What I'll Take Away

I have always thought that the way space was arranged was the result of many different visions colliding into one another. I assumed this should be the case with Los Angeles especially because it is known to be so diverse. It is known for its sprawl, and I had thought that all of that space would allow various groups to develop how they wished to. I acknowledge that was a pretty naïve idea. I had thought that of course, one group could, and probably did have more influence than the others. But I just had no idea that a vision of white superiority could be executed so efficiently and in so many ways. Space and race are so tightly braided together in Los Angeles it is impossible to study one without the other. This is most interesting because this is not an issue of the past. Until this class, I never heard about the FHA policies that pretty much blocked people of color from white neighborhoods. I knew nothing of slum clearance or racist covenants. I guess I never realized that the racism of the past that shaped space was so blatant and backed by policy.
Before I came here for school, I had always thought that because Los Angeles was diverse, it meant that everyone was mixed up pretty much randomly within the space. I didn’t realize that the communities are really broken up by race. Yes, Los Angeles is diverse. But it is only diverse because there are various pockets of races/ethnicities.
What really interested me at the beginning of the year was the notion that Los Angeles has romanticized its Mexican roots, culture, and people. the outright police brutality inflicted on many of the African American community, this façade may not turn too many heads. It doesn’t call attention to itself, and is so sly because it tries to pass itself off for celebration of diversity. I feel like I can identify with this because it is very similar to the commoditization of the Hawaiian culture back in Hawaii where I’m from. I really appreciated Amy’s post about her spring break visit there because she seemed so aware. When people visit the islands, they go to staged luaus and buy fake leis from the tourist shops in Waikiki. And yet, I bet most of them do not encounter many, if not any Native Hawaiians.