Rodney King: An American Hero and an America Enigma

   As we approach the 30th anniversary of the beating of Rodney King, it is worthy to consider whether King should rank as one of America's heroes.
   "I just want to say -- you know -- can we all get along? Can we, can we get along? . . . Let's try to work it out."
   King went on TV, pleading for peace after the rioting broke out. Eventually, 63 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, and 3,100 businesses damaged.
   "It's just not right. It's not right, and it's not going to change anything," said King the day he was on TV. "We'll get our justice. They've won the battle, but they haven't won the war. We'll get our day in court, and that's all that we want."
   The rioting came more than a year after King was beaten. The beating took place March 1, 1991. The video of the beating, filmed by George Holliday from his balcony, angered the nation and angered the world. But, the large-scale rioting came almost 14 months later, April 29, 1992, when officers who had administered the beating were acquitted. The rioting commenced within hours.
  The Rodney king beating was the first time video coverage allowed the public its first peak into the violence police sometimes commit, embarking the nation on a long list of police killings and beatings capture on video. Outrage, outrage, ever since.
  Do we consider King an American hero? "I just want to say -- you know -- can we all get along?" He called for peace when lesser men would call for vengeance.
  If we do call for him a hero, we will have to remember he was fleeing arrest. His car was spotted speeding, officers pursued him in a chase that reached 117 mph. He was on marijuana at the time. Is that a hero?
   And, we will have to set aside the fact he was an ex-con, having served hard time for threatening a store owner with an iron bar and hitting him with a wooden pole during a robbery. Nor did he become an angel after the beating at the hands of police and the riots that resulted. No, haunted by drug and alcohol use, he would crash his car into a brick wall, be arrested for driving under the influence and for reckless driving, and he would slam his vehicle into house while failing to yield to an officer.
   And, how's this: He hit his wife with his car, knocking her to the ground. It led to his being sentenced to 90 days in jail for hit and run.
   A hero? Not all heroes are perfect. King was far, far from perfect. Some heroes are larger than others, and some have far, far fewer flaws. Still, we honor King for sparking the nation against police violence, and for showing forgiveness by calling for peace and asking the city of Los Angeles to drop the violence.