The document discusses the 1992 Los Angeles riots that occurred after the acquittal of four police officers charged in the beating of Rodney King. It lasted 6 days, resulting in over 50 deaths and $800 million in property damage. Tensions had been building for years between police and the black community as well as economic tensions between black and Korean communities. The acquittal verdict sparked widespread civil unrest.

1. The 1992 Los Angeles Riots

2. Otherwise known as the Rodney King riots 53 people died Over 2000 injured Damages in excess of $800m Lasted 6 days

3. How did it start?

4. Rodney King resisted arrested Led the police on a high speed pursuit When he pulled over and was apprehended, police alleged he was violently resisting arrest A nearby eyewitness started recording the arrest

5. The Arrest

6. When the video started, the police were already beating and kicking Rodney King He was also tasered and clubbed with batons for over a minute Public viewed it as police brutality

8. Became an international media sensation Was broadcasted and published hundreds of times The media saw it as a tragedy

9. Assault charges were brought against the four officers in question Jury consisted of 10 Whites, 1 Asian and 1 Hispanic

10. Jury could not agree on a verdict Officers were acquitted of all charges Jury based their decision on officer’s testimony that King had acted violent and dangerous before the camera began rolling

11. Unrest started immediately after the verdicts were announced Reginald Denny, a white truck driver, was beaten repeatedly by a group of local black residents Stole $2000 from him Was hit with a concrete block to the head Police were called off for their own safety

12. Denny was rescued by an unarmed black civilian, Bobby Green Drove him to the hospital Denny never fully recovered from the attack Has speech and mobility problems

13. More beatings continued through the night Arsonists targeted buildings and shops Firefights between the public and police started breaking out By the second day, situation escalated Korean shopkeepers were targeted and had to protect their stores with guns

14. Police were helpless National guard were called in Were only able to enter the city on the third day Riots only ended 6 days later and after 4000 soliders were poured into the city to maintain order Over 3,600 fires were started

15. Why did it happen?

16. The Rodney King incident was only the spark for the riots For many years, Blacks felt that they were targeted by the police and were constantly subjected to racism They felt they did not have equal opportunity as everyone else and had difficult time finding jobs Poverty inside the city and lack of jobs caused unrest within the community

17. Korean-American and African-American relations were strained because of economic competition As the money moved out of the city to the larger corporations, smaller shops had less market share and had to compete with each other Blacks felt that Korean-American shop owners were taken money out of their community and would not give them jobs in their shops

18. A Korean-American shop owner had shot and killed Latasha Harlins, an African American girl Was killed a few months before the King verdict Korean shop owner was given five years probation for killing Latasha Black community felt it was not enough time for a murder

19. Similarities between the US situation & the 2009 Singapore 1) An undeniable fact that the Chinese population in Singapore is still dominating. - The government / parliament body. - High rank jobs – CEOs, Managers etc. 2) Foreign workers are occupying too much jobs in Singapore, regardless of low-ranking jobs or high-ranking jobs. - E.G. From construction workers to managers of big companies

20. 3) Government: believes that having many foreign workers / talents in Singapore would boost our economy. - Singaporeans: felt that foreign workers are “degrading” our standard of living, and foreign talents are “sucking” away Singapore’s money with their high-pay jobs.

21. Differences between the US situation & the 2009 Singapore 1) The government has been taking measurements to ensure racial harmony in Singapore. - Singapore pledge - Racial Harmony celebrated in Primary and Secondary School - Focuses on youths, especially Primary and Secondary students. - Attempt to educate the people from young.

23. 3. Too much focus on the young generation in educating the population on the importance of racial harmony - Might lose focus on the older generation (tertiary institutions onwards) - Frustration among the older generation due to the lack of education on racial harmony might thus build up and lead to the imagined future of 2061 caused by the problems mentioned in (1) and (2).

24. What can we do to prevent the imagined future of 2061 from becoming a reality?

25. -The increasing dominance of Chinese in the society, for example, in the parliament.

26. We could implement a ratio quota in the government, like there should be a certain amount of Chinese and other races in it and it should not be over that certain amount. Likewise, it should be fixed in most high paying jobs as well in order to prevent a hidden hierarchy in most cushy positions. -Problem [implementing a quota] It would be extremely dangerous and also sensitive when dealing with political matters. Because as we know, there are several old fashioned-minded strong political powers in Singapore, and trying to decrease the number of Chinese in the government could make them think that their power over the government is diminishing. This could cause many problems in the future politically (think of the past racial riots).

27. -The supposed invasion of the foreign workers in Singapore.

28. While the government is busily trying to persuade the Singaporeans about how great it is to have foreign workers over, it would be better to show the effects instead. For example, how many Singaporeans will be willing to toil in the hot sun to finish our buildings? Or clear the drains? Or wash our toilets? The clear answer is, not many. The significant dwindling of old people(who used to do such jobs) has led us to resort to using foreign workers. Instead of being against them, we should be grateful that there are people out there who are willing to do the jobs that most will find revolted or perhaps oven undeserving of their status. -Problem [Campaigns] The main root here is not the government, but in fact acceptance from the common people. It’ll take a long time to get people to accept the foreign people as part of our society as it has been taught to us since young that those people who are doing the belittling physical work are below us. Even though there are several campaigns going on to increase acceptance among us, it’ll evidently take more than that to change the minds of an entire nation.

29. -Government too over concerned with the economy.

31. -Too much focus on the younger generation.

32. The government should also emphasize on re-educating the older generation on the cons of racial prejudice in Singapore’s society as it is quite obvious that most of the prejudice towards the foreign workers stem from the older generation(who is more obstinate towards accepting different people.) and then they will pass it down to future generations. -Problem [Stubborn Old people] It’s hard to get a leopard to change its spots, and it’s even more so for old people to change their mental thinking (which they have thought since young) that foreign workers (who are evidently not their people) are equal and therefore require the same respect that they give to themselves