Fred (not his real name) was a student of the same age group as the rest of us and not too much different from us, except he had some conservative political views. Several of us sat around the table discussing gun control following a well-publicized school shooting. The rest of us were fairly liberal in our views on this issue, were horrified at the shooting, and angry at the fact that people can still get guns so easily in this country. We openly expressed their opinion that no one should be able to buy a handgun or there should be very strict limitations and licensing on people that own handguns. Fred immediately spoke up regarding his feelings on the topic stating that he believed that any type of gun control is a violation of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and that everyone had the right to bear arms. By expressing his opinion Fred immediately set himself up as "the other" with those of us in this particular group. He immediately became the target of the group's criticism regarding his views on gun ownership and was thrust into the out-group status. Interestingly, the criticism from the other members of the group extended beyond his attitude towards gun control to one of his a being rigid, backward, and downright stupid person, despite his agreeing with us on most other issues. Not a single argument he offered was given any weight at all and was immediately criticized as being "ridiculous" or "ignorant" as opposed to being evaluated for its content or for the reasoning behind his rationale. When an individual is perceived as a member of the out -- group immediately members of the in -- group begin to attribute negative...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now