We Are The Other...

http://know.wingyounghuie.com/image/20758303616

On Easter Sunday, 2012 this photo, "Easter Sunday, 38th & Chicago Bus Stop" was taken by Wing Young Huie in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jayme, the man shown above, was on his way to the Word of Grace Baptist Church when he was stopped by Wing Young Huie inquired about his life, and then photographed him. In this picture we see the word "salvation" written on a sign. This man was separated from the rest of his family when his mother was sent to a state mental hospital for life following a mental breakdown. After a run of bad luck and mounting gambling debts Jayme was forced into homelessness. At first glance we see a man, sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus however, this man is waiting for much more than a bus. He is waiting for relief from all the hardships of his life. He is literally waiting for salvation. Jayme lives in a Catholic homeless shelter and on Sunday's he leaves that church solely to attend another church. His sign alone speaks to the fact that this man has been waiting on salvation he knows to be coming soon.

Atwood and Wing Young Huie have very different ideas of "othering". Atwood believes that the most efficient method to strip someone of their humanity is to silence their voice. The Handmaids in The Handmaid's Tale have no voice in the society. The only way the communicate is through phrases they were taught such as "Praise be". (Atwood 19). Huie has a slightly different stance. In Jayme's story it is stated that "He told me that people don’t believe him when he says that her face glowed." In Jayme's story we hear about a man who was made an other, not because he has no voice, but because no one hears his voice even when he uses it. While Atwood and Huie may not agree on how to effectively make another person less and human they both agree that the key lies in striping away the voice of the individual, whether it is through silencing that individual or by making their voice have no true meaning.