When I drive to one of my favorite coffee shops, I drive by this house that during the Trump elections had the entire lawn and side of the house plastered with Trump signs, flag, all of the pro-Trump attire. It made such an impact that I remember it every time I drive by. To be honest, I have a recoil in my brain. And today I thought to myself, in my brain I’m “othering” this family, based on only those Trump signs. I don’t know them, but I somehow have a bit of hatred for them. I’m “othering” them already in my brain. I’ve been noticing this so much in our country and it’s scaring me. When we “other” someone we lose our sense of humanity, compassion, empathy, and even love for someone. We make assumptions without even getting to know the whole story or the actual person.
I know I’ve posted about this before but I still am seeing this so much and I want to just really get people to think. Get to know someone before you assume. Don’t “other” people because “othering” people can lead to very bad things. Remember to humanize people. The person you are “othering” has feelings. They want to be happy. They have a family. They likely are even more similar to you in some ways too. We are all doing the best we can in this life. I get having different political beliefs and that can be challenging to still hold that love and compassion for someone. But, we *need* to. We really need to at this point. Just remember this person is still a human being, not an “other”.
We are all in this *together*. 
Kari Storm 