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Word of the Day: Ostracize
Kids ostracize each other often.
Spouses do it, too, from time to time.
Even professionals working in offices or different environments are ostracized by their co-workers.
To ostracize someone means to avoid them intentionally or to exclude them from participating in group activities.
At the extreme end of the scale, it’s a form of bullying.
In a minor sense, it can be a way of making a point of or avoiding conflict.
Each of us has been a kid.
We’ve all had to struggle through the process of making friends and learning how to deal with difficult situations and interpersonal difficulties.
Unfortunately, children can be cruel sometimes.
When cruel, they tend to ignore or ostracize other kids who are different or unique in some way.
Nerdy, quiet, fat, and kids with any visual uniqueness that doesn’t fit the norm get picked on and teased.
In extreme cases, they are excluded from the group and ostracized as persona non grata.
They can be treated as if they are somehow dirty or have a disease just because they are different.
This is how kids can be cruel.
With couples in a romantic relationship, getting the cold shoulder can be a form of ostracization.
If one partner refuses to speak to the other, they can ostracise that person.
People are social creatures.
We crave companionship and togetherness.
If we are denied this, we suffer.
Being ignored can be worse than having someone yell at you.
At least when someone screams at you, they are paying attention to you; there is social interaction.
Co-workers ostracize each other, too.
Workers can be ostracized for body odour issues or because their ethnic lunch has an aroma that others think is unpleasant.
Sometimes, instead of discussing an issue, people ignore or ostracize the other person.
These days, the common consensus is that discussion is better than ostracization.
Only through conversation can problems be worked out.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 63.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.