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Sometimes the hardest thing to do when you look back at a unique situation is to assess its true impact. It is possible to mould the evidence to fit in with whatever narrative you ultimately choose.
Such is the case with the L.A. Riots of 1992: you either believe it was a turning point in the ever-evolving civil rights movement or merely a dark spot in American history where the opportunistic underclass exercised some "aggressive shopping." You can argue either way because you can cherry pick flash points to illuminate your point. The truth is, to view it either way would be simplistic at best because it indeed had elements of both.
Conservative radio host and right-wing firebrand
Rush Limbaugh bluntly said that "the Los Angeles riots were not caused by the
Rodney King verdict. The Los Angeles riots were caused by rioters," thereby removing any possible justification for the senseless acts. While many called the riots a means of "fighting back" against an oppressive system, how much was motivated by the actual Rodney King verdict? How much was motivated by chaos and opportunism? How much has changed since?
There are mixed answers to these questions, and
Mark Ford’s incendiary new VHI documentary film
Uprising: Hip-Hop and the LA riots merely flirts with them.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do when you look back at a unique situation is to assess its true impact. It is possible to mould the evidence to fit in with whatever narrative you ultimately choose.
Such is the case with the L.A. Riots of 1992: you either believe it was a turning point in the ever-evolving civil rights movement or merely a dark spot in American history where the opportunistic underclass exercised some "aggressive shopping." You can argue either way because you can cherry pick flash points to illuminate your point. The truth is, to view it either way would be simplistic at best because it indeed had elements of both.
Conservative radio host and right-wing firebrand Rush Limbaugh bluntly said that "the Los Angeles riots were not caused by the Rodney King verdict. The Los Angeles riots were caused by rioters," thereby removing any possible justification for the senseless acts. While many called the riots a means of "fighting back" against an oppressive system, how much was motivated by the actual Rodney King verdict? How much was motivated by chaos and opportunism? How much has changed since?
There are mixed answers to these questions, and Mark Ford’s incendiary new VHI documentary film Uprising: Hip-Hop and the LA riots merely flirts with them.
