We are the Other

http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p709406511/e74051bc3

In this picture we see two young adults, both of which are African-American both of their signs speak to me on a very personal level. The young man’s sign shows the assumptions other people have no doubtfully made of him, because of his race and his size. It shows that someone would see him and despite the fact that they know nothing about the young man, they would automatically assume he is a threat. The young female has a sign that says "pull your pants up, stay out of the wrong places and be more careful", since I grew up black I know that this is more than likely something her mother or father said to her before leaving the house. Those words will resonate with some and they will fly straight over others heads. They arent just directions, they are more words about safety. This picture was taken sometime in 2012-2013, the two are dressed in all red; a symbol of violence and is typically associated with blood, they both have a hood or a hat on which is seen as being thuggish. If you wanted to read into the hoods even more, in 2012 Trayvon Martin was shot and killed his killer said the fact that he was wearing a hood and had his hands in his pockets made it seem like he was a threat. In reality what they are wearing would automatically put them into a category with all the thugs and associate them with being in a gang. Even if that isn’t the case, people feel threatened by POC.

Margret Atwood and Young Huie both present the concept of “othering” in very similar ways.  One way is through language, Atwood does more of this she strips people of their identity by calling them Unwomen (elderly women, traitors and women who can’t reproduce), Unbabies (deformed children) and Gender traitors (gay men). Without an identity, you are automatically classified as an “othering”  you are now something no one talks or thinks about, especially in Gilead. Huie uses language with his signs, the signs show the assumptions and the language used when talking to young black adults. The young man’s sign shows that his identity was preconceived by strangers before they even knew him. The young female’s sign shows the language black adults use when raising their children. Multiple variations of this spiel have been spoken by multiple black adults. It shows that as children we are identified as threats. Huie shows that black people are considered “otherings” simply for our skin color through his signs.