Memories of the La Riots (Los Angeles, West Hollywood: to buy, middle school, gated)

[eureka1]

I watched the RK riots on TV from Honolulu,where I was then living. When I saw the Golden Bird on Fairfax - a Black-owned business- being trashed, I realized I would never again live in LA.

[ledabout]

Originally Posted by Shinhiryuu

i came out of church, they said it was gonna be unsafe but we didnt believe it. we were going to pizza hut on washington and main. we got there and it was up in flames... we got on the freeway and took off to rialto (middle of nowhere at that time), and got a hotel, we went to the market in the night only to walk in and the whhhollleee super market stoped and looked at us, they followed us throughout the market, i was a kid at the time and didnt understand why, my mom told me later because we were mexican and they thought we would bring the riots with us. we went back the next day, and my grandfather took my bigger brother, 12 at the tine and gave him a shot gun and climbed onto the corner street market's brother with others and pointed it at any rioters trying to break in. we stayed at my grandparents, and saw the national gaurd hit every other house on the block and pull out adults and kids and handcuffed little kids my age while they patted them down and searched their homes. after that day we didnt have any big business around, mc ds came back to south central when i was in middle school, we ate tacos everyday and bought meat daily from mom and pop shops.
growing up i hold anger to a lot of people today which i didnt when i was young. i understand it now and hold anger to the police, towards the korean lady who shot the black girl in the liqour store, the judge who just gave her probation, rodney king for being drunk, the people who pulled the white man out his car and beat him... they didnt know that their children would grow up in a place where racial tension would be at a height nowhere else in the us has seen, poor whites even in detroit can hang with blacks in south central i never seen a white person. we never knew things like toys r us, or half of the things on the tv. if it wasnt for my parents drivibg us out 45 mins away for decent food i would know nothing other than the ghetto. i feel bad fir my friends, i take them out and they tell me, they never ate a steak or sushi, makes you think a whole generation grew from that...

I saw similar things teaching in Chicago. Obviously there haven't been riots as recently as in LA, but that city is still incredibly segregated--this began back when the housing projects were built and carried over into the inequity of school funding, among other things. Many of the students I had were in high school and had never been out of the neighborhood, let alone out of Chicago. Many of them had not seen Lake Michigan even though they only lived a couple of miles from there. It was jarring how isolated they were, so I can imagine it is similar in any inner-city ghetto situation. People outside of that situation point a lot of fingers but should really be more patient. Many in such a situation do not realize they have options, let alone the opportunity to take advantage of such options.

[Visit a Library]

I wonder why there are never riots in places such as Missoula, Montana.

[Shinhiryuu]

Originally Posted by Visit a Library

I wonder why there are never riots in places such as Missoula, Montana.

cause 5 people arent a riot

[JTGJR]

My wife and I were living in Westchester at the time and had a 1-yr old. As I was leaving on a business trip, the TVs in the terminal were announcing that the verdict would be read in a couple hours- the delay so that LAPD could deploy "just in case."

When I arrived in Dallas a few hours later, areas were already burning. I could not get back on a flight to LAX because "citizens" were shooting at planes on approach. My wife and daughter stayed with neighbors for three days. I was on one of the first flights allowed to land and was almost brought to tears seeing the smoke and destruction on approach to LAX. My wife's commute was on La Cienega to the 10. Not an area that she drove for over a week during/after the riots.

Because I worked in El Segundo at the time, I heard a bunch of reports that El Segundo was sealed off by the police department and no one but proven residents could enter the residential side of the city.

We moved to El Segundo six months later.

[Visit a Library]

Originally Posted by JTGJR

Because I worked in El Segundo at the time, I heard a bunch of reports that El Segundo was sealed off by the police department and no one but proven residents could enter the residential side of the city.

We moved to El Segundo six months later.

I remember hearing rumors about that, but never knew it was actually true. I'm glad there are neighborhoods still like that in the area. Here in West L.A. my wieny neighbors probably wouldn't help me seal off our street and set up a perimeter watch, let alone help me build and set up claymores.

[fisherofsouls]

I remember reading about an LA resident flying into LAX at the height of the rioting. Over the PA: "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will shortly be arriving at Los Angeles. There is widespread disorder across the city and many areas are dangeous to enter. Please exercise extreme caution when leaving the airport." He turns to his neighbor and says: "That's news ???"

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Visit a Library

I remember hearing rumors about that, but never knew it was actually true. I'm glad there are neighborhoods still like that in the area. Here in West L.A. my wieny neighbors probably wouldn't help me seal off our street and set up a perimeter watch, let alone help me build and set up claymores.

Well, in Echo Park there were snipers on top of buildings ready to shoot any potential looters. Some of the cholo guys protected the neighborhood and made sure nothing happened. Reportedly the owners of the liquor stores gave them free booze in exchange for effectively guarding the streets and the businesses and making sure troublemakers were kept out. Fortunately nobody attempted anything as the rioters got scared off - there could have been some very ugly racial incidents if they'd tried to loot and burn there.

Silver Lake had some incidents of vandalism but no looting and burning. IMO, the subsequent rises of Silver Lake and eventually Echo Park had a great deal to do with them being spared from the riots (unlike Hollywood, East Hollywood, Westlake, downtown, etc.)

I worked in West Hollywood at that time and people I worked with were freaked out because there was looting and burning in LAPD areas very close by like on La Brea and on Melrose. However, the Russian locals reassured everyone that there wouldn't be any trouble because the rioters were far more scared of the Russian mob than of any LE agency. (They also made some racist threats which are not appropriate for being repeated on this forum - I'll just say that if the Russians had been messed with like the Koreans had been messed with, things would've gotten even uglier than they were, which is saying A LOT. ) As it was Santa Monica Boulevard was left alone even when there was rioting in adjacent LAPD-patrolled areas. Perhaps it was the LASD, perhaps it was the rioters' fear of the Russians, perhaps it was both.

West L.A., where my parents lived: not affected at all except for minor vandalism. Outside of the curfew and some broken windows (and a fight in Bob's Market on Gateway that led to a fatal shooting), WLA and MV were barely affected. There was some looting and burning in South Robertson and Palms and in a shopping center in Del Rey, but otherwise real heavy rioting on the deeper Westside was confined to Venice (which got pretty nasty by all reports). BHPD, CCPD, and SMPD kept rioting out of their jurisdictions.

The whole thing really made one ashamed to be a human being and from Los Angeles, and no racial or ethnic group really came out looking that good. The LAPD failed on a massive level - withdrawing officers from the earliest disturbances was a horrible idea - but the other departments didn't come out looking as bad. The sheriffs and the departments in the westside independent cities did a better job. It took the National Guard for order to finally be restored. They were much more respectful to the people than the LAPD had ever been. In retrospect, that was the moment when all institutions in Los Angeles failed. It was the capper to a disastrous fifth term for Bradley in which he'd blown his legacy. Gates should have resigned instantly. There was a break in the continuity of the city which has never truly been restored during the city's ups and downs since. The only positive aspect was that property values and rents went down, so once the Clinton boom finally and belatedly hit L.A. in about 1997 it became quite a pleasant place to live for the last years of the century.

Just my 2 cents....

(BTW, I hope what I wrote has not offended anyone of any group. It's just pure opinion and not meant to reflect badly on any particular ethnic or racial group.)

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Shinhiryuu

i read that a lot webt back to kirea and became successful there and they still hold annual get togethers in korea and call it a war.

Many also went to South America, especially Argentina. Buenos Aires got its own Koreatown from Koreans who'd left L.A.

[West of Encino]

Originally Posted by majoun

Well, in Echo Park there were snipers on top of buildings ready to shoot any potential looters. Some of the gang guys protected the neighborhood and made sure nothing happened. Reportedly the owners of the liquor stores gave them free booze in exchange for effectively guarding the streets and the businesses and making sure troublemakers were kept out. Fortunately nobody attempted anything as the rioters got scared off - there could have been some very ugly racial incidents if they'd tried to loot and burn there.

Silver Lake had some incidents of vandalism but no looting and burning. IMO, the subsequent rises of Silver Lake and eventually Echo Park had a great deal to do with them being spared from the riots (unlike Hollywood, East Hollywood, Westlake, downtown, etc.)

I worked in West Hollywood at that time and people I worked with were freaked out because there was looting and burning in LAPD areas very close by like on La Brea and on Melrose. However, the Russian locals reassured everyone that there wouldn't be any trouble because the rioters were far more scared of the Russian mob than of any LE agency. (They also made some racist threats which are not appropriate for being repeated on this forum - I'll just say that if the Russians had been messed with like the Koreans had been messed with, things would've gotten even uglier than they were, which is saying A LOT. ) As it was Santa Monica Boulevard was left alone even when there was rioting in adjacent LAPD-patrolled areas. Perhaps it was the LASD, perhaps it was the rioters' fear of the Russians, perhaps it was both.

West L.A., where my parents lived: not affected at all except for minor vandalism. Outside of the curfew and some broken windows (and a fight in Bob's Market on Gateway that led to a fatal shooting), WLA and MV were barely affected. There was some looting and burning in South Robertson and Palms and in a shopping center in Del Rey, but otherwise real heavy rioting on the deeper Westside was confined to Venice (which got pretty nasty by all reports). BHPD, CCPD, and SMPD kept rioting out of their jurisdictions.

The whole thing really made one ashamed to be a human being and from Los Angeles, and no racial or ethnic group really came out looking that good. The LAPD failed on a massive level - withdrawing officers from the earliest disturbances was a horrible idea - but the other departments didn't come out looking as bad. The sheriffs and the departments in the westside independent cities did a better job. It took the National Guard for order to finally be restored. They were much more respectful to the people than the LAPD had ever been. In retrospect, that was the moment when all institutions in Los Angeles failed. It was the capper to a disastrous fifth term for Bradley in which he'd blown his legacy. Gates should have resigned instantly. There was a break in the continuity of the city which has never truly been restored during the city's ups and downs since. The only positive aspect was that property values and rents went down, so once the Clinton boom finally and belatedly hit L.A. in about 1997 it became quite a pleasant place to live for the last years of the century.

Just my 2 cents....

So the Russian Mafiya behaves just like the Italian Mafia, if not worse? I didn't know Los Angeles still have deadly organized crime syndicates like they did in the old days. So the Mafiya still runs West Hollywood?