(Su)bjectified?

In Martin Buber's classic work I and Thou he describes the negative effects of having a relationship where someone becomes objectified.  He suggests that there is a radical distinction between relationships in which we view the "other" as either a subject or an object.  To define these relationships he uses the phrases "I-Thou" relationships vs. "I-it" types.  For Buber, an "I-it" relationship takes place when we understand the person we are relating to as a passive object, an "I-Thou" relationship takes place when we view them as an active subject.  In other words we treat some people like they are our brothers, and we treat some people like they are toasters.

What relationships in your life are "I-it" when they should be "I-Thou"?

Which term would you use to describe your relationship to God?

In a recent guest post on Rachel Held Evans' blog, Laura Ziesel describes her journey through relating to others within a church community, as a journey of learning to value people beyond her (mis)perceptions of them.  Each of us has this issue as we have all fallen victims of the human tendency to judge and be judged by our worst moment or simply one perspective that we hold.  In my own life I have judged others simply on their opinion on their views of scripture or vision of social justice.  The issue is that when we judge someone in this way, when we categorize them based on one opinion they might have, we are in turn objectifying them.  In Buber's language we are placing them into an "I-it" box from which they cannot escape.  The problem with the "I-it" relationship is that people who we view in a pre-determined way, as passive objects, never have the opportunity to be active subjects.  They never have the opportunity to shape us or to open our eyes to how much more they have to offer than our quick judgement of them from one small piece of who they are.

Who do we objectify in our society?

Certainly our society is full of objectification, from demonizing members of other political parties to the long standing practice of viewing members of the other genders as existing for our pleasure.  As a foster/adoptive parent I have become more sensitive to how children have often been denigrated to mere objects of the state, birth families and society in general.  In our experience we have seen how kids are seen less as persons and more as property at times.

In our book The Samaritan Project we attempt to move ourselves outside of the "normal" perspectives on groups of people that we have too often closed off in a box.  Maybe its a different ethinc group, different gender or a different age group that we have objectified.  In any case, placing these persons into an "I-it" box,  a box where your relationship looks similar to the one you have with your toaster, is never the end that the great "I am" ever had in mind.  Our hope is that through this journey people can move from their normal circles of concern to a place where we begin to view others as the "subjects" that God created them to be.

What person today will you attempt to move from an "I-it" relationship to an "I-Thou" one?

Who do you need to (su)bjectify in your own life?