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By now most of you I'm sure have seen or heard about the May 1st "thing" at MacArthur Park in LA -- yes, ladies and gentlemen, another classic tale of LA police brutality. LA Weekly summarizes, "witnesses and media said the police began pressing forward at one point, indiscriminately firing rubber bullets -- or rather 'foam bullets,' as the LAPD refers to them now -- upon the crowd."

Of course, with all the cameras that were rolling, there's apparently little to support the LAPD's initial claims that they were forced to respond when marchers began throwing bottles and food their way. I admit I might be biased, but I have a hard time imagining that some stale bread and Pepsi cans flying around could justify the response.


So what's your take? It's just fifteen years since the Riots; might that have added the extra tension to the situation? Was it an isolated incident, or is there something fundamentally broken within the LAPD?

And most of all, what kind of a fallout will we see from this? Will there even be any? Or will it be swept under the collective rug of money and politics?

I hate oversimplifying, but I live in South LA (formerly South Central) just about two miles from there, and frankly, it goes both ways. That's really all there is to it. "Minorities" (who are actually the majority) feel a sense of entitlement, yet aren't really entitled to anything more than any other citizen. The police (representative of existing "institutions") want to quash any "disorder" they view as a "threat" to these institutions, yet are ineffective in reining in protests unless they use force, clearly violating what the First Amendment allows; but you must consider, how many of the protesters are here legitimately? So many interviewed talked about how they themselves are legal residents, but have friends or family who are here unlawfully. Because of historical perceptions of racism, although California's majority is now the so-called minority, there is a pervasive "victim mentality" already in effect. When the police and other institutions, call them on it, contending that they are the ones who are unsettling the tenous situation in the city, they cry foul. The California economy benefits from illegal immigration, sure, and this country is based on immigrants. However, taxpayers are providing school and healthcare, and the brunt falls on the middle class, and thus a resentment grows. And so on. It's a disheartening cycle. As for what was seen on TV, that is likely half the story.