The Bailey: Belonging = “Preferential Treatment”
A network that American taxpayers have never heard of and a theory they never voted on is quietly redesigning how their local governments, chambers of commerce, and schools think about and act regarding immigration policy – and it’s already operating in 22 states. It deceptively goes by words like “belonging,” “welcoming,” and “inclusion” and comes with a measurement framework that proves America is failing along with a blueprint that tells states how to fix it. A network of NGOs, and unelected coalitions combining state agencies and corporate chambers of commerce make sure the blueprint is adhered to – whether voters know about it and have approved – or not.
The man behind the theory and framework is John Powell – Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) at UC Berkeley. He’s the architect of a policy theory called “targeted universalism,” and the author of a 2017 Guardian article titled “Us vs. Them; the sinister techniques of ‘Othering; – and how to avoid them.” This piece is a response to that article and an attempt to expose how it’s actually Powell’s answer to “othering” – “belonging” – that’s being used to subversively usher in federal and state policies that overwhelmingly prioritize immigrants and people of color when it comes to funding and resources. In this way, unfettered immigration can be used intentionally as a Cloward-Piven strategy to overwhelm and break the social systems of America to completely change the country and the Constitution.
The Motte: Belonging = “An Inclusive Society”
In his article, Powell claimed that conservative media and political leaders like Donald Trump were using verbal and psychological techniques to stoke fear and collective anxiety about certain groups in America such as illegal immigrants. He proclaims they were causing what he terms “othering”: narrowly defining whoqualifies as a full member of society by excluding and dehumanizing them based on their citizen status. Powell dismisses the genuine concerns raised in the immigration debate – about the rise in crime and the strain on the economy – by labeling these arguments as “socially and culturally constructed,” brought about purely by narratives pushed by demagogues. He concluded his article by saying the antidote to “othering” is building true societies of belonging. That sounds like a lovely sentiment until you find out what “belonging” actually means in practice.
