Fang pre class other

While many point to the election of Barack Obama as a sign racism is done, the theorists (although writing before the election or thought that a black person could be elected) for Wednesday's class clearly demonstrate that there is more at play in our society than just simple ideas about black people. There is a "commodification of Otherness" (M 308) and flaw in American contemporary society that "viewing black people reveals" (handout 627).
In Cornell West's piece, the more interesting of the two I felt, he analyzes the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots or Rodney King riots which if he called them Rodney King riots, I would not have felt so stupid not knowing what he was referencing until after I looked them up. Californians were angry, and rightfully so, over how LAPD officers beat Rodney King and the riots began the day of the verdict causing the National Guard (shown below in LA) to be called in.

West illustrates that the solution is not as simple as "reliev[ing] guilty consciences by supporting public funds directed at 'the problems'" (627) but that there is a problem bigger than simply black people. Seeing black people, or any non-white faction in America, as something that needs to be adapted or morphed to fit into a certain social construct is fundamentally wrong and doesn't put "white anxieties and fears at the center of discussion" (628). Many don't view black people as people but black people which is a huge flaw in the framework of our society. West's plans for the future of America demonstrate a fundamental realization that people are people and regardless of race, there will be problems amongst people but they should be addressed as people problems not black people problems. Hook echoes this in the piece about the "other" and how many view the "other" as something simply different whereas those thoughts are what cause the problems.
Both theorists argue for a change in framework as seeing differences appear to be a bigger problem than seeing sameness.