Rodney King, We hardly knew you.

Atop the Stoa this day, I'm pondering truth, reality, and perception.

Some say that perception is reality. To me this is akin to saying that when David Copperfield makes an elephant disappear in a parking lot in front of thousands then it must me magic, since that was my perception.

Yep, bunk.

That phrase gets tossed about in business as well and it is just as much bunk, designed to provide cover for people who refuse to think for themselves...but I digress.

Rodney King catapulted into the national consciousness in 1991 when, while intoxicated on booze and dope, lead police on a high speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles.

Needless to say, the cops were not pleased with Mr. King, who resisted arrest and tried to flee the scene. The police began to spell out to him that he was being rude by beating him senseless with night sticks and boots.

The entire event was immortalized on tape and broadcast all over the country with the tagline, "Police beat innocent black man".

Well, the police did beat a black man, but I'd hardly say he was innocent. That is perception. Was Rodney King guilty of driving under the influence? Even without blood tests I'd have to say yes. No one takes the kind of beating he did and keep trying to get up. He was feeling no pain.

The police were guilty as well. They failed in their civic duty to protect and serve. Sometimes, the police must protect us from ourselves. Rodney King was not in his right mind when he was pulled over. It is like trying to reason with a newborn.

Guilt, innocent. They are cultural terms that mean different things to different cultures. Specific to our culture, people are LEGALLY innocent until proven guilty. In terms of absolute truth, he was guilty the instant he tried to run from the police. He must be held partially accountable for his actions.

The police were certainly guilty of using excessive force. They could have just sat on him until he got tired enough to put cuffs on. No need really to break his bones. He was trying to flee, not attack. Both parties were wrong on so many levels.

Then, our legal system failed yet again. It looked to stark right and stark wrong. That kind of truth was there, but only on one side. Was Rodney King at fault? Yes. He ran from the police, and he refused to follow their instructions. Guilty.

Was the police at fault? Yes. They used excessive force to apprehend an unarmed man. They continued to beat him even after it was apparent that bones had been broken, not realizing that his continued movements were really just twitches from the muscle spasms caused by the beating.

The ruling that was handed down for the police, "Innocent" sparked the famous LA race riots of 1992. In the end, it was decided that the police acted as they did because they feared Mr. King was on major drugs to continue to resist them after the initial beating. Perhaps there is something to that. Perhaps not.

Mr. King was made famous when, interviewed during the riots, he said, "Can't we all just get along?". I think that was the smartest thing said by anyone involved in the entire case, bar none.

53 people were killed in the resulting riots. Whites, like Reginald Denny, were pulled from their cars and beaten, many to death. Mr. Denny was saved by a black man who rescued him and drove him to the hospital. More than 2,000 were injured. Damage ran over billion dollars (1992 dollars).

His incident was a hot coal that sparked a wild fire in history. Even he was horrified by the death and destruction that resulted in his decision not to pull over. The moment he decided that it was fine to drink, get high, and then drive, he sealed the fates of those who died.

Mr. King had a hard time staying out of trouble. At the time of the beating he was out on parole. After the beating he continued to get arrested for petty offenses.

He has been largely out of sight and out of cultural mind for quite a number of years. Recently, his fiancé called 911 saying that Mr. King had been found at the bottom of a pool. Apparently, after a night of drinking and smoking dope, he fell into the pool and drowned.

An ignoble passing for a man who was the focal point of so much death and destruction in 1992. He was 41 years old.

The civil rights leaders today are hanging many labels around his legacy in an attempt to turn him into a totem for their cause. Some say he was a civil rights leader, others say he was a martyr for the civil rights movement.

Its all bunk. Even according to Mr. King himself.

The only time he made the news after the riots was when he got arrested for any number of things. He was not a great leader, nor was he even a follower. He did his own thing and his arrest record can attest to that. He was not well spoken or well written.

It was quite possible that he could have crashed into a telephone pole and died in 1991. This happens a lot in this country and his death would have gone unnoticed. In 2012, he got drunk and high and fell into a pool and died. This too would have gone unnoticed if not for his run in with the law in 1991. Would we have been better off had he hit that pole?

The truth of the matter is that he was a poor black man that was as much a victim of the civil rights movement as he was the poster child for that movement.

The perception of the matter is that the media and the black civil rights movement will use him in death in ways they could never use him in life.

The reality of the matter is that a man has died a meaningless death, having contributed so little to our society. I mourn his passing as I mourn the passing of any living creature.

His life created a spark that burned out 53 other lives. His actions released pressure that had been building. Perhaps someday, others will look to him and run in with the law and see it in the proper context.

Can't we all just get along? That is good stuff. Really. Rodney and I seem to have wished, and still do, for the same thing.

Live well.

--Zavost