The Danger of "Othering," Subtly and Less So

Okay, be forewarned, this is a slightly grumpy Karen post.

This past week I came across a new initiative by Tourism NZ called "The Tiaki Pledge," being reported (where else but) on Facebook by CNN. I was disturbed by it for a few reasons, particularly as I looked into it further.

At first blush it seems innocent enough: asking visitors to New Zealand to promise to look after the environment while visiting.

But when you think about it there are problems with that. The website explains that here in NZ "we have a deep and symbiotic relationship with our environment," and admonishes visitors that they should be mindful of the importance of our "special place."  

Yes, we do have a special place, but that sounds exceedingly arrogant to me when there are other special places around the world too. And only visitors to NZ are being asked to commit to "The Tiaki Pledge," not those who live here! Some of those visitors will also be coming from "special places," or at least places they consider as such.

As someone who picks up roadside rubbish weekly, I'm bothered by this different form of rubbish. The implication is that it's just the visitors who are creating the environmental problems here, not the locals. Whether it's traffic accidents, freedom camping, or other damage to the environment, it's "others" who are creating the problem, not us. Tourists are being made the scapegoats du jour in certain circles despite their importance overall to the NZ economy. 

This sounds like what's going on in a few other countries around the world doesn't it? Blaming immigrants, refugees, people of other religions for social and economic problems. Blaming the "other" rather than taking responsibility to address problems ourselves. There's actually a word for it now: "othering." It means "the process of perceiving or portraying someone or something as fundamentally different or alien." It is used by politicians or the media to manipulate.

People who care and look after the environment do so wherever they are. They don't need to sign a silly pledge riffing on the sacred importance of guardianship/stewardship of the land to Maori. And those that don't won't, even if they pledge to do so. Rather like some of those people caught out on "Border Patrol," with illegal goods and incorrect customs forms. Those are enforceable, legal documents. 

I'm sure the marketing wizards at Tourism NZ thought this was a great idea, but I beg to differ. In fact I think it's just plain wrong to ask visitors to do something you aren't asking everyone else in New Zealand to do too. They've even got Air NZ on the band wagon, so look out for the "Tiaki Pledge" on inflight screens. Just don't pay attention unless you're a visitor!

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[Katherine Scott]

here,here.