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More Than Meets the Eye

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Inspecting a person - particularly attempting to discover who they really are - has been the focus of countless soap operas, detective thrillers, and conversations the world over. One would think that after countless decades of experience, the human race would have discovered a methodical process with which we can understand one another. Alas, our insight of one another remains bleak and foggy in several areas, as 3 in 4 people report encountering stereotypes on a daily basis . How to remedy this global miscommunication? Perhaps we as a society can start with focusing on the simple details of one another; after all, as the popular phrase goes, “ the eyes are the windows to the soul ”.  Or are they? After all, if the way we currently view one another has perpetuated misunderstandings the world over, would not the quality of the windows we currently use have some contribution to our blurred vision? In fact, I would assert that while our eyes allow us to look out of our proverbial hom...
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Varin Week No. 1: Individuals vs. Identities

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Does one aspect of who you are define yourself entirely? Can you be adequately described with just that aspect? It is incredibly likely that the response to this question is a resounding “NO” from most, and yet, with the advent of social media and the internet an alarming number of both historically oppressive and oppressed groups have started to discriminate against all members of groups they dislike. Thankfully, the problem has not been overwhelming, though its increase is depressing news nonetheless.  Essentialism–an idea that there is a specific quality of certain groups of people that cannot be altered, and these groups can be split up by specific criteria such as race, gender, nationality, etc.–is steadily growing. At first, this sort of categorization may seem harmless, but in actuality essentialism forms the basis of and maintains discrimination of these groups, determined based on who marks a specific aspect and who is marked by that aspect, enabling historical oppressio...
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