Alienation is a word that describes what happens when one does something, or says something, that separates them from the crowd. You become seperated from your family or friends, for whatever reason, and are no longer welcome in their close circle. The word is usually used in reference to a bad situation.
So many times people take the high road when someone they know does or says something that isn’t ‘cool’. And instead of being mature and understanding about it, they shrug them off, alienating them from the group. I find this to be insulting…not to mention hypocritical. I don’t know of anybody who hasn’t done or said something that wasn’t considered ‘cool’. Take a moment to look back to your ealier days, and ask yourself…”Was there ever a time when I was alienated?”. I bet you’ll come up with at least one, if not more than one, memory where you were cast as the odd ball.
I remember the first time I was alienated. It was humiliating. I was in the 6th grade. I had just sat down after reading an essay I had wrote, and a very loud fart escaped my backside. No one wanted to sit next to me after that. Nor did they want to talk to me, or even play with me. They all laughed at me when I walked down the halls at school. They giggled and mumbled when I’d walk past. It was as though I had bathed in a tub of pig fat. I thought maybe I’d caught the latest version of the plague. It was awful! And to make matters worse, that’s not the first time that something like that has happened to me.
To define the word, I would rather not. Instead, I would like to demolish it. Remove it from our vocabulary all together, as well as the act. No longer will anyone be ‘Alienated’ and cast out as one of the unwanted. Who are we to put that on someone? Who are we to alienate someone because of their likes, dislikes or opinions? Who are we to commit someone to loneliness and sorrow? Do we have the right to put ourselves in God’s wings and convict others to that kind of punishment? I do not believe we do.
To define the word ‘Alienation’….is to know what it’s like to be alienated.
