My heart is literally grieved as I watch events unfold in Ferguson MO. I have an all too familiar sick feeling in the pit of my stomach – because the images on TV bring back memories of the Los Angeles Riots; which I personally experienced in 1992.
Looter running past building that was burned by rioters - LA Riots, April 1992
The LA Riots broke out when the mostly white officers (and at least one black officer) were videotaped beating Rodney King, a Black-American man, following a high-speed police pursuit. As a citizen living in Southern California, and working in and around downtown Los Angeles as an employee for the Los Angeles Times; these events had a profound and deeply troubling effect on me.
The differences in the two events are clear. The evidence in
the Rodney King case clearly showed that the police went too far in their
continual beating of King after he was subdued and on the ground. I,
along with many of my friends and family, were deeply disturbed when the police
officers in the Rodney King Beating Case were acquitted. The physical and
forensic evidence in the Rodney King case left many of us, myself included,
feeling that justice was not served. The apparent evidence in the Ferguson event,
does support a case that officer Wilson had to defend himself, and was legally permitted to do so.
The heartbreaking and mind boggling facts, is that anyone
would use either of these cases to incite riots – to loot, burn and destroy their
own communities.
Rebuilding Ferguson? Los Angeles is a Good Historical Indicator.
Despite the fact that it was anger toward whites and the
police that erupted in Los Angeles in 1992, it was primarily Korean owned local business
that were destroyed, along with various national chains and locally owned
franchise businesses. Twenty-plus years later; the neighborhood has simply never recovered,
and the local residents remain under-served by the local businesses, and schools
they need.
Korean Business Owner Protecting His Business from Rioters - LA, April 1992
In LA, after three days of arson and looting, 3,767 buildings were burned with over $1 billion in property damage. Donations were given to help with food and medicine and the office of State Senator Diane E. Watson provided shovels and brooms as racially mixed volunteers from all over the community helped clean-up. 13,000 police and troops patrolled the area protecting gas stations and food stores that were not affected by the looting, which were able to reopen along with other areas such as the Universal Studios tour, dance halls, and bars.
Many
organizations stepped forward to rebuild Los Angeles; South Central's Operation
Hope and Koreatown's Saigu and KCCD (Korean Churches for Community
Development), all raised millions to repair destruction and improve economic
development. President George H.W. Bush signed a declaration of disaster; which
activated Federal relief efforts for the victims of the looting and arson which
included grants and low-cost loans to cover their property losses. The Rebuild
LA program promised $6 billion in private investment to create 74,000 jobs;
which unfortunately never came to fruition.
The majority of the local stores were never rebuilt because, even though store owners had great desire to rebuild, they had trouble getting loans; business owners and investors were naturally discouraged in rebuilding and planting businesses because they considered the risk in the local community too high. So of course this lack of growth prevented increased employment; and the circumstances for the local resident just became worse. Few of the rebuilding plans came to be because business investors as well as the community members rejected South Central L.A.
The majority of the local stores were never rebuilt because, even though store owners had great desire to rebuild, they had trouble getting loans; business owners and investors were naturally discouraged in rebuilding and planting businesses because they considered the risk in the local community too high. So of course this lack of growth prevented increased employment; and the circumstances for the local resident just became worse. Few of the rebuilding plans came to be because business investors as well as the community members rejected South Central L.A.
The members of any community, Ferguson or otherwise, do
themselves no favors by burning and destroying the local businesses that
provide them services and jobs. One year after the LA Riots fewer than one in four
damaged or destroyed businesses reopened, according to the survey conducted by
the Korean-American Inter-Agency Council. According to a Los Angeles Times
survey conducted eleven months after the riots, almost 40% of Korean-Americans
said they were thinking of leaving Los Angeles.
The bottom line – the events in Ferguson today have stirred
up grief and even the feelings of fear that I experienced living in Los Angeles
in 1992. The racial hatred in the community was completely palpable. Nothing
can or will ever excuse such anarchy and the personal actions of destruction and violence. The rioters are
simply not justified; which is something that few elected officials, including President Obama have the courage to emphasis.
A QuikTrip Convenience Store in Ferguson - Franchise says they will not risk reopening.
QuikTrip closed 4 local area stores immediately after the recent riots in Ferguson, MO
QuikTrip closed 4 local area stores immediately after the recent riots in Ferguson, MO
Twenty years later; much of the immediate community where
the LA Riots occurred is far worse off now than it was then. The local poverty
is worse, the schools are worse, and the local residents remain under-served - fewer business means fewer jobs and less access to groceries, gas stations, physicians and other essential services.
The rioters in Ferguson will most likely create the same outcome for the local
community they are today destroying physically. Corporations, private investors and entrepreneurs
will not risk future investment in Ferguson area businesses.
The hate filled-rioters are in the process of creating a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Local Business Owner - Natalie DuBose crying after looters
vandalized
her cake store to get "justice" for Michael Brown
Links &
Resources
QuikTrip closes 4 Ferguson area stores
20 Years Later: Legacies of the Los Angeles Riots
1992 Los Angeles riots – Wikipedia
Why Officer Darren
Wilson wasn't indicted
A cop may use lethal force when he or she “reasonably
believes that the action is in defense of human life, including the officer's
own life” and in the Ferguson incident, that’s precisely what happened
Video - Mike
Brown's Mom Incites a Riot: You Mother f*%ckers Think this is a Joke!
Video - President Obama gives lip service to rioters while he
lectures local law enforcement to be careful in how they treat the local
Ferguson community. Lots of talk about hurt feelings, but no emphasis on
personal responsibility to themselves and their community.
President Obama's
full statement on Ferguson grand jury decision
Ferguson looting: My
bakery's window is busted
Natalie Dubose has no choice but to carry on, one day after
rioters smashed the windows of her Ferguson bakery.
Video -‘Burn This Bi**h Down!’: Mike Brown’s Step-Dad Caught on Vid
Inciting Violence, and Here’s How the Family Attorney Responded
Video - Brown family attorney responds to step-dad's 'burn this
bitch down' comment
If Al Sharpton had no intention for his rhetoric to
contribute to raw emotions and violence; then why was he agitating the local
community for the last month?
