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I'm sure that everyone, at some point in their life, has felt alienated to a certian respect; either by choice or by force. And indeed this is a subject that I find at the front of my mind, quite simply because I feel, to some degree, alienated at present. I've arrived at this point through a combination of choices I've made and a few that I haven't, but none the less I find myself here. And it was at this seemingly isolated destination that I began to think, "What is alienation?" An action? perhaps, but not so much as a feeling (hence the italicized "feel" above). Allow me to explain this statement.
A physical example
I have pictured in my head a group of stick figures drawn on a white sheet of paper. There is one stick figure by the name of Tim. And for arguements sake, Tim does something that the rest of the group does not agree with; he is erased and redrawn on the opposite side of the paper, a noticeable distance from "the group". What do we have now? We simply have a group of stick men on one side of the paper and a single stick man on the other. Nothing has changed except for the location of Tim; he is still the same as he was a minute ago. His countance does not change until he feels that he is alienated.
A mental example
Same can be said for this one also. Tom again did something that the group didn't like, but instead of putting him on the other side of the page; the group just makes him feel like he's on the other side of the page, though he has not moved. This can be done in a variety of ways, I don't have the time to list each one individually, but I'm sure you can think of a few. The end , however, is that it has to be felt in order for it to be successful.
Who is the group defined as? Who is Tim defined as? There is not a straight forward answer. The group doesn't have to be a group and Tim doesn't have to be singular. These positions can be swapped and Tim could make the entire group feel alienated. Perhaps the closest we could come to an answer is that the "group" must excert some sort of superiorty and that the "Tim" must show a degree compliance or submission.
Eleanour Roosevelt once wrote "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." And it caries so much truth. If you don't let it bother you, you have, infact, turned the tables. I can attest, easier said than done, but that does not change the truth of it. I can not see a way for alienation to occur without feelings being involved. I am open to arguementation on this point, but I don't see how it could be done.
