On another note, the description of the Rodney King riots was very interesting. it made a lot sense. The community could only take so much oppression. So when the jury found the three cops not guilty, it was the straw that broke the camels back. The media also played a huge role in that decision because they portrayed Rodney King as a very dangerous and lazy man, as well as a typical criminal. The jurors were white as well. He never had the chance of winning and that was another reason that fueled so much anger leading to the riots. It is really depressing as a Mexican, to see my community as well as other minorities, being oppressed and discriminated upon. This reading helped open my eyes and i found a way to connect the pieces. How did you guys interpret this reading and how do you feel about it?
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
pgs. 268-309
When you are driving through Los Angeles, it is pretty intense. Especially SOuth Central. It is an area with a lot of activity. Back then they used to have programs and organizations that helped the youths get out of crime. Throughout the years the government has reduced its fundings and now those organizations are almost nonexistent. It is really upsetting to me because like it says in the reading, they reduced their fundings to basically drive out the Latino community. It seems that way. Many at risk youth looked forward to being able to go to a place where they could focus and learn and serve as a positive distraction from the gang life outside of place. I found it very upsetting that any program that would seemingly help the Latino community was continuously shut down. The money that would have gone into those org. was used for unnecessary construction.
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In Los Angeles and especially in South Central L.A. the poverty among the Black and Latino/a minorities is as you have described. Unfortunately, these types of issues exist and will remain present unless the community members find a solution. The community members who have now become successful, and now are living in much better neighborhoods, have both resources and wealth to create jobs and invest in these economically broken-down places to help improve these areas. It is correct to say that the government should help these not well off regions, however, due to the state of the economy and the unwillingness among the community members, South Central L.A would always remain the area where no one would want to develop. History and the articles are written to teach us about the events that occurred in the past, and should not be held as a cause to continue with the same history and to be subjected by it. From my own experiences as an immigrant coming to U.S.A. with no money at all, if my community (Iranian Arminian) had not provided me with work and had not helped me with enough money to pay the first rent, I would have ended up as a homeless. Moreover, I would not be the person that I am today. I pay my fair share of taxes, and help any members of my community that asks for help or is in needs of assistance. The same thing more or less is true in communities where the members are from Chines, South Korean, Vietnamese, and many other sub minority backgrounds. That is why we have Little Armenia in Hollywood, Korea town, Chinatown, Little Tokyo and many other small ethnic based cities named after these migrant populations in Los Angles.
ReplyDeleteIn the history of news and media, many things are affected based on time of the incident, availability of resource and eyewitnesses counts. Things can change and be interpreted based on these reports. The facts becomes blurry, beliefs becomes facts, and most likely an innocent or low level criminals become victim of blind Justice and will end up punished severely for something that they did not deserve to be punished for. Rodney King and Los Angeles’s riot is a good example of how media played with people’s knowledge (I Know It When I See It) and what they believed and feared (that minorities are going to burn down the city and kill all the whites).
Los Angeles riot was in fact started by minorities, mainly black, and in a peaceful manner. They were law-abiding individuals holding peaceful protests. What made these protests so out of control, were individuals motivated by their own agendas to create chaos and prove that they have the power to take over the city, kill who they like, steal what they want and make their own law of the land. In the meantime, the tensions between Latino and Blacks were used to steer the protests through gang and gang-infested areas. L.A’s riot, took most if not all of the jobs away from poor areas, making them suffer until today. Many shopping centers were closed for good, and due to violent acts, insurance companies will not insure new businesses, which force the companies to remain in the suburbs. Additionally, people that are living in these areas are subjected to identification and background checks that normally hinder them from finding a better job in upper scale communities.
I agree that these programs should be one of the last things to get cut from financial backing. It is one of those things like we discussed in class yesterday. The division of program finances is crazy. Education and helpful programs should be a number one priority instead of jails and other organizations.
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