RIP Rodney King

We didn't know him.  He never did anything spectacular with his life. Yet, everyone in the US, and I believe in most of the Western world, knew his name. The man whose brutal beating by the LAPD  in March 1991, was captured on video and seen all over the world.  The following year, the acquittal of three of the officers involved and a hung jury on the fourth, sparked the infamous riots in Los Angeles in 1992.  As I saw the news of Mr. King's death yesterday, it made me reflect on these events.

Fairly new to the country at the time,  I was shocked to see police officers act the way they did in the video of the beating of Mr. King. These men did anything but keep their promise to uphold the law and serve the public; an utter disgrace to their badge! Later, the news stories from the riots was an eyeopening event to watch unfold, and a tell tale of the still deep rooted racism and social differences in this country. I thought of it as America's dirty laundry on full display for the world to see. Sadly, 53 people lost their lives and many more were injured as whole neighborhoods were burned to the ground. As many others, I watched it in disbelief, and just hoped it would not spread beyond the city of Los Angeles.

20 years later, CNN caught up with Rodney King in their special "Race and Rage" that aired last year. Again, seeing the footage from 1991 and the riots in 1992, all while Mr. King took us back to those terrifying moments, was still shocking. However, Mr. King looked good, and I thought that even though the men who did beat him were not punished, he was compensated for his suffering, and the events definitely did bring some important issues to light. The question is, has anything really changed?

Since 1991, there has been numerous reports of police beatings all over the country; and as technology has become better, and cellphones now are in everyone's pockets, more and more have been caught on camera.  That should obviously be a deterrent for the police officers, shouldn't it?  Maybe, but is that a solution? I say not. Because if the attitudes are still there, the misconceptions and deep seated racism, unfair, and at times unlawful treatment will continue. Without changing our preconceptions based on someone's skin color, nothing will ever change. 

As a mother I work very hard on instilling good values in my children. We talk very openly about racism, wrongful preconceptions, that color never matters, and that there are good and bad people of every race. It is OK to dislike others and not want to be friends with someone, but not based on their color. However,  I have to acknowledge that racism definitely goes both ways. In order for anything to change, every race has to show tolerance and respect for others, not just expect it for themselves. 

As Rodney King's name is in the headlines yet again, I can't help but wish that all he went through that dark March night in 1991, should not be in vain. We may not owe it to him, but we owe it to ourselves to make the changes necessary to not see a repeat of those events.

Keeping the Faith

After having a bit of a downer day today, I ran across a very enlightening article.  Funny how that is; when you need it the most, someone you have never even heard of, says exactly what you needed to hear. 

I classify myself as Christian, but think I have my own quite free interpretation of the Bible. I believe in God, and although I don't attend church on a regular basis, I am very spiritual, and also a true believer in Karma.  Therefore, I do my best to live by the Golden Rule, and treat others how I want to be treated. So then everything should be good, right?  No, not so much.  

In a recent phone conversation (read argument) with my ex, he told me "Karma's a bitch", and I kinda laughed at it,  and told my friends that he should be the one worried, not me. Well, things haven't exactly gone as planned around here, and I have questioned why, when I try so hard to  be good, do bad things happen?

That is exactly what this article spoke about. It referred to the Book of Job in the Bible; the story of Job, who is a righteous and very prosperous man. He does everything according to the book, but as his character and faith in God is being tested; he loses all his possessions, his children are killed, and he is left with nothing. Yet he does not curse God. Instead he endures every test, and still praises the Lord. In the end, Job's health is restored, and he gets a second family and twice the amount of live stock (the story, which I had heard, but never read before, was actually a good read). 

My first thought was that this story was written to show that no matter how bad your situation is, someone else is worse off. But that is not the point.  There will always be someone who has less or endures more pain or hardship than I ever will. The question is, can I keep my integrity in tact even during hard times? Can I find something to be appreciative of, and trust in God even when my life seems to be falling completely apart? And, can I find that certainty in my heart, that living by the Golden Rule, in the end, will always pay off? That's the hard one. There has been quite a few why's and what's coming out of my mouth lately.  "Why does this happen to me?"  "Why can't I seem to get it together to succeed?" "What have I done to deserve this?" "Why can't things ever go the way they are supposed to?" and so on and so forth.

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The article answered those questions by going back to Job.  How no matter what happened, his integrity remained in tact, and he continued to stand up for his rights through it all.  As must we do.  Loosely translated it said, "Every day, man must stand up and fight against their own debasement. When it is at the darkest, we see it best.  In the night a new day is created."

I have learned not to ask "could it get any worse?" because time and time again, the answer has been a loud and clear "yes".  However, there is not a whole lot more walls to tear down around here, and I am praying that this is "the darkest".  It is time to create a new day.

Letting the Bitch Out

I try.  I really do try to be good and nice, do the right things, be a good role model for my kids, a good friend and all that. But seriously, sometimes I really just want to be like the B in Apartment 23.

Acting like Chloe in the TV show, with a whole lot more "me-attitude" than I have ever had, sounds quite nice actually. Maybe not as extreme as her, but it could certainly be refreshing to just do whatever I would like without having to worry about how it may affect anyone else.

Finagle my way around having to do housework or take care of any other responsibilities. Get what I wanted from people without having to give anything of myself.  Have what I want without really having to work for it; do what I want, when I want to...yep, I think I could get used to it.  So much so, that I actually gave some thought to what I would do if I just left my inner bitch in charge for a while.

Sadly (or maybe not), I don't have it in me. Don't get me wrong, I'm no angel.  If I ever have to confess to all the things I am not so proud of, the person listening better have some time on his hands. But my spouts of bitchiness never lasts long. Usually just long enough for me to do something stupid that Karma gets wind of, and smacks me upside the head with. Never works, which really tends to piss me off, because when I am nice; do what I am "supposed" to, and treat others like I want to be treated, there seems to be quite a few that stay out of Karma's radar....there should really be a report button.

Now that dropping the kids off at the dad's house with a "handle it" is not really an option; neither is my few week road trip all by myself (that is where the bitch inside was really going to get full control) to "find myself", nor my rather dark moment thoughts of messing with people's relationships because they just are not right for each other (who the hell am I to decide?) or any other great ideas stemming from the inner bitch.  I guess in the long run, being good and nice and all that, really is what pays off.  So on this Monday morning,  I'm giving it a new try. Here's to a great week!  Hopefully Karma is paying attention this time.