RIP Rodney King

it's such a messy topic. Rodney King was by most accounts a bad apple. He got a beatdown that we all know was wrong but most of us know is to be expected and the fallout was on the one hand totally disturbing and on another a catalyst for necessary change.
If you isolate the incident I don't see it as a racist beating - I agree with the posters who understand that abuse of power is inevitable even if it is wrong - and believe that any person of any race would have been subject to the same treatment. But this case was extraordinary. The injustice toward blacks wasn't about cases like this (imo) but more about a presumption of guilt for everyday, law abiding black citizens who were harassed for minor traffic violations. I don't give a **** about RK taking a beating for this but I do care that for years decent people were subject to a different standard of justice and I think that's what the whole thing was about - the mistreatment of the good people (though I also think the whole thing was hijacked by opportunists).

I would appreciate a "jefe" for my well thought out post.
 
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Soft spot in my heart for that movie. I still gaze at the horizon from time to time hoping to see the sequel coming into shore.
 
I will admit to being that way at times and should not have. I don't like to talk about it much but I have had to see some sketchy things in that city. I have 2 cousins doing life in the penal system and one that died in it. They were involved in gangs and very sordid activities. They would take me around to places like the beach, Six Stabs Tragic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm and such since my dad would not.

I had to witness them getting out of the car a few times to um, take care of things. I have seen them grab a guy, put him in the trunk and not come back for a few hours with cars freshly waahed including the trunk area still dripping of water. Car gets new interior, carpeting and everything within a week. It's like they had the local upholstery shop on retainer or something. It was freaky.

It was too much at times to witness and makes movies on the big screen surreal. I was not an O.G., I didn't have it in me, just didn't. But there are some real pieces of work on that side of the family for sure and because of it, I had or got to witness parts of the city and see things most don't.

I don't know if I am wiser because of it or unlucky. Depends on the day.
 
I think I have to concede that you did see the seedier side of LA compared to my stay there.

To the people who keep bringing up that history has nothing to do with the Rodney King case, you are missing the point.

History indicates that you must be careful before dismissing race as an issue in a case like the King beating. To be so dismissive of racism as a possibility is, as I state above, to embrace a guess. That's what Hooklahoma did and he has never given any evidence that he is doing anything other than guessing. Show me evidence. I don't care about rank guesses.

I don't assert that race necessarily was involved, I merely claim you can't dismiss it out of hand. I'll not bother repeating this point again.
 
Surprise! Turns out that despite his $3.8 million settlement, he didn't have any money and his 3 daughters can't come up with the money to bury him.

The Link
 
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