The LA riots, 15 years later
posted at 9:37 pm on April 29, 2007 by Bryan
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“Hero” is a word that we throw around too much and attach it to people who don’t really deserve it. Home run champs who turn out to be ‘roid monsters, movie stars who play heroes on the screen even while they’re villains off the screen, etc. Steve Taylor had a song years ago that has stuck with me all this time, about the difference between real heroes and pretenders:
When the house fell asleep there was always a light
And it fell from the page to the eyes of an American boyIn a storybook land I could dream what I read
When it went to my head I’d see
I wanna be a hero
But the practical side said the question was still
“When you grow up what will you be?”
I wanna be a heroHero
It’s a nice-boy notion that the real world’s gonna destroy
You know
It’s a Marvel comicbook Saturday matinee fairytale, boyGrowing older you’ll find that illusions are brought
And the idol you thought you’d be was just another zero
I wanna be a heroHeroes died when the squealers bought ‘em off
Died when the dealers got ‘em off
Welcome to the “in it for the money as an idol” show
When they ain’t as big as life
When they ditch their second wife
Where’s the boy to go?
Gotta be a hero
The song ends on a good note, when the boy finds a hero for all time in an old book.
There are real heroes in the world, though it usually takes some digging to find them and a good person with a good memory to remind us of them. Michelle remembers a few heroes from the LA riots, a bleak time in American history that happened 15 years ago today.
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Can’t we all just get along?
TheBigOldDog on April 29, 2007 at 10:30 PM
God Bless those who dedicate thier lives to the spreading of the Gospel. Not to take anything away from the riots in LA but the Civil Rights Movement exploded with many riots of their own, some bigger than LA. Despite the U.S. government appropriating billions of dollars to the communities over a fourty year period,the total devastation the riots left behind to property and businesses has never recovered. On the contrary those very communities in many major cities now support a vast network of an underground economies fueled by drug dealing and violence. Question has the cause and effect cycle given rise to a safe haven to Isalm in Detroit!
sonnyspats1 on April 29, 2007 at 10:35 PM
Is why we had the riots in the first place a salient question?
Theworldisnotenough on April 29, 2007 at 10:38 PM
Has it been 15 years, already?
I was in HQ Co. Comm Plt, 1st Marine Reg, the unit sent to LA to assist the LAPD and National Guard.
I was there on watch when the “Cover Me!” incident occurred.
Mazztek on April 29, 2007 at 10:52 PM
A tale of many stories… “Freedom“, the birth of the KKK {Sen. Bryd, anyone, anyone? And it was the Republicans who opposed them…}, next, Civil Rights Timeline, “I have a dream…”, then you have this, blame whitey, then a chance, followed by “culture“, now, 15 years after the LA Riots, nothing has changed, except for the gangs………
To those left in LA, Felize Quinceaños….
PinkyBigglesworth on April 29, 2007 at 11:07 PM
I can’t believe it’s been 15 years. Where has the time gone? More importantly, what has really changed in all this time? I think, nothing has changed. Race baiters, Sharpton and Jackson, are still in full swing stoking the fires for the next riot. Not enough time has passed.
thedecider on April 29, 2007 at 11:11 PM
The riot fifteen years ago will pale in comparison to the disasters coming soon to an urban area near you.
jaleach on April 29, 2007 at 11:19 PM
I still have the Steve Taylor LP with that song stashed around here somewhere. Good record.
infidel4life on April 29, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Ask Maxine Waters. That loon said she wanted to join them.
SouthernGent on April 30, 2007 at 12:47 AM
The weekend of the riots I was at an open air concert in Houston, right by the Bayou. John Lee Hooker and Eric Johnson were on stage. In the middle of a monumental solo by Johnson all the lights went off, complete darkness, including the stage…but the band was still playing (I guess because the amps were receiving power from a portable generator).
Johnson finished his solo without missing a bit, then John Lee Hooker got the mike and said: “when the light goes off we all look alike”
Ropera on April 30, 2007 at 2:05 AM
We’ve got Vic Mackey in L.A.
Ropera on April 30, 2007 at 2:06 AM
Hero (n): See James Stewart.
wilkeson on April 30, 2007 at 8:24 AM
The liberal television media was never held accountable for the riots which IMHO they were responsible for by choosing to show only part of the tape.
DCJeff on April 30, 2007 at 8:30 AM
I remember seeing the riot smoke from Burbank. Then again, with all the fires and earthquakes and floods and mudslides and psycho freeway car chases, what’s the diff?
Coronagold on April 30, 2007 at 8:52 AM
I’m glad Michelle re-posted a link to Ice Cube’s “Black Korea” on her blog. The fact that this guys gets a pass speaks volumes about the double-standard he enjoys. I’ve never forgotten those lyrics, and I don’t support a single thing he does. In fact, I just saw Julie Chen interviewing him (yes, she’s Chinese-American, and Cube eloquently assaults them in the “song” as well) on the CBS Early Show. I admired her for keeping it together, but then I realized she probably didn’t have a clue. Free pass for you Mr. Cube, you racist bum.
Malpaso on April 30, 2007 at 9:31 AM
A grim reminder of the sickness in our society that lies quietly beneath the surface, sheltered and fed and encouraged by a twisted, ignorant culture.
Michelle’s Heroes tribute is the antidote.
Jaibones on April 30, 2007 at 9:34 AM
I remember it well, living in the OC and commuting to downtown Long Beach where fires were also set. Stayed home from work on one of those days.
CliffHanger on April 30, 2007 at 10:48 AM
Not to forget the villain Congresswoman Maxine Waters was during that crisis. “No Justice, No Peace” she kept shouting. The police was ordered to leave certain blocks. In the end 54 people died. Some leadership! I doubt she has changed much.
Entelechy on April 30, 2007 at 12:33 PM
I can’t agree more. I pity these blacks in my school. As uneducated as the rest of the students it is “cool” to be uneducated with the blacks. The two who I know are excelling are shunned by the rest of the black students.
Tim Burton on April 30, 2007 at 2:05 PM
Tim,
There is hope, keep your chin up. Quickie: my two daughters (white) have both been top students at a high-profile high school in the south suburbs of Chicago. The school is fully integrated, and is on the cusp of resegregation as blacks will undoubtedly become a significant majority there in coming years.
My younger is a junior, and came home to announce that her frend Leroy (black) got a 36 on the ACT test. She casually referred to him as “easily the smartest kid in the school” and noted that he works his ass off, too. My older one is at U of Illinois in their business honors program, and noted recently that the program is anxiously awaiting a decision by the top student (black girl) at her high school (same one as her sister), who is considering Illinois (and Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc.).
My girls are clear-eyed about race issues and affirmative action nonsense in education, but they were both very clear: these two kids are outstanding in every way.
Jaibones on April 30, 2007 at 2:24 PM