I remember those riots - I was only 12-13 at the time, it actually scared me even at that young age at how quickly society can disintegrate, I believe that no excessive use of police force (in reference to the terrible thing that happened to Rodney King), hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes etc. - none of them can bring a civilization down, the destruction of Pompeii did not bring down Rome (it lasted another 400 years in fact), it is the crumbling social structures from within a society that can do that - seeing what I saw on TV all week, Western Civilization has only a few decades to go....
Sorry for getting a bit heavy there, ladies!!
Don't worry about small stuff, Irish.
I was in the middle of it (the Crenshaw District in LA), and though I had a .357 and knew how to use it, I hoped I wouldn't have to. I had no phone and no car at the time, so it was VERY scary for me.
I had gone for a job interview at LAX that day, and "something" told me to forget the interview and go home. I did.
I walked in the house and turned on the TV and the rest is history.
;o]