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Los angeles riots 1992
Los angeles riots 1992
Los angeles riots 1992
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During the years 1992 and 2000, a series of developments and events occurred that changed the way America functions. Of these events, two stuck out in the minds of many people as the national news coverage was hard to ignore. These two events that occurred resulted in many changes, Rodney King and the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and the disputed election of 2000. It proves that one person can be the reason behind an event that will cause local and national governments and officials to stop and think of the consequences, both negative and positive.
The Los Angeles riots kicked off on the twenty-ninth day of April 1992 following the acquitting of four officers who had beaten and injured a motorist in the previous year. In the year 1991, California Highway Patrol officers detected Rodney King speeding as he drove in Los Angeles. King then led the officers on a high speed chase for the fear that the court would revoke his probation for a robbery offense he had committed (Gray, 2014). He was caught and ordered out of his car surrounded by several L.A.P.D cars and this led to a struggle between him and the police officers with some of them thinking that he was resisting arrest. One sergeant, Stacey Koon, used a Taser gun to fire at him before they beat him with their buttons mercilessly. He was struck with police batons more than fifty times and suffered eleven fractures besides other injuries. George Holiday, who was a nearby resident, videotaped the ordeal and delivered it to a local television station the following day (CNN Library, 2014). The tape sparked tension between the black Americans and the whites. The blacks saw the beating as racial discrimination against their community. However, no violence was recorded from the blacks du...
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Gray, M. (2014). The L.A. riots: 15 years after Rodney King. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/la_riot/article/0,28804,1614117_1614084_1614831,00.html
Levy, W. (2013). United States presidential election of 2000. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1570192/United-States-presidential-election-of-2000
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Consolidated with authentic research, Twilight provides an important examination of the hidden reasons for the Los Angeles riots. A more drawn out chronicled see additionally uncovers the bigger class strains and the gigantic change of ethnic structure of Los Angeles from 1970 to 1990 that added to the atmosphere that could deliver such a huge scale riot.
This awareness does come with a social outcry, an explosive retaliation, as the stress builds and boils until the injustice cannot be tolerated any longer. The Rodney King incident in Los Angeles is a prime example of social retaliation by the masses. The injustices that occurred paved the way for a group to become enraged and provided an outlet for the social mistreatment of African-American citizens to finally be expressed. The violence that followed would force political officials to respond to an issue that had existed, but was ignored because minority groups’ issues did not fit into a political agenda. However, this form of retaliation cannot thrive and lead to a consensus where terms are fair for both parties. Counterstances stems for violence, and forces violence to become a response. As Anzaldúa expressed, “The possibilities are numerous once we choose to act and not react.” (pg.
The beating of Rodney King from the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991 and the Los Angeles riots resulting from the verdict of the police officers on April 29 through May 5, 1992 are events that will never be forgotten. They both evolve around one incident, but there are two sides of ethical deviance: the LAPD and the citizens involved in the L.A. riots. The incident on March 3, 1991 is an event, which the public across the nation has never witnessed. If it weren’t for the random videotaping of the beating that night, society would never know what truly happened to Rodney King. What was even more disturbing is the mentality the LAPD displayed to the public and the details of how this mentality of policing led up to this particular incident. This type of ethical deviance is something the public has not seen since the civil rights era. Little did Chief Gates, the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the LAPD know what the consequences of their actions would lead to. Moving forward in time to the verdict of those police officers being acquitted of the charges, the public sentiment spiraled into an outrage. The disbelief and shock of the citizens of Los Angeles sparked a mammoth rioting that lasted for six days. The riots led to 53 deaths and the destruction of many building. This is a true but disturbing story uncovering the ethical deviance from the LAPD and the L.A. riots. The two perspectives are from the Rodney King incident are the LAPD and the L.A. riots.
This incident would have produced nothing more than another report for resisting arrest had a bystander, George Holliday, not videotaped the altercation. Holliday then released the footage to the media. LAPD Officers Lawrence Powell, Stacey Koon, Timothy Wind and Theodore Brisino were indicted and charged with assaulting King. Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg ordered a change of venue to suburban Simi Valley, which is a predominantly white suburb of Los Angeles. All officers were subsequently acquitted by a jury comprised of 10 whites, one Hispanic and one Asian, and the African American community responded in a manner far worse than the Watts Riots of 1965. ?While the King beating was tragic, it was just the trigger that released the rage of a community in economic strife and a police department in serious dec...
v[vii] “The Green Papers: Election 2000 Presidential Primary Season.” The Green Papers: Election 2000. 18 Mar. 2000. Online. Internet. 18 Mar. 2000. Available: http://www.thegreenpapers.com/.
The Los Angeles riots were a release of pressure that had build up from the innocent charging of Officer Laurence M. Powell and other Police officers that "Used excessive force" on Rodney King on March 3, 1991, but that was not the only reason.(8) In the words of a singer singing about the riots "They said it was for the black man, they said it was for the Mexican, but not for the white man, but if you look at the streets it wasn't about Rodney King, It's bout this f****d up situation and the f****n' police."(9) Did the riots even have anything to do with King? Was King a minor reason for this to happen, or did King put the level of pressure right over the top? Whatever way you see it, the fact is that on April 29, 1992, anarchy was set free in Los Angeles and before the papers could write about the happenings in this city of angels, the writing on the walls could tell it all.
While the L.A. riots were far larger, and the effects are still being felt, I still feel that the Watts riots had more of an impact. I had known about the riots previously, as I had been interested and looked into it on my own, but I had not looked into the economic at the time. Seeing that there were not any real economic effects from the riot, and in-fact some things may have gotten even worse, changes how I think of riots reported on in the media. Although there has been little in empirical studies done on the impact of the Watts riots, which is odd due to their importance in recent American history, especially now, it is clear that the riots started a trend of misguided racial tension that continues to this day, one that has prolonged the suffering and disenfranchisement of Blacks in the United States. While I do not believe another riot is the answer, researching this riot has shown me that while the riots can be considered important, the reality is that their effects on society are quite minimal, and only the political discussion of the riots is what has lasted to today. The failure of any real reform since then of the treatment of Blacks in general, let alone in the criminal justice world, shows to me a real lack of justice in the United
During the November 2000 presidential elections, two children tried to make daddy proud. First there was Albert Gore Jr. – the son of a powerful and respected senator of Tennessee – who was no stranger to politics and privilege. As a child he attended the prestigious St. Alban’s School and while growing up, it was common to see then Vice President Richard Nixon as a guest at the family dinner table. Then there was George W. Bush – a third-generation politician, with his grandfather a former senator, his brother the governor of Florida, and his father being former president. The November 2000 presidential elections would become the battle of dynastic supremacy. Whose silver spoon was shiniest? In the end, Bush’s spoon was voted most polished (at least by the electoral standards, certainly not by the popular) and was given the presidential seat. The election had many Americans frustrated, echoing columnist Lars-Erik Nelson’s protest, “Bush’s spectacular career rebuts the notion that America has become a meritocracy, in which we are all born equal and then judged upon our intelligence, talent, creativity, and aggressiveness” (qtd. in Maass 10).
Shugart, Matthew. "Elections: The American Process of Selecting a President: A Comparative Perspective." Presidential Studies, 34, 3 (September 2004): 632-656.
...vidge, A. (2013). Hundreds rally statewide against police brutality in wake of Lopez death. Available at: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/hundreds-rally-statewide-against-police-brutality-/nbnmT/
The presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore is the closest race in modern political history. The election could possibly be seen as, “endless” because it took 36 days, over 5 weeks to recount and determine the winner of the state Florida. Determining whether or not the election was legitimate because of this issue is hard to say. However, it is clear that the votes were tampered with and it took too long to figure out who won the state. Al Gore received 540,000 more votes in the popular vote in that nation than Bush, which in this election particularly is a significant number more. The decision allowed Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris's previous certification of George W. Bush as the winner of Florida's 25 electoral
On the night of March 2, 1991, Rodney King and two of his friends decided to go "cruising around looking for some girls." After a few drinks, the three men began cruising around the streets of Los Angeles. At about midnight, King was driving at speeds of up to 115 miles an hour on the freeway. Two California Highway Patrol officers clocked King's car, and began to pursue him. This, however, was not going to stop King. After a 7.8-mile pursuit on freeways and city streets, King was forced to pull over because another vehicle was blocking the street.
As the “Official Response to the Detroit Riot,” the Harlem race riots certainly exceeded the physical and emotional destruction the Detroit riot caused. With “six persons [dead], several hundreds injured, and approximately two million dollars’ worth of property [was] damaged,” the riots proved to be an explosion of frustration violence and contradiction (Capeci xi). With an unclear beginning, this event proved to be a culmination of small situations that spawned from hot tempers, gossip, and neighboring race riots.
In the 1990s a lot of crazy stuff happened such as the OKC bombing, riots in LA, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The OKC bombing in 1995 was one of several terrorist events that happened in the 1990s and also the worst that ever happened on US soil at the time. It killed 168 people, injured over 680 people, and cause an estimated $652 million in damage (history.com). The LA riots aka the Rodney King riots happened in 1992 and caused 53 deaths, 2,000 injuries, and over $1 million in damage. The reason for the riots were that on March 3, 1991, Rodney King was in a high speed chase and when he came out of the car 5 white LAPD officers came over and King was tasered, struck with batons, and tackled to
Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray Robertson. "Racism and Police Brutality In America." Journal of African American Studies 17.4 (2013): 480-505. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.