Rodney King has died. (Jackson: store, celebrity, assault)

[Bulldogdad]

Rodney King's video taped beating and "turning on" the Internet. Two seminal moments in 1991 that would have a profound paradigm shift on society as we know it. 21 years later those two events are affecting societal change world wide like no other. Would make a interesting Master's thesis, feel free to steal it.

I have no love loss for the man or the LAPD. Hopefully Rodney found peace from his demons.

[ferretkona]

Small time thug. He was arrested many times before and after the beating for many different offenses.

A fact that was not allowed in his big trial was how he had beat a elderly woman with a tire iron days before his arrest. He was already well known by the police. The police was tired of him and disgusted by his beating of a elderly woman.

[Fontucky]

I can't manufacture any sympathy for someone who took cops on a high speed chase through residential streets while impaired, then fought them when they tried to cuff him. Especially after the Hollywood chase the other night that resulted in 3 uninvolved cars being hit by the felon and a young boy being hospitalized after the car he was in ended up on its roof.

Anyone here recognize the following names? Bryant Allen and Freddie Helms. The reasons you don't is because they were King's two passengers who complied and were taken into custody without incident.

[bigdumbgod]

His floppy attempts to slap away cops weren't nearly as savage as the relentless attack by a bunch of armed cops bashing away at him while he's rolling on the ground. Sure, they might have pissed, but that made as much sense as the thugs smashing Reginald Denny with a brick. Pure uncontrolled adrenaline, which we would hope those who are sworn to protect us could control as professionals with the ability to kill anybody instantly. Can't just go "Oops!", like the BART cop.

[Fontucky]

Elect me dictator, and anyone who is responsible for dangerous high speed chases will be summarily beaten after the chase terminates.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

A sad end to a relatively short, quite tragic life. Rodney was not much younger than me.

[IwalkLikeArabbit]

RIP RK... I heard a buddy who saw him surfing. He broke one stereotype black men can't swim, he can... he surfs.. longboard too... So, I'm curious to how he died.

RIP.. the end of a chapter in not only LA but I think the world.... We're entering a new phase of multiculturism and I think he was sort of the symbol of the "chaos" that happens in the beginning of any new relationship... whether between two people, or two entire races.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by IwalkLikeArabbit

I think he was sort of the symbol of the "chaos".

Just as in other riots. The riot was going to happen regardless of the outcome of his trial. The LA county sheriff and LAPD were on alert as they anticipated it.
Look at riots after the Lakers win.

[Mr. Opinionated]

The above implies [jealousyly?] that Los Angeles would be populated only by sociopathic barbarians, as if civil unrest never occurred anywhere else in history. Los Angeles did not invent anarchy, nor do it's citizens specialize in it.

[CA4Now]

"Civil rights attorney Connie Rice saw King a few weeks ago at an event. 'I know that police love to talk about the fact that he was a criminal. But he was not a criminal. He was a broken and sick man, but did his best not to hurt people. He had a real streak of decency.

'He could have poured gasoline on the fire. At a time when he could have said something destructive … he said 'Can we all get along?' When you think about it, there aren't a whole lot of guys I know that would have done that.' "

Rodney King, 47, dies; beating victim was symbol of race relations - latimes.com

"Legacy of a Flawed Martyr" Rodney King's legacy - latimes.com