LA 92 is a National Geographic documentary
covering the devastating Los Angeles riots that left 63 dead and over
2,000 injured, with more than $1 billion of damage done to properties
across LA county between April 29th and May 4th 1992. The
riots began as a response to the acquittal of 4 LAPD officers accused of
excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King, and the leniency in
judgement afforded to a Korean shop owner who shot and killed a 16-year-old
girl, Latasha Harlins, whom she wrongly suspected of attempting to rob her. The
systematic and institutionalised racism this revealed in the heart of the
justice system sparked angry protests, which swiftly degenerated into violent
racially-motivated attacks against residents of Koreatown and white motorists
on the intersection of Florence and Normandie, and widespread looting across
LA. The chaos continued for 6 days, with the LAPD seemingly abandoning Koreatown
in order to
safeguard predominantly white and wealthy neighbourhoods in Beverly Hills and
West Hollywood, before the California National Guard was called in to
restore order.
Just as the documentary draws parallels between the 1992
riots and the 1965
Watts Rebellion, which saw 34 killed and $40 million in damage, it is difficult not
to compare the spark of the 1992 unrest to the shooting of Michael
Brown and strangulation
of Eric Garner, both at the hands of US law enforcement, that catalysed the
Black Lives Matter movement into a
global campaign to tackle systemic racism towards black people in 2014. The
antagonistic relationship between law enforcement and ethnic minorities in the
US shows little sign of abating. More recently, the
imprisoning and separation of families at the US border marks just the
latest human rights violation committed under the guise of justice in the
United States. As a news report cited in the documentary states: racism in the
US is as American as apple pie.
But by the 4th May 1992 the LA riots were not a
principled reaction to an unjust system, but an insight into the depravity of the
worst of our human condition. As victims are dragged from their cars by mobs of
angry young men and beaten – in some cases to death – or forced to watch as their stores
and homes are burned to the ground, the viewer is forced to confront not just
the reality of a system built on racism and division, but the depths of humanity's capacity for violence when pushed to breaking point. At one point, a man stood on the
Hollywood Hills, overlooking the burning city below, points out that this wasn’t
just about racial prejudice or injustice, but that people of all races were
rioting because of economic frustrations and a sense that they had been
forgotten by the political system.
In an age when our politics is becoming more divisive
across the world and where people of all social classes, religions, and
ethnicities are again feeling as though they are not being listened to, we
should take note of the cocktail of conditions that led to this explosion in LA
in 1992. Where does inequality, injustice, and pent-up frustration eventually
lead? Can this be channelled into peaceful, productive protest rather than the
senseless violence showcased in LA 92? Is history destined to repeat itself
again and again?
To prevent the repetition of a destructive cycle that keeps
people separated by race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexuality, we should
pay close attention to the message of hope that also runs through LA 92.
It wasn't the police or the national guard that ended the
violence and restored order to LA. It wasn't the President. It was the people.
Ordinary citizens with their brooms and their bin bags and their messages of
peace and reconciliation, who came out to clean up the mess in a show of
solidarity. People of all races, ages, religions. Defiant in the face of the
violence, they worked together to restore their communities, to reject the divisive
identity politics that had fuelled the madness of a week of chaos. They were
not people in positions of power, and they had little to gain from standing up
against a mob that had seemingly lost its mind. They put themselves at risk to
try to mend a broken community. And they prevailed.
When violence occurs and horror seems to overwhelm the
situation, look for the leaders. Look for those protesting against the tide,
like the older man yelling at the looters that what they're doing isn't right,
or the congresswoman regaining control of an angry crowd outside the post
office during the riots by asking them politely to “work with her”. Or Rodney King himself, overcoming his own fear and shame at what had happened to plead
for the violence to stop. Look for those who are trying to do good, even when
everything around them is bad. They are always there. And they will bring us
all back from the brink, usually with no support, no sense of self
preservation, and no recognition.
LA 92 left me feeling shocked, angry, and sick to my
stomach. But it also gave a glimpse of hope for how people are able to overcome our
differences and reject prejudice, injustice, and violence in favour of the
search for a better world together. We are a long way from a just, egalitarian, and
peaceful utopia. But we will keep trying to find our way there.
Rodney King, in his emotional and powerful plea
for calm towards the end of the riots, said it best:
"People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get
along?
We're all stuck here for a while, let's try to work it out.”
LA 92 is available to
watch on Netflix.
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