Round 2?

The 1992 Los Angeles riots occurred almost 30 years ago. That means the big issues that surrounded it are no longer of concern to us, right? Wrong. Just because it’s been decades since the riots took place doesn’t mean the central issues of it have been resolved. In fact, it can be argued that the riots have ignited the continuity of past issues.

            The most obvious issue with the riots was racism, which is what ultimately sparked them. The police officers who senselessly beat Rodney King for no reason are the ones responsible for the riots. The policemen were all white, well-off men who decided to beat up a black man without a valid reason. It’s obvious that they held resentment towards African Americans because of the excessive force they used on King. Today, there are still instances of this type of police brutality happening. One well-known incident was with Philando Castile that occurred not too long ago. He was pulled over by a cop and when he reached for his ID, the officer shot him multiple times because he thought Castile was reaching for a gun. Not only was it unnecessary that Castile be shot, but it was also unnecessary that he be pulled over in the first place. He was obeying the laws of the road when the cop decided he needed to be pulled over. Although he was not beat like King, he was wrongfully judged, which led to his death. It’s clear that Castile was being racially profiled by the officer because not only was there no valid reason for him to be pulled over, but he also lost his life when he shouldn’t have.

            Another unwarranted incident that occurred recently was Trayvon Martin’s premature death. Martin was walking home form a store when he was spotted by Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain, who called 911 because he believed Martin looked suspicious. After being told not to do anything and wait for authorities, Zimmerman decided to go after Martin, which led to an altercation between the two, and Martin’s death. Zimmerman has not been charged and was let go after he was arrested. Zimmerman never gave a reason as to why he believed Martin was suspicious, leaving us to assume that it was because Martin was black, and Zimmerman isn’t. Zimmerman was also instructed not to pursue Martin, yet he did. Why? This again demonstrates the racial profiling that led to the premature death of yet another African American man.

            It appears that incidents similar to that of King’s still take place today. The Castile and Martin incidents seem to be worse than King’s since they resulted in death. They accurately exemplify Gilmore’s definition of racism: “structured and extralegal production and exploitation of group differentiated vulnerability to premature death.” Because incidents like King’s have not only continued, but have fatal results, does this mean we should be expecting another round of the 1992 riots?

-Julia San Juan

Berman, Mark. “What the Police Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Said about the Shooting.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 June 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/post nation/wp/2017/06/21/what-the-police-officer-who-shot-philando-castile-said-about-the-shooting/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.673c320452c7.

Blow, Charles M. “The Curious Case of Trayvon Martin.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Mar. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/opinion/blow-the-curious-case-of-trayvon-martin.html.