Protests, riots mark the nation

Twenty-five years ago Los Angeles exploded in riots. Most of the violence was in the south-central part of the city, a predominantly black, low income area.

Residents had long objected to the roughshod methods of the police. Tensions had been particularly high over the shooting of a black girl by a Korean storekeeper. The well publicized beating of Rodney King by police kept those tensions at boiling point.

Then, the officers accused of beating King were found innocent.

That was enough for the city to explode.

For hours, at the height of the riot, the police withdrew. Looters ran rampant. Innocent people were attacked. Property was destroyed.

The police were frozen and unable to determine how to respond.

It took President George Bush to call in the national guard and regular Army units to quell the violence.

Many of the stores in south-central Los Angeles were destroyed. Firefighters needed police protection to fight the many blazes. The riots ended the careers of both the mayor and chief of police.

Riots are not new. America has been marked with riots throughout its history. From the draft riots of the Civil War to more recent ones, such as the Vietnam protest riots, the nationwide protests and riots of 1968 and the more recent riots after police shootings, unrest in the cities is not unknown.

Now, a new spate of rioting has hit the country and the rest of the world. It is widespread. They were organized to coincide with May Day.

In the past, violent civil disobedience was most often centered on one cause or event.

This current round is less specific.

Rioters are protesting racism, immigration policies, gender and economic inequality and climate change denial. Some protests are the result of uncertainty and fear. Some protesters are hitting the streets against President Trump.

Also, the word “anarchist” is gaining renewed usage. There are those who simply want to tear down the established order and civil structure.

The crowds are mixed and their purposes are varied. This does not make them less violent or less destructive.

The nation is so splintered that unhappiness is not unexpected. Yet, there are better ways to solve political and ideological differences as well as injustices, perceived or real, than violence and civil unrest. Our freedom of speech protects protestors, but confrontations such as these only widen the gaps between people. That is the last thing we need now.

If the violence continues, the response to it will get harsher and harsher.

These violent protests, should they continue as they have, will only feed those who question free speech in the first place.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher