When you marry Otherness with your own fantasies about the Other then you emerge with exoticism. In the context of Western civilization, exoticism has meant projecting on to the culturally different peoples of the entire planet outside Europe, depending upon time and place, such Western-derived fantasies as “uninhibited sexuality,” “innocence,” “simplicity,” and so on. While in the final analysis exoticism performs the same function as Otherness, it often masquerades as acceptance of difference, that is “multiculturalism.” For instance, the Thai sex industry, which has its roots in the Vietnam War when U.S. soldiers visited Thailand for so called “R & R” (rest and recreation) and which rests primarily on Western middle-aged male clientele sexually exploiting poor rural Thai girls (and boys), is a perfect example of Western exoticism at work today. Another example, is the portrayal of Africa in films and documentaries as a continent full of wonderfully exotic wild animals—but minus human beings who would spoil the scenery—for the titillation of the Western “couch-potato” adventure seeker. To give yet another example, but one closer to you guys, is the seeming penchant for hip-hop culture among white suburban youth who even as they indulge in this culture, especially its music, continue to view black people from the perspective of Otherness. (Remember: imitation does not mean acceptance.) Question: to what extent was the election of a black president for the first time in the history of this country a function of exoticism?