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Rodney King Dead at 47: Icon or Agitator?

SodaHead News 2012/06/18 18:26:37
Related Topics: Rodney King, Drowned
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Rodney King, the victim of an infamous incident of police brutality in 1991, was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool Sunday morning. According to police, there are no signs of foul play, and the death is being ruled as accidental. It will take six to eight weeks for toxicology reports to come through. He was 47 years old at the time of his death.

The 1991 brutality incident made national headlines when a bystander sent in video footage, and the aquittal of three of the officers contributed to the beginning of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Earlier this year, King told The Times, "I sometimes feel like I'm caught in a vise. Some people feel like I'm some kind of hero. Others hate me. They say I deserved it. Other people, I can hear them mocking me for when I called for an end to the destruction, like I'm a fool for believing in peace." Do you think King was an civil rights icon?

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Top Opinion

  • MkB 2012/06/18 21:26:11 (edited)
    Agitator
    MkB
    +33
    King started a dangerous high speed car chase because he was intoxicated and didn't want to violate his parole for a 1989 store robbery. I'm not making excuses for the police brutality. That was uncalled for.

    I feel empathy for Reginald Denny, an innocent truck driver who happened to be driving in the wrong place at the wrong time and got hit on his head by a brick by a black man who didn't give a damn if he killed Denny or not.

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Opinions

  • Siefimn Ericka 2012/06/20 13:16:44
    Siefimn
    +2
    He deserved to be beaten senseless.
  • Siefimn Ericka 2012/06/20 13:15:50
    Siefimn
    +2
    He deserved his beating. He ran from the cops, racing through the streets putting everyone in his path at risk of getting killed. He was a drug addict and cared less if he killed someone. He was a wife beater and a useless human being. Grow up.
  • Ericka Siefimn 2012/06/23 08:34:03
    Ericka
    Be that as it may, the police lowered themselves by acting as they did. They are not above the law.
  • Carson Ericka 2012/06/21 00:33:47
    Carson
    +1
    For the past he then continued to beat women that he knew and continued to be an alcoholic bumb.
  • Ericka Carson 2012/06/23 08:38:58
    Ericka
    Something tells me yiou know PLENTY of "troubled" individuals (birds of a feather), so I'm very surprised you can judge so readily.

    Truly. If you've ever met and gotten to know people with those kinds of severe problems, you'd realize they have psychological disorders of some variety or another and encourage them to seek treatment instead of making such self-destructive life choices. I have not only met them, but been a victim of them (in the past) and still found the power to forgive. Funny how Rodney King never did a thing to you, personally, yet you are still so angry at him.
  • Carson Ericka 2012/06/24 09:08:00
    Carson
    You assume that I am angry. I am not for you are correct he did nothing to me directly or indirectly.
  • Wolfman 2012/06/20 06:27:05
    Icon
    Wolfman
    +4
    King deserved the beating for fleeing from police. However, King did not riot or encourage any riots. The riots were the fault of the black rioters. I cheered when the Korean store-owners shot at them.
  • Theodon 2012/06/20 05:39:42
    Agitator
    Theodon
    +2
    what a role model for young blacks!
  • firebird 2012/06/20 05:04:36
    Agitator
    firebird
    +3
    HE did more damage then he did good !
  • Dana 2012/06/20 04:27:53
    Agitator
    Dana
    +1
    He probably wasn't an evil person. Just one of those people that always found trouble.
  • aneed2know 2012/06/20 03:51:35
    Icon
    aneed2know
    +9
    i would have said something else like neither, he just happened to be a man who put a face of police brutality. and for all those people who said agitator, i would ask you how would you have liked to be treated at a police stop, with respect or beaten within a inch of your life. i guess it all depends where you grew up, if you think its perfectly normal for teh police beat on a unarmed man the way they did, i guess you would say agitator, but remember it could happened to you or a family member, i bet then you guys wont be saying agitator.
  • Ericka aneed2know 2012/06/20 06:39:54
    Ericka
    +6
    Great answer.

    It's really kind of sad, I think. You see people like this and really hope that things will work out for them after all the problems they've had, and then, in a moment, there is not a chance for anything better because they're gone.

    I hate bigotry and racism of any kind. You'd think, in this day and age, we could move past all that, especially since this happened HOW many years ago? Then, the poor tragic fellow dies, and once again, the hatred starts all over again. What's sad is that I recognize some of them here spouting that hatred aren't even old enough to remember the incident in the first place - they just want attention by spewing any ugliness they can get a rise out of people for.
  • william aneed2know 2012/06/20 12:40:04
    william
    +1
    the one's saying agitater...something is going to happen to them, or a family member then they'll have the nerve to say that was wrong what they did to them. well welcome to the club. if rodney hadn't been loaded man he would have died on the spot. the way they beat him.
  • Siefimn william 2012/06/20 13:22:48
    Siefimn
    +3
    It would never happen to me. I obey the law, I am not a drug addict, I don't beat my wife, I show respect for the law, I show respect to cops, I would never speed through the streets running from the cops with the poissibility of killing an innocent person. Black men (and in many cases black women) show no respect for the law or the police and then wonder why they are treated more harshly. Wake up. Act like a respectable citizen and you will be shown respect in return.
  • william Siefimn 2012/06/20 16:13:08
    william
    ain't that a bitch mr. goody goody..............
  • aneed2know william 2012/06/21 04:27:19
    aneed2know
    +1
    like i said "he just happened to be a man who put a face of police brutality. and for all those people who said agitator, i would ask you how would you have liked to be treated at a police stop, with respect or beaten within a inch of your life. i guess it all depends where you grew up, if you think its perfectly normal for teh police beat on a unarmed man the way they did, i guess you would say agitator, but remember it could happened to you or a family member, i bet then you guys wont be saying agitator."

    and that is all the time i am giving to you and this dumb a$$ death cheering question.
  • Siefimn aneed2know 2012/06/20 13:21:51
    Siefimn
    +2
    It would never happen to me. I obey the law, I am not a drug addict, I don't beat my wife, I show respect for the law, I show respect to cops, I would never speed through the streets running from the cops with the poissibility of killing an innocent person. Black men (and in many cases black women) show no respect for the law or the police and then wonder why they are treated more harshly. Wake up. Act like a respectable citizen and you will be shown respect in return.
  • aneed2know Siefimn 2012/06/21 04:27:33
    aneed2know
    ike i said "he just happened to be a man who put a face of police brutality. and for all those people who said agitator, i would ask you how would you have liked to be treated at a police stop, with respect or beaten within a inch of your life. i guess it all depends where you grew up, if you think its perfectly normal for teh police beat on a unarmed man the way they did, i guess you would say agitator, but remember it could happened to you or a family member, i bet then you guys wont be saying agitator."

    and that is all the time i am giving to you and this dumb a$$ death cheering question.
  • bluemoon aneed2know 2012/06/20 17:05:11
    bluemoon
    +3
    Yes you are right,we have respect for the police but the police must have respect for us to,this is also happend in the Netherlands,the police was beating a man from Polen to the ground,that's not good.
    Sorry my englisch is not so good!
  • aneed2know bluemoon 2012/06/21 04:28:31
    aneed2know
    +1
    you are fine, you get respect, when you give it. respect must be earned.
  • Dick Nixon 2012/06/20 03:49:05
    Agitator
    Dick Nixon
    +1
    I may be mistaken but didnt this guy spend all his lawsuit money on dope?
  • william Dick Nixon 2012/06/20 12:48:07
    william
    +1
    what if he did...i mean did he bother you. i'll bet someone in your family is a dope feen. they are not bothering me, so why would i care what they did....you'll see
  • Dick Nixon william 2012/06/21 01:59:01 (edited)
    Dick Nixon
    +1
    Words from another dope head I suppose. "You'll See"...
  • william Dick Nixon 2012/06/21 03:01:21
    william
    that's right you'll see
  • Dick Nixon william 2012/06/21 04:42:34
    Dick Nixon
    Ok alrighty then... I am not all brand new or nothing you.I am 42 years old not 19... I have wondered, asked, seen, saw, did, done, been there but i know i still haven't done all that so get back in your pinto and drive thata way...
  • william Dick Nixon 2012/06/21 15:45:25
    william
    when i was 19 i was in the nam in order for you to be an idiot....
  • Dick Nixon william 2012/06/21 16:23:37 (edited)
    Dick Nixon
    +1
    Is that why you act like a mental case? Man... You won't get a pity party from me and do I actually believe you? Probably not stranger. I did 3 tours in Japan during WWII so you could be a moron. Wow some of you just have some really great stories. I'll buy another one of those wolf tickets.
  • william Dick Nixon 2012/06/21 19:29:16
    william
    if you bought one you couldn't handle it.
  • Dick Nixon william 2012/06/21 19:33:38
    Dick Nixon
    +1
    Do you even understand the meaning of that expression? By your reply, I think not.
  • william Dick Nixon 2012/06/21 21:50:02
    william
    put it like this yeah i,m sellin wolf tickets,and you don't wan't to buy any. never................
  • Dick Nixon william 2012/06/21 22:21:55
    Dick Nixon
    +1
    Si. Tu no comprender. Chico que grito wolf. You are right I have no respect for a pathological liar.
  • bluemoon Dick Nixon 2012/06/20 18:56:48
    bluemoon
    If he is his money spend on alcohol that's not your problem....isn't it?
  • Dick Nixon bluemoon 2012/06/20 19:33:39 (edited)
    Dick Nixon
    +1
    Sure isnt. But you have one hell of an attitude problem... Are you an alcoholic to? I believe King was a heroin abuser as well... You dont spend the kind of money he got on just alcohol alone... Lawsuit tax dollars well spent... Yes I do have my right to "MY" opinion... Get lost loser...
  • bluemoon Dick Nixon 2012/06/20 20:39:18
    bluemoon
    +1
    You are not human.....i am not affraid of you :D....get lost loser!
    I respect people....you have a lot to learn....go back to school!!
    No i don't drink and i don't smoke....
  • Dick Nixon bluemoon 2012/06/20 21:10:55 (edited)
    Dick Nixon
    +1
    Not human? Lol. Please. I almost choked on my chewing gum. From the Netherlands? Do you even know the story behind this character? I have respect for "PEOPLE" but King wasn't a peeople's person. He was a waste of space. No the police were not right for nearly beating him to death. But he made horrible choices. How do you suppose he wound up floating in a swimming pool? I would love to see the toxicology report. So what I smoke cigarettes. Yes its a bad habit I wish I never started. I am one of millions of victims of the tobacco industry and the government. Over 700 different chemicals were found in tobacco. The government says they didn't know about these extra added chemicals but yet they regulate and tax the tobacco industry.
  • william Dick Nixon 2012/06/21 02:49:52
    william
    bitchy dicky you don't even sound real. you sound like a worthless peace of meat.you know bluemoon would dust your sorry ass off.
  • joe mauro 2012/06/20 03:46:02
    Icon
    joe mauro
    +2
    i woulda have voted for agitating icon wanna be
  • The_Infidel_Atheist 2012/06/20 03:44:08
    Icon
    The_Infidel_Atheist
    +2
    Neither.
  • Mitchell McAleer 2012/06/20 03:08:40
    Icon
    Mitchell McAleer
    +3
    Rodney King, like Kelly Harris, stand as reminders that we the citizens need to keep constant watch on the police and hold them accountable for their actions, if we want to maintain a free society, where the police and public servants actually protect us, not control us, and serve us, instead of taking every opportunity to tax us with fines for victimless crimes, that serve only to feed the courts and police our hard earned money.
  • Matt Gray 2012/06/20 02:58:55
    Agitator
    Matt Gray
    +3
    Funny how Karma takes you when it finally catches up ROFL

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