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Scott Van Ausdall

Essay #1
Professor Briggs
English 1050-400
How Othering Affects Everyone Living
In todays times, and most all, identity is deeply rooted in two aspects: gender and race.
In familiar settings, white male friends have stated that females have it easier in the work place.
They are assigned easier tasks or are given longer extra time to finish projects, especially the
more attractive or socially outgoing they are. White female friends have stated males have work
situations better because they receive higher wages than most women and have a boys club
atmosphere in the workplace as well as in the workplace. Militarily speaking, all African,
Hispanic, and Asian groups have stated they have to work twice as hard or more to receive the
same kind of treatment as that of any European or Anglo-Saxon person. White friends have
stated that because of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action, jobs are now
determined by the color of skin and gender so that diversity is the goal instead of production,
capitalism, and the right person for the job attitude. One might ask if all groups of people say
that the other is getting more special treatment than the other, then who is actually getting special
treatment and who is not?
With America possibly contending to be counted as the most diverse ethnic pool or
melting pot, one might think why is there such a struggle of job placement or social placement
between men, women, African, Caucasian, Asian, etc. (For purposes of this essay, I will give
term black to all Africans, White for all Europe an Anglo-Saxon). Counting ourselves as

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separate from the other, this phrasing has taken a meaning unto itself. Othering, which
according to Fitzsimmons is the process by which people are made to seem like an outgroup
themwho are different from us (Fitzsimmons 1). This term is possibly and more than
likely used by all groups in all cultures across the globe. One among many, a categorization of
this Muslims and everyone else. With crossfire from all major political news outlets, there is still
debate on what the correct translation of the Quran by which it allegedly states ...all nonbelievers (infidels) are to be killed While some Muslims may see all non-Muslims as infidels
or others, the same can be said of so many other groups such as Catholics, Jews, Hindu,
Buddhists, Lutherans, Greek Orthodox, etc. While othering has appeared to becoming more
mainstream, Frederick Douglass pointed this out in 1852 AD and I quote What is this but the
acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? The manhood of
the slave is conceded. It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with
enactments, forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read and
write To him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national
greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of
liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings,
with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety,
and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is
not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of
these United States at this very hour (Frederick Douglass 466-467). In Douglass speech,
him refers to the black slave and your refers to the white class. With such words during such a
time, the tenacity in his voice could be heard and read with vitriol and rightfully so. Douglass

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was speaking of othering in the oppression of his cultural family and ancestry. Us vs. them. You
vs. me.
Another You vs. me deeply imbedded in American culture is that of the Angel Island and
Ellis Island immigration camps. Interpretation of the term camp is subjective as Audrey Branch
of class writes [the] islands [are] separated from the city so they couldnt go anywhere if they
tried, almost as a prison (Audrey Branch, Week 2 assignment). In most ways, both islands were
exactly like this, tooled for nearly the same living conditions both with a different goal in mind.
Instead of an exact prison and prison sentence and outcome, it was more of a temporary prison
for job placement. Over the years, the last lines of New Colossus, the poem written by Emma
Lazarus reads Give me your tired, your poor, Your Huddled masses yearning to be free, the
wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me
(Lazarus). According to history and Mary Gordon, this practice started to bottleneck post World
War I limiting the number of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe to less than 14
percent of the total quota (Gordon). What started out as exclusion of othering turned into
exactly that. This action wasnt without merit though. The outspoken agenda was to stop the
spread of disease and outbreaks initially but from there turned into a greater selection regiment
against people of certain IQs and disabilities with only more legislation being passed to constrict
immigration.
While creating laws with the use of words through pen and paper, yet another form of
Othering has been recognized in an artistic form: the comic book, i.e., the super-hero. While
growing up, John Jennings and Damian Duffy both discovered at young ages that superheroes
were almost always white with the sidekick or lackey being black. Due to their background in
graphic design, they write The hero concept supersedes race. However, the importance of

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seeing oneself AS a hero cannot be understated (Jennings, Duffy 376) In the simplest of terms,
all they are expressing is the natural feeling and desire to fit like the rest of the crowd and to be
seen as an equal. In American culture, we teach our children at a young age about the Golden
Rule: treat others as you would want others to treat you. At some point in maturity, late teens to
early twenties, this seems to wane and eventually disappear. Everyone is taught this lesson and
yet not all practice this later in life but will try to instill this in their children. The cycle starts
over. Its possible that the Golden Rule has an exception to Othering and that is treat others as
you want others to treat you but really only if they look and act like you.
Its worth pointing out that all of us, in all aspects, relate to at least two merging
identities: white and female, Asian and male, etc. We all belong to at least two representative
parties and should not fully isolate ourselves to one category. With this in mind, we should
operate in the capacity, as we are all capable of doing, to diverge across multiple concepts and
should never fully settle upon one. We recognize differences but globally, internally and
externally, dont appreciate them. We snicker, gossip, talk behind ones backs and create clubs,
exclusive to one group while reclusive to another. Will this practice ever go away? Doubtful.
Will it recede? Possibly. Are there people who recognize Othering and choose not to
participate? Yes, and like any minority group of any kind, they only get bigger, stronger, and
more effective over time. All of us, at some point or another, feel like we are outside the group or
outside the social norm. Each of these experiences doesnt run the course of our life but instead
gets our attention and guides in a new direction. We see, hear, and interpret different because of
these experiences. So who gets special treatment? We all do at some time or another. It doesnt
seem as long when we have it and seems like forever when were not getting it. The question is
as dynamic as the answer.

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References
Douglass, Frederick. "What to The Slave Is The 4th Of July?" 466-467.
Fitzsimmons, Stacey R. "Us, Them, And Others in Management Research." Academy of
Management Review 4015. (2015): 73-75. Business Source Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
George, Diana; Trimbur John. Reading Culture; Contexts for Critical Reading and
Writing. 8th ed. Copyright 2012 by Diana George and John Trimbur.: Pearson, 2011. Print.
Gordon, Mary. More Than Just a Shrine: Paying Homage to the Ghosts of Ellis Island.
431-434.
Jennings, John and Duffy, Damian. Finding Other Heroes. 376-379.
Lazarus, Emma. The New Colossus. Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.

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The rhetorical analysis I will be discussing is John Jennings with Damian Duffys piece
Finding Other Heroes. This article first appeared in the exhibit Other Heroes: African
American Comic Book Creators, Characters, and Archetypes.
Comic books, fiction, action, and deep story structure and backgrounds are all things that
draw me in when literature is being discussed. As stated before, I had difficulties learning how to
read as a child. My mom picked up on this and bought me two series: The Web of Spiderman and
The Spectacular Spiderman. Something that I recognized instantly was the subtly of pathos being
written their subject. They shared stories of growing up and what it felt like to identify with a
fictitious person of another race and what it felt like to lack the superhero of their racial
background in comparisons to equal stature amidst racial status. At times, they write as though
they are still those kids at heart, not being angry but only wanting more, an educational and
imaginative thirst never sated. Opposite Douglass, who spoke in volumes from even the softest,
almost withheld pathos to the most defiant and audacious voice between white and black,
Jennings and Duffy pass of their cultural experience, to them lacking and unequal, so superbly.
On page 376, I noticed the use of the Shaft poster when they talk of Blaxploitation in America.
When looking at the poster, at first I thought his helps the point Duffy and Jennings are trying to
make but as Ive been writing this and constantly looking at the picture, I dont believe so
anymore. I googled all the James Bond posters and have noticed similar themes to several of
those, with a man firing a gun, hanging literally suspended in midair during an action packed
moment. The visual stimulus is there but upon further research, its no more condoning or
condemning than other forms of movies of most genres (This is placed by the authors of our
class book, as I should mention).

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As both are Graphic Design majors, they display ethos alone by their accomplishments.
Comic books to both Duffy and Jennings are not merely their hobbies but their lifes work as
well. Several of the films such as Coffy, Black Caesar, and Super Fly I cannot relate to as I have
never seen them. Blade movies and cartoons I have seen but have never experienced any racial
prejudices expressed in either. Its hard for me to identify when Blade is mentioned but it may
have been different when as a comic book character when he was first introduced.
Something that I think that would have helped relate and argue their point is the movie
Im Gonna Git You Sucka. Produced, directed, written, and starring African American actor
Daman Wayans, the film parodies Blaxploitation movies in America. I think its a true testament
to people of any color or race that Blaxploitation was noticed by the black community and
instead of becoming angry or aggressive about it, one group decided to poke fun of it. Itd be
interesting to hear what both Jennings and Duffy both think of the film and its effects and
impact on culture now.