Lord, Who Is My Other?

Good Samaritan Coyote keeps wondering, am I my other's keeper?

There is a lot of "otherization" going on before the convention.  The protesters are very other. They are leftist, anarchistic, radical, Seattle inspired, pee-filled-squirt-gun-toting outlaws up to no good.  They are not me.  They are not us.  They are the other.  And because they are the other, we don't have to listen to them.  Their call to change may be safely ignored.  We must simply endure them, and control them.

And Coyote has heard the same thing coming from the other side.  Law enforcement is very other.  They are controlling, aggressive, belligerent, New York and Miami inspired soldiers of a corporatized  state.  They are not me.  They are not us.  They are the other.  And because they are the other, we don't have to respect them.  Their job of policing may be legitimately ridiculed.  We must simply endure them, and outfox them.

When Coyote hears this, he remembers the parable of the Good Samaritan.  In response to the question, "who is my brother?", Jesus said, the Samaritans, the most despised and the most "other" group in the culture.  Jesus said, the other is your brother.  Hard words, but they make a ton of psychological sense.

Coyote thinks humans have a deep need for consigning certain people to the shadowy world of the not me.  By doing this we define ourselves, and we make it okay to ignore those people in the shadow.  But if Jesus is right, then the other is my brother.  The not me is me.  What we have to do, then, is travel into those shadowy worlds of not me, and discover the totality of who we are.  Coyote, in his deep wisdom, believes this is the most difficult journey of all.  (This Jungian moment was brought to you by Coyote Inc. of Zurich Switzerland)

So for the convention, Coyote says, lets stop demonizing the other.  The protesters are not crazies.  They are good people with genuine concerns who deeply desire to see this world become a better place.  Listen to them.  And the police are not mindless robocops.  They are good men and women who are trying to maintain order, and make Denver safe for everyone.  Respect them.  And if the protesters get a little crazy, or the the police get a little hard handed, remember that craziness and hard handedness are not the other, it is all me.  We all have a little police and protester in us, for better and for worse.

Except for Coyote, of course.  All he has in him is his last meal.

CoyoteJ