I love the way language ebbs and flows. In many ways usage is all. The function of language is to communicate and maybe if it does that then it can’t be wrong. However, as I get older, it can be quite startling to realise that a word that has been used as an adjective and a noun has now morphed into a verb: to be othered or to other someone.
Are you familiar with this I wonder? The first time I heard it was on the radio. A black photographer was describing how, even if he was dressed smartly in a suit and tie, taxi drivers might well ‘other him.’ I looked at the radio and listened hard and then understood what was being said. I suppose it’s a little like a modern version of ‘them and us’ or the way people talk about ‘they.’ ‘They don’t understand,’ or ‘they won’t listen to the likes of us.’
The ‘others’ are those who are not like ‘us’ in some way, be it skin colour, religion, language etc.
Thus, this is all about another way of discriminating. Fascinating how language is continually being repurposed, even if in this case it is rather a sad reflection of today’s society.