R.I.P. Rodney King

Rodney King, the black police brutality victim who died this past Sunday at 47 in what was likely a domestic accident (though suicide cannot be ruled out - he drowned in his pool), was not a hero.  He didn't see himself as a hero, either.  He was a troubled man, a heavy drinker who had robbed a store and served time in jail by the time he was arrested for reckless driving in March 1991.  But Rodney King certainly did not deserve the treatment he got from Los Angeles police after his arrest.  To King, it was surreal to become a symbol for civil rights and the struggle against police brutality.  He just wanted to live his life in peace, a goal that  always eluded him.  The rioting in Los Angeles, which followed the trial in suburban Simi Valley ending with an all-white jury acquitting the white policemen who beat him, likely made less sense to him than to anyone else.  He was clearly upset by the fact that others were responding to an act of violence against him with violence.  His now-famous statement - "Can we all get along?" - was as much a plea for peace as it was for racial tolerance.

King acknowledged his role as a catalyst for change, though, and the aftermath of his arrest has led Los Angeles to make positive strides in race relations, though there's certainly a long way to go. Just as importantly, the police department has greatly improved. A federal trial brought justice to two of the arresting officers from that March 1991 arrest, resulting in both being sent to prison.  But for Rodney King, reconciling his troubled life with the arrest his own recklessness led to and its aftermath - and being a symbol for justice - was in many ways too much for him.  He continued to have run-ins with the law, and he continued to drink heavily.  Yet this unassuming man was only recently trying to get his life together.  He put out a memoir of his experiences earlier this year, and he was engaged to be married.  He was finally coming to terms with his past and looking toward a hopeful future.  He seemed to be in very good spirits only recently.  His death on the cusp of his self-rehabilitation makes his sad story all the more sad.