What's in a name?

Both my first and middle names were "handed down" from my grandmother and my great grandmother. My first name, Madeline, means a woman of Magdala. Magdala refers to a tower on the Sea of Galilee. Personally I connect with this because the Sea of Galilee is in northern Israel. Being Jewish I strongly advocate for Israel. While I have never been it is my dream to finally make the trip one day. I love the fact that my name means from Israel and I wear it as a proud Jew! My middle name, Faye, means confidence, trust, and belief. I connect to this because I have strong beliefs that I have the confidence to stand behind.

There are many times in your life when you experience something as two people; as an individual and as one part of a group. For me the first example that comes to mind is leadership. As a leader you are forced to separate yourself from the group to lead the group and to make decisions independently. However as a good leader you must remember you are part of the group as well and it is crucial to understand how your decisions affect the whole of the group. Using both sides of your personality can combine into a unique perspective.

"Othering"

"Waiting Series" - Wing Young Huie (East 46th St & South 2nd Avenue, Minneapolis, MN)

After first glancing at this picture, you see an image growing more and more common in America; a lone person begging on the side of the road. The person pictured is wearing old flip flops and baggy clothes while holding a folded and torn cardboard sign. Thrown off to the side are a jacket and empty cup. But upon looking closer we learn a lot more about the picture. The sign being carried by this young women calls out for help and notes she "left (a) bad relationship". Paying attention to the sign gives the picture and this woman a story which tugs at your heartstrings and adds more meaning to the idea of a woman begging for money. In addition, by looking closer we begin to understand the difficulty of working alone on the street. For example the place where she is standing is worn down, meaning herself or someone else have been spending long hours, trying to earn money. Long hours outside mean workers are also subject to extreme weather; in this photo there are no shady spots or comfortable places to relax and take a drink of water.

"Othering" is the way in which someone or a group looks down at another individual or group as completely foreign and different. In The Handmaid's Tale, the best example of a group shunned from society are the Handmaids. The Handmaids have no rights of their own and our forced to wear red to further themselves from society. The Handmaids are not liked among the society in Gilead, which is shown through the use of language such as, "scowls at us", "turn aside", and "spits on the sidewalk". (Atwood, 44). There lies a stereotype about Handmaids that makes it easy for any person to treat them in this way. Similarly, in the image above, there are stereotypes about the homeless and beggars. The picture displays this segregation by showing a woman vulnerable and alone on the side of the road; no one to help or to assist her. Society looks down on this group and just like the Handmaids of Gilead and turns these groups into the "others".