The Politics of Othering

In a week of bad news, we name the common thread—and chart a better way forward.

This episode is a whirlwind! With critical headlines stacking up by the day, we sprint through urgent stories shaping our moment:

• South African President Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House,

• the Supreme Court’s shocking decision on religious schools in Oklahoma,

• Pete Hegseth’s dominionist prayer rally,

• a tragic shooting in DC raising tensions around antisemitism and Zionism,

• and the political targeting of Harvard and international students.

Plus, we recap the joy and connection we found at The Convocation Unscripted retreat.Like we said, a whirlwind—but it’s honest, grounded, and deeply necessary.

We ended our session talking about the common thread through all this bad news was "othering.”

All of these actions in some way create or perpetuate a sense of "us" and "them”—with the "us" constituting an increasingly small and authoritarian group claiming superiority over all others and using that as justification for inhumanity.

They can take a lot away from us but they can't take our values, our integrity or our character.

So let's stay connected, stay in community, and stay kind.

Check out the article from Lisa Sharon Harper we referenced in the episode: “Telegraphing the Endgame.”

The Convocation Unscripted is FREE, but you can support us by subscribing to our individual publications:

The Cottage - Diana Butler Bass

White Too Long - Robby Jones

Du Mez Connections - Kristin Du Mez

Footnotes - Jemar Tisby