Othering Our Society

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(The picture didn't have a description,  nor did it allow me to copy and paste the picture. So here is a hyperlink for the picture I used for my blog post!)

Picture this scenario in your mind, just for a moment. You wake up one morning and look at yourself in the mirror. You realize that you need a haircut so you decide to head over to the local barber shop to get a trim. As you walk into the barber shop, you see a man, most likely middle-aged, getting a haircut. You notice the content he has on his face as the barber, in deep focus, buzzes each little follicle of hair off of his head, one by one. You raise an opinion in your head of how the barber is buzzing his hair off and you then form your own opinion as to whether or not the work the barber is doing on the man’s head is nicely done. As you’re walking past, you then hesitate. Before continuing your walk, you stop and notice the sign the man is holding. You read the sign and speak the words aloud in your head, “I am a far minded person. I wish the world would do the same”. You ponder on this quote and you think not of the reason the man is holding the sign, but you think of the reason as to why the sign he is holding has those two sentences scrawled onto it. You take a few moments to yourself to think on it, and continue your walk to an open chair, because you know you will probably never see that specific man, holding that specific sign, with those specific words scrawled onto it, ever again. 

Now go through the entire scenario again and actually focus on the man and the words on the sign he is holding. It is almost as if he is a representation of an everyday "other". An average "other" getting a haircut and not having the ability to speak his mind, so he is left to writing it on a chalk board and wearing it on his chest. "I am a far minded person. I wish the world would do the same". You realize that this quote is not only representing his loss of the ability to speak his mind, but the fact that someone who isn't able to speak their mind sure has a lot to offer the world with their words. The man's sign is saying I may not be talking, but that doesn't mean I don't have anything to say. At least that is what you infer the man is trying to tell people reading the sign. You realize how amazing it is to see the way society restricts some of the most wise and understanding people in the world, and gives them the label "others" just because they don't necessarily always have the same opinion as we do. We give these people titles in society to make them feel like outsiders and useless to the world so we can make ourselves seem better than we really are. We are no better than anyone if we continue to give people labels just because we aren't always on the same page with each other. If we continue to single people out and alienate them, we will never be able to see outside of our own perspectives. In other words, well never know color in world that is just white and black.

Huie and Atwood both show their perspective of the “others” in similar ways. They make the people feel and seem bigger than they truly feel. They give them a reason to speak up and speak their mind. They give them not only ears to listen, or a mouth to speak, but a heart to tell them what to say, and a brain to tell them when to say it. When they are given the opportunity to speak their mind, they speak as they please. They give us insight to how they are feeling and what their opinions are of certain things. They help us see through perspectives other than our own, even if they aren’t as big as the ones we view society through on a daily basis. They give us an insight on the troubles and tribulations they have faced, but also the pleasant memories and experiences they’ve shared with others.  In The Handmaid’s Tale they are considered the “others”, but in our society, they are viewed as “friends”, “family”,  “us”, “we”, “the people”. We are far minded people because we are shown what it is like to be so far from hope, that we might as well give in and give up. We are far minded people not because we don’t stand out above everybody, but because we are able to see through the world through perspectives farther than our eyes can even manage to see. They may be called the “others”, but who they are, and what they have to offer the world, is far more important and meaningful than the societal labels given to them.