Us vs. Them

So, who are they? Them? Administration? And why do they control us? Why do we let them control us? Why them vs. us?

Them was a great '50s Sci Fi apocalyptic movie, radioactivity, giant ants, Los Angeles destroyed, and metaphorical for the Red Menace.

But, when we use language like 'them,' when faculty refer to administration in the objective and singular, the writer or speaker separates their humanity from the other. They relinquish responsibility for the collective. They become the 'wicked child' who isolates themselves from the group. They embrace victimhood and then can easily blame the others. Us vs. Them leads to 'it's not our fault,' and 'it's not my problem/job.'

The 'Us vs. Them' perspective is a passive/aggressive way of not having to do the hard work of communication, compromise, understanding conflicting goals, mutually exclusive options, weighing alternatives and accepting and supporting imperfect solutions in an imperfect world, while trying to do the best we can with the information we've got and the resources we can muster, knowing full well that circumstances will change and that there will be unforeseen consequences.

Us vs. Them is a cop out, it's immature, and it's destructive.

It's not them. It's us. I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together.