That is kind of the point or the parable, right? But the parable wasn’t ‘othering’ them, it was showing how their background/race/religion/heritage isn’t what made them ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ it’s their actions that matter.
Society at the time already encouraged people to think of Samaritans as the other and to look down on them. The parable tells of an injured, vulnerable traveler in a time of need. Many Jews, members of high society, etc. (people normally thought of as 'good) walk by and ignore the man. A Samaritan passes by and offers aid. Of all the people who walked by, only the Samaritan is worthy of heaven. The moral is that anyone can be a good person by helping others…the kingdom of heaven is open to all, not just the Jews, and that your actions/the way you live your life is more important than what you call yourself, what tribe you belong to, who your parents are.
It’s one of the most basic messages in the Bible. It is clearly anti-racist. It promotes helping others above all else. And somehow modern Christians seem to miss the point completely.
Right. It’s basically Jesus (or whoever the story teller is from the other perspective) saying, “I know you all are racist. Stop it. Anyone can be a good person. Do better.”
A guess a slightly less charitable interpretation could be: ‘even this evil person can do good once in a while, why aren’t you?’ but aligning with a lot of the other parables I feel like it’s more than likely to be the first one.