The "other" is ironically and somewhat anthemically celebrated in the Mothers of Invention song Lou mentioned below, aka "Mother People". That is to say, you can be one of "US", because you are an "OTHER".
Censored section:
"Better look around before you say you don't care
Shut your ____in' mouth about the length of my hair
How would you survive
If you were alive
____ty little person?"
Sounds like Frank was getting a little fed up with behavior that he found oppressive, despite being able to get haircut. And yet he could seem at times to marginalize people in songs based on their sexuality, something we can't change about ourselves.
To be clear, I am a big fan of Zappa, mainly because of the music alone, but also because it often included social commentary and humor. Of course it wasn't just about the hair for him, and I may have missed the intention of a few songs in the giant catalog that I find offensive. But in "Mother People" he does indeed capture the fact that people find "others" scary.
"Live and Let Live" can be good, and will certainly always be necessary as a near to last resort. But by being brave enough to do so sometimes, I have found widening my circle of who I consider to be friends/family can be very individually rewarding to everyone involved. More irony.
-Karl
P.S. Also listen to "Take Your Clothes Off When you Dance" from "We Are Only in it for the Money" for more of a "We" mentality instead of "Us and Them/Other". There is a nice jazz instrumental arrangement of the music on "Lost Episodes" too.
P.P.S. Has anyone here read Zappa's book "Us and Them"? I never have but seem to have a great urge to do so now!
Karl Fitzke
Audio/Visual Specialist
B76 Kroch Library
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-255-5521
[log in to unmask]
________________________________________
From: ARSC Library and Archives Discussion List <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2016 11:18:33 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIB] [ARSCLIST] AW: [ARSCLIST] AN OPEN LETTER TO ARSC MEMBERSHIP
I don't understand this whole concept. America was designed and built for individualism. The freer
we are (which is our responsibility to assure, as made clear by the Founding Fathers), the more
"other" we all are from each other, which is the whole point. Beyond that, it's human nature for
"similar others" to tribe up together. To make a workable democratic republic (or a workable ARSC,
or a workable workplace), cooperation rather than hatred between "tribes" needs to be encouraged,
but human nature is human nature and people are judgemental. I think it's foolish to think anyone is
going to be totally accepted and embraced by everyone else, this being more so the wider the circle.
However, acceptance and embracing are one thing and denying someone a guaranteed right because they
are "other" is separate matter. Net-net, it's better to live and let live, but don't expect that to
be the default with human nature being what it is.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lou Judson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2016 10:28 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIB] [ARSCLIST] AW: [ARSCLIST] AN OPEN LETTER TO ARSC MEMBERSHIP
(David, your email is set for reply to you and not the list!)
Othering as a concept and action was first brought to my attention involving the Japanese in the
1940s. Many posrters and such were made showing the evil japs to foster hatred of “the enemy” - this
has ben going on for millennia.
The term may be fairly newish but the concept and actions have been with us a long long time.
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Inventions did a song called “We are the Other People” whose refrain
included the line “You’re the other people too!” which pretty much sums up the difference between us
and them - we are both other people:
Do it again!
Do it again!
We are the other people
We are the other people
You're the other people too
Found a way to get to you...
Do you think that I'm crazy?
Out of my mind?
Do you think that I creep in the night
And sleep in a phone booth?
Lemme take a minute & tell you my plan
Lemme take a minute & tell who I am
If it doesn't show
Think you better know
I'm another person
Do you think that my pants are too tight
Do you think that I'm creepy?
Lemme take a minute & tell you my plan
Lemme take a minute & tell who I am
If it doesn't show
Think you better know
I'm another person (the verse that really
Goes here has been censored out &
Recorded backwards in a special section
At the end of side one...)
We are the other people
We are the other people
You're the other people too
Found a way to get to you
We are the other people
We are the other people
You're the other people too
Found a way to get to you
Do you think that I love you...
Stupid & blind?
Do you think that I dream through the
Night
Of holding you near me?
Lemme take a minute & tell you my plan
Lemme take a minute & tell who I am
If it doesn't show
Think you better know
I’m another person
Lou Judson
Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689
On Apr 27, 2016, at 9:23 PM, David Breneman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Von: "Richard L. Hess" <[log in to unmask]>
>
>> As to the term "othering" it refers to the process of defining some
>> group as "the other." As in NOT "us." This is often a precursor to
>> attempting to diminish "the other" since they are not like "us" and
>> therefore inferior. I'll leave it to your imagination and knowledge of
>> history to envision what happens when "the other" becomes the scapegoat
>> for general societal ills.
>
> The English language has a perfectly good word to describe this
> behavior: Bigotry. It's not necessary to make up new, rather
> ambiguous words to describe it. I weep for my native tongue.
>
> If my objection to "other" makes me an other to the others
> here, I embrace my otherness and wear it as another badge
> of honor. :-) Long live the others.
>
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