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.