideration that the need to be in a group is not that important. But if the desire is that high or needed in certain situations, it is always important to be the bigger person and take into consideration that you are not always right. Comment by Olivia Nelson: Comment by Olivia Nelson:

The viewer sees a person and the first thing the mind goes to is judgement. William Matthew McCarter put his twist on stereotyping in the article “The Anatomy of the Other” McCarter explained how the word “other” stereotypes without even meaning to. It starts with the opposite of yourself. The opposite race, gender, geographic differences, or even language is automatically put in the “other” category. McCarter states “The idea here is that the self-affirmation of one group depends upon the denigration of ‘the other’ that on us and them is considered based upon one or more of these differences.” People also use the word other to almost boost themselves up, they use this word to look down upon someone that is different. These people put into their heads that the other group is less intelligent or don’t understand the true meaning. Although we have all heard the term, “do not judge a book by its cover” it is not always that easy, but before assuming someone is so different from you and putting them in the other category try to relate to them and understand no one is the same and the “other” is not always bad.

Sarah Blanda put the word “other” in a different but very similar perspective as McCarter did by explaining the word “other” to describe stereotyping and to get a grasp on why the “other” side is not always the bad side. Blanda wrote the article, “The ‘Other Side’ Is Not Dumb” the quote that stood out to me the most Blanda said was, “When someone communicates that they are not ‘on our side’ our first reaction is to run away or dismiss them as stupid.” This can be a real eye-opener for our small-minded people. Yes, I admit not all opinions seem to be valid, but I must remember that my one opinion is not the only one floating around. There are other sides of arguments, but it is the way you describe the “other side” not to be negative and turn down the idea but be open-minded and listen to the opinion first before reacting to it. Blanda also stated, “We should all enter every issue with the real possibility that we might be wrong this time.” I loved this quote because it really does make readers realize “the other side” is not always bad but just not what the reader thinks is right.

I noticed a lot of synthesis going on between these three amazing authors. Synthesizing means, according to Definition of Oxford Languages: “combine (a number of things) into a coherent whole.” Or in other words compare multiple topics describing the same thing. The authors did a great job with this, they all put their opinions, quotes, and observations in to play to describe their insight on stereotyping. Stereotyping literally has the word “group” in its definition and all three authors mentioned groups being stereotyped mainly through the word “other.” All had determined that society today depends heavily on being in a group or creating groups that do not relate to one's opinions. Although we have all seen in our history books groups have been around since day one. We now are discovering if you are not in the “better” or more popular group you are placed in the “other” category and then more and more groups are being categorized until they are hard to keep up with! I believe that if we as educated young adults start listening to an opinion before judging there would be less groups and hate and rivalry between them. Before I jump to judgement, I always like to try to put myself in the other shoes. Try to look at their perspective and get an insight on why they might think this way or why they might choose to be a part of the side chosen.

Works Cited

“Oxford Languages and Google - English.” Oxford Languages.

Berreby, David. “Rituals and Traditions; It Takes a Tribe.” The New York Times, 1 Aug. 2004.

McCarter, William Matthew. “The Anatomy of The Other.” Medium, 2019.

Blanda, Sean. “The 'Other Side' Is Not Dumb.” Medium, Human Parts, 26 May 2020.

Prussner, Via R. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y634anfb-0-HOHXlyRX9DE7PRP2fFXRGBP74ye2vnlQ/edit?usp=sharing Comment by Kelsey Rhind:

Rhind, Kelsey N. What’s wrong with groups?

Every single person in the world wants to be or is part of a group of some kind. We as humans need something to be a part of whether that be a family, a club, a sports team or another form of social interaction. One problem that arises from this phenomenon is the Us vs.Them mentality. If someone else thinks or feels something different than you do about a specific issue or situation we have a tendency to immediately discount what the other person has to say.

When we are a part of a group of any kind there ends up being other people on the outside of that group. Groups foster exclusion, cliques and ultimately can lead to the feeling that you’re better than someone else because you are a part of a particular group. David Berreby in his article “Rituals and Traditions;It takes a village” noted this in the analogy he made regarding sports teams.”After all, a college campus is full of people inventing a sense of ''us'' and a sense of ''them.'' As one junior at the University of California, Los Angeles, told her school paper before a game against the University of Southern California: ''School spirit is important because it gives us a sense of belonging and being a part of something bigger. Besides,'' she said, ''U.S.C. sucks in every way.'' (Berreby) This student only thinks that “U.S.C sucks” because she goes to the rival school. There is no real basis for any real feelings of dislike or hate. In terms of sports, if you go to a certain college, you are almost automatically going to form a dislike of whatever school is your school’s direct rival. Overall, when it comes down to it groups and sports teams don’t matter. Robert M. Sapolsky a Stanford Biologist mentions this in Berreby’s article ''What endlessly impresses me is people losing sight of how arbitrary it is.''(Berreby)

As opinions form within a group, we automatically think our group or we ourselves are right about every issue. We don’t take the time to look at someone else’s point of view. As the saying goes there are two sides to every story. But, we rarely take the time to read it all. Sean Blanda addresses this issue in his article “The’Other Side’ Is not Dumb.” One thing he asserts is that we as humans immediately assume someone who has a different viewpoint than us is wrong or stupid.”...this morphs into a subconscious belief that we and our friends are the sane ones and that there’s a crazy “Other Side” that must be laughed at — an Other Side that just doesn’t “get it,” and is clearly not as intelligent as “us.” “ (Blanda) When we do this we are effectively taking away a portion of someone else’s humanity. As we assume that because someone thinks something different than you is dumb we make that person smaller in our estimation of them. Matthew McCarter discusses this in his article “The Anatomy of The Other”. He says “Instead of being treated like a subject, the other is objectified and robbed of his or her humanity”.(McCarter) We never ask the question “why” we skip right over it and go right to “you’re wrong.” When talking to someone with an opposing viewpoint, Blanda challenges us to not try to “win,” but instead hear them out. In fact, he wants us to “lose” by letting the other person try to convince us. “A dare for the next time you’re in discussion with someone you disagree with: Don’t try to “win.” Don’t try to “convince” anyone of your viewpoint. Don’t score points by mocking them to your peers. Instead, try to “lose.” Hear them out. Ask them to convince you and mean it.”(Blanda) In the end we might change our viewpoint, or we might not but, at least we have the whole picture and can make our own judgements from there. Comment by Maya Pfaff:

So, even though we as humans want to be a part of a group of some kind, we tend to make assumptions about other people’s opinions. We say that they’re wrong or aren’t as intelligent as we are. Or, even worse we automatically dislike someone or something for no good reason at all. Groups can be a great thing, but they can also be dangerous.

Bibliography

Berreby, David. “Rituals and Traditions; It takes a village.” The New York Times, 1 August 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/education/rituals-and-traditions-it-takes-a-tribe.html. Accessed 7 October 2020.

Blanda, Sean. “The 'Other Side' Is Not Dumb.” Human Parts, 7 January 2016, https://humanparts.medium.com/the-other-side-is-not-dumb-2670c1294063. Accessed 7 October 2020.

McCarter, Matthew. “The Anatomy of The Other.” Medium.com, 23 July 2019, https://medium.com/liberation-day/the-anatomy-of-the-other-b5a2bc9ee7cd. Accessed 7 October 2020.

Skinner, Kenzie E.

Sprowls, Shawnee N.

The Hypocrisy of Criticism and Stereotyping

When it comes to criticism, many different things fall into this category of judgment. Throughout this course we have read about many examples of this, including hypocrisy and stereotyping. Now, when it to comes to all these forms of judgment, I think it is safe to say we are all guilty of this habit. Have you ever looked or observed someone and had dislike for them because of their difference from you? Or because of their opposing views? In William McCarter’s “The Anatomy of The Other” he goes on to explain “We define ourselves and secure our own identity through the creation and stigmatization of the other.” This is a great explanation of why we have this habit. When we see other people, who are different than we are, or someone we disagree with, we start to create this separation from them. When we find people, we share similar opinions with, we classify ourselves as this “us” group, and with that comes the classification of the “others”. The word “other” is a word we use to almost degrade someone who isn’t similar to us, and as McCarter also mentions, it can be a “negative stereotyping” expression. Although McCarter makes a valid point there, Sean Blanda makes some real humbling statements in his article “ The ‘Other Side’ Is Not Dumb”. When Blanda says “A dare for the next time you’re in discussion with someone you disagree with: Don’t try to “win.” Don’t try to “convince” anyone of your viewpoint. Don’t score points by mocking them to your peers. Instead, try to “lose.” Hear them out. Ask them to convince you and mean it." This was such an eye-opening statement for me. We always like to prove others why they are wrong, and we are right, instead taking a step back and truly considering why they have their viewpoints and opinions. Every single person has a reason why they are the way they are, and that is something we often forget to consider. Comment by Anonymous: Comment by Anonymous: Comment by Kelsey Rhind: Comment by Kelsey Rhind: Comment by Anonymous:

Stereotyping is more common than we would like to admit, and along with that is hypocrisy. Being a hypocrite it not something any of us would like to admit to, but it is something that happens more than we may realize. Tom Gauld, an illustrator and cartoonist, created a nice, understandable example of hypocrisy with his cartoon “Our Blessed Homeland”. In the image, although each side is a different color and labeled different, they are super similar. This goes to show that just because something (or someone) is labeled or looks unalike, does not mean they are all that different. We are sometimes quick to judge someone without thinking about how we are ourselves. Comment by Kelsey Rhind: Comment by Anonymous:

Some of these things may seem to come to us naturally. Categorizing ourselves and others into groups seem to give us this sense of belonging, or to be part of something greater than ourselves. Though, this is not always a bad thing, it still can have its downfalls. David Berreby, in his article “Rituals and Traditions; It Takes A Tribe” he mentions some particularly good points. Berreby says “Human beings will give a lot, including their lives, for a group they feel part of -- for ''us,'' as in ''our nation'' or ''our religion.'' They will also harm those labeled ''them,'' including taking their lives." This is such a powerful statement he makes. People will sometimes do whatever it takes to have a sense of belonging, even if it is extreme measures. Comment by Kelsey Rhind:

Although all these authors have different standpoints, each of them makes incredibly good statements in their articles. Why we criticize, we why label, why we judge. These are things that seem to be a part of us as human beings. And even though we may not realize we are doing it; it is still a behavior we should try to cut back on. When you catch yourself making some harsh judgement, just stop to think about why the person you are judging is the way they are. The possible reasonings they have their views, and most importantly, think about yourself. Everybody has flaws, no single person is perfect, but every person is unique in their own ways. Whether we agree or not, there is no crime is agreeing to disagree!

SweatManges, Jackie A.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dytqNi4z5JlVpk0Cr_GtW-7B8o-2Dqm0SolFn9jUrFw/edit?usp=sharing

Trecha, Thomas E.

Westall, Morgan M. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_w32wwGwC2J8Z7dAQm-5_3YfS-1jkXjsdvAFiIYb6xI/edit?usp=sharing

Zanoni, Michael A.