By definition it (othered) is defined as... “verb, to view or treat (a person or group of people) as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself.”

Growing up in Southern Appalachia, he (Colby Deitz), was no stranger to feeling othered by the bulk of society. Whether it was was his thick, slow-going, country accent, or odd approach to day to day life…Or maybe it was the symptoms of being indoctrinated by the Christian faith as a young child. Whatever it was, he always felt a little removed. As he stumbles into his early thirties, he finds himself more and more detached from his home in the North Carolina stretch of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. Now working as a songwriter in Nashville TN, he reminisces on his childhood in the wilderness that is Southern Appalachia. He remembers the lessons learned by growing up poor and watching everyone fight a losing battle against a world that seemed to forget about them. He watched people he cared about break their bodies and their minds working for a country that ultimately would do nothing more than get them addicted to pills and do nothing as their families were torn apart in the aftermath. He watched his community lose countless lives to a man-made problem that seemed totally fixable. Yet, nobody came. Nobody did anything to help. They just kept using these people to do the mandatory work that nobody else in the country wanted to do. People from Southern Appalachia are often considered “hillbillies, backward, uneducated, poor, drug-addicted, and less-than”… When really they are some of the most resilient, self-sufficient, and incredibly hardworking people on the planet. There’s a lot of good in that part of the country; even if the US money machine wants you to think otherwise.

In a way, we are all othered by the system we were born into. We’re all considerably closer to being homeless than we ever are to having a billion dollars… We’re all considered “intrinsically different from and alien” to the ruling class of the world we were thrusted into at birth. We’re doomed from the start, so our best bet of making it through this life intact is with one another. It’s time to truly find common ground amongst ourselves and put an end to all this madness. People all over the world are hurting for no other reason than greed.

Welcome to The OTHER’d; we’re glad you’re here.