"Can't we all just get along?"
I am sure that Rodney King, the perceived victim of police brutality in the So Cal exurb of Simi Valley was thinking these words to himself while he was beaten by the officers whose actions were caught on tape, screened before a jury, yet led to the aquittal of the four police officers and the infamous LA Riots.
Rodney King received a substantial civil award from the city following the "Not Guilty" verdict, yet he squandered all of the money, and he has endured further run-ins with the law.
Playing victim does not make one a victor, nor does recovery spring forth from imputing justice against the state. Rodney King''s legacy of dysfunction after the city's turmoil in 1992 should be a lesson to all. Hard times do not make a man any better. It is his response, his willingness to change and grow from within that determines whether a man will prosper or despair in this life.
King's new memoir The Riot Within may move some people to compassion, perhaps even to fork over a few dollars. But is the man remade from within? The City of Los Angeles has most likely endure a more comprehensive restoration than the man whosed victimized status set off violent rage for weeks on end.
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