The secluded world

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In the essay “Us and Them,” David Sedaris discusses a peculiar experiences he lived through which constantly occupied his mind. After living through many different temporary settlements, David seemingly developed a higher interest and usage of social media, such as television, which had also made its way into the lives of many other ordinary citizens. However, during his stay in North Carolina, He notices something very interesting; a family who does not own a television. This was no breaking news for everyone because most people in the neighborhood knew that the Mr Tomkey was different. In a time governed by common usage of the television, Sedaris noted that “the only placed that seemed truly different was owned by a man named Tomkey, who did not believe in television.” Sedaris explains how just the mere lack of television set Tomkey apart from the rest of the neighborhood, even to the point where he became known as someone different who did not fit in with the crowd. He then ponders on what it meant to be different when all one lacks is a television, and develops an interest in the life that the “simple” and “uncultured” Tomkeys live. “It was speculated that just as the blind man develops a keener sense of hearing, the family must somehow compensate for their loss.” In this quote he discusses how Tomkeys were looked upon as some sort of “disabled” members of society, not being familiar with such a common part of everyone else’s daily lives.

While reading this article, I felt that although in the modern day, televisions are no longer such a big deal, compared to the described time, things such as personalized computers and cellphones hold nearly the same value. When reading from that perspective, I noticed that it is in fact weird to know someone who does not own televisions or computers or cellphones. I realized that when put into a similar situation as Sedaris, I would have also been extremely interested in the life that someone like Tomkey lives and how disconnected he is, not just from the world but even from someone right in their own neighborhood. And just like Sedaris, I would have also held them in a smaller window, meaning that I would have held less regard for them, just based on the fact that they do not have something that is supposed to be the “norm.” It made me realize just how much we judge others based on what they have and do not have, and that we use people in such situations as scapegoats, in the sense that we tend to pin the label of inferiority on them in order to forget our own incompetence in other areas, such as communication. Sedaris also noted that “because they had no TV, the Tomkeys were forced to talk during dinner.” This quote shows exactly why we tend to label others because communication with family is essential and brings the members closer, but because everyone else is too busy in the television to interact with the people that live in their house, the Tomkeys were being labeled as different for doing something better.

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