Rodney King passed away a few days ago. An ordinary, flawed man who became the symbol of something much greater than himself also couldn't escape his legacy. After he was beaten, he continued to be a flawed man, struggling with addictions and other demons. But he seemed to have made peace with the incident that defined him for over twenty years.
I wondered - has anything really changed in the past twenty years?
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American male, is dead. It took almost two months for his murderer to be arrested.
Oscar Grant, an African-American male, was shot dead by a BART cop who claimed he mistook his gun for a taser. Even with video evidence, Johanne Mehserle was only convicted of involuntary manslaughter for which he was only sentenced for two years, in which he received "double credit" for time already served. And now he is trying to appeal his conviction because he actually wants to return to police work.
Kendrec McDade, an African-American teenager, was shot dead by cops in Pasadena, who believed he participated in an armed robbery. McDade was unarmed. He had no gang ties, nor did he have any criminal records.
It seems to have become more fatal.
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