THE "POLITICALLY CORRECT" HELPED FUEL SENSELESS DESTRUCTION IN LOS ANGELES

In the wake of the verdict on the Los Angeles police brutality case and its aftermath, I would like to share my reflections and analysis of the verdict and the violence.

I was shocked when I heard the verdict and of the violence over the radio. I imagined masses of American Blacks (though misguided) in bloody conflict with state authorities. My imagined worst case scenario was shattered by the television footage of Asian, Black, Caucasian, and Hispanic looters walking away with merchandise. What I thought was going to be a race riot was really ethnic opportunism. Apart form the thievery, I was saddened and outraged by the senseless destruction of human life and property perpetrated by hardened criminal elements.

What made the verdicts in this case so traumatic in my assessment is the paradigm on which American race relations are understood and the role of the mass media.

The verdicts shattered the paradigm which many people view race relations in America. In America, it is "politically correct" to view American Blacks as passive victims of white oppression and to see American whites as abiders to this evil. Therefore, even before the verdicts, this paradigm of Black victimization-White guilt gave this case a highly charged political dimension along with an assumed verdict.

The message of the verdicts was that this particular black man was not a passive victim and not all the white officers were necessarily guilty. This verdict was totally unacceptable under the political circumstances.

The politically charged atmosphere was the ideal pretext for criminals and extreme political activist to use as an excuse for their anti-social behavior in disregard of law and order. Most disturbing to me, was the role of "black community leaders" and national figures. These people compounded the problem of unrest by positioning themselves as understanding and sympathetic to the rioters and looters. Repeatedly we have heard statements like "There is no justice in America for Blacks", "Blacks are trapped in the ghetto with no where to go", and "Nothing as changed since the 1960s."

On the issue of social justice for American Blacks, this has all the makings of the media reporting the airplanes that crash and ignoring the airplanes that land safely (with variation as it pertains to this specific case). For example, outsiders would label Cape Girardeau County, ultra conservative and a place where a black man would not stand a chance in front of an all-white jury. However, recently an all-white jury acquitted a black police officer of sexual molestation of a white man. Also, a black police officer pummelled a white prisoner for spitting in his face. The community's attitude was best expressed by a caller to Speak Out, "If someone spit in my face, I would punch him out too."

This isn't to say that Cape Girardeau is totally color blind, but to illustrate that an all-white jury doesn't necessarily mean that a black defendant hasn't got a chance.

The views forementioned above ("Blacks are trapped in the ghetto" et. al) do not reflect the views of mainstream American Blacks, but with enough publicity and time anyone can build an audience (e.g., Hitler). Therefore, it is of paramount importance that we separate political rhetoric from demographic reality. Case in point: According to the Census Bureau the black population of Los Angeles city in 1970 was 503,606. In 1980 the population had grown to 504,303, an increase of only 695 people. However, in Los Angeles County the black population in 1970 stood at 762,925 and by 1980 it had grown to 943,124, an increase of 180,199!!

Most strikingly, from 1980 to 1990 the city's black population decreased from 504,301 to 487,674 while the county's population increased during the same time period from 943,124 to 992,974. This pattern is reflected in national migration trends (as compiled by the Urban League) which show: 1) The South's transition from a net exporter to a net importer of American Blacks; 2). The increase of the suburbanization of American Blacks; and 3). The outmigration of American Blacks from large metropolitan areas.

Not only does Los Angeles reflect these patterns in fact, more blacks live in the suburban areas of Los Angeles than in those of any other American city what these trends signal is the upward mobility of life in a free enterprise, democratic society (albeit slow).

Therefore, if we are serious about formulating public policy for the truly disadvantaged of the inner cities, we should ask; what are the differences between American Blacks who have "made it" and those who have been left behind? The answer lies in certain qualitative values (personal sacrifice, hard work, self-discipline, individual responsibility) deeply rooted in the American creed which are not in any way related to the self-destructive nihilism of murderous thugs and the materialism of looters.

As I have argued before, the TV news saturated us with the footage of Rodney King being beaten until we all presumed a guilty verdict. The magnitude of the public presumption of guilt is best illustrated by the fact that even the President of the United States was surprised by the verdicts (not to mention ultra conservative Pat Buchanan). More importantly, some jurors (I've heard two) have come forward and admitted they had seen the video footage and predisposed guilt in the case.

Also, it is not enough to say that a single view of the incident would predispose anyone in the case, because it was the repeated showing of the incident that made it an international obsession tainted by a presumption of guilt.

There is also the issue of character portrayal. Through the media we never got a chance to see the police as just regular people with there own vulnerabilities (two officers are quite small in size) and prejudices (there is reason to believe one of the officers is a bigot). All we have seen so far is the cold white cops beating on a black "motorist." Rodney King (with a blood alcohol content of 2.0) wasn't your typical motorist, however. He was a felon out on parole who led police on a high speed chase.

Most intriguing, is the reference to the case as the "Rodney King Verdict." The socially embedded paradigm of Black victimization-White guilt has recast Rodney King (who is not on trial), since he is black, into the role of passive victim, therefore he is given the presumption of innocence. While the police officers, because they are white, are guilty until proven innocent.

The media have also distorted the verdicts of the case. The media has reported the story as if all four officers had been acquitted of all charges, while in fact one of the officers may face a retrial because his case ended in a hung jury. Also, the Justice Department has renewed (as it should) its investigation into possible civil rights violations.

If the officers are once again found not guilty, however, I would like to see black leaders come forward and accept the verdict and give no excuses for violent behavior. Those who fail should be replaced.

Finally, I would like to address the international media reaction. It appears to me that foreign journalists and commentators are basking in the glow of excessive and cynical American self-criticism and appraisal. Foreigners mistake American self-criticism for the entire American existence and larger experience.

My suspicions are that foreign commentators seize on American self-criticism as a means to avoid their own more pronounced problems. For example, across Europe racist, xenophobic political parties have risen, seizing real political power. In the U.S. the closest thing we had to such a phenomenon was David Duke who got nowhere fast.

America isn't perfect, but you must all consider the alternative. In short, I would rather be an American Black than a black in France, Germany, Japan or any other of the geo-strategically irrelevant nations.

Michael A. Session resides in Cape Girardeau with his family. He is a native of Stoddard County and is currently a graduate student at Southeast Missouri State University.