Wow. "The problem with Rodney King is that they didn't kill him." There's not much to say after that...
Wow. "The problem with Rodney King is that they didn't kill him." There's not much to say after that...
I think quotas, particularly in terms of advancement have caused problems, but they're not unique to LA. You have to love an article that starts Back in the era of Sergeant Joe Friday.... Only in Hollywood.
And the problems lie at the feet of the administrators. The military has no problem recruiting and training minorities.
It's a cynical observation, but based in truth. I had formulated the thought myself, "If they just would have shot him, there never would have been any problem." I don't think this can really be disputed. It would have saved a dozen or so lives, as things turned out.
BTW, ever notice in old TV and movies how the cops just shot (at) anybody who ran away? The opening scene of Vertigo depicts this. I think the change came after the race riots of the sixties. I personally recall a cover story from LIFE magazine after the Newark riots. "The death of Billy Jones(sic), caught in the act of stealing beer." It related how a group of men had a stash of looted beer, and when a police car wheeled up, one of them ran. A cop just blasted him down with a shotgun. This was standard protocol at the time. The reporter was standing right there and even quoted the cop giving his justification, whatever it was. I don't believe there was any official sanction.