Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King IIIwas an American taxi driver who became nationally known after being beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers following a high-speed car chase while drunk on March 3, 1991. A witness, George Holliday, videotaped much of the beating from his balcony, and sent the footage to local news station KTLA. The footage shows four officers surrounding King, several of them striking him repeatedly, while other officers stood by. Parts of the footage were aired around the world,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionOther
Date of Birth2 April 1965
CitySacramento, CA
CountryUnited States of America
What I've learned to do is arrest my addiction - arrest it myself, so I don't get arrested.
Obama, he wouldn't have been in office without what happened to me and a lot of black people before me. He would never have been in that situation, no doubt in my mind. He would get there eventually, but it would have been a lot longer. So I am glad for what I went through. It opened the doors for a lot of people.
For a long time, sure, I was letting the pressure of being Rodney King get to me. It ain't easy. Even now, I walk into a place wondering, 'What people are thinking? Do they know who I am? What do they think about what happened? Do they blame me for the all those people who died?'
I sometimes feel like I'm caught in a vise. Some people feel like I'm some kind of hero. Others hate me.
I know and value what it means to wake up and be alive and to share my story. I'm so blessed to be here and to be able to talk about it.
When I leave here, when my final day on this earth is up, I want to leave in peace. I want to have peace in my heart.
I'm a religious person. I remember my mom told me: 'Vengeance belongs to God. It's up to him to wreak vengeance.' It's hard for me to get to that point, but that's the work of God.
We could all get along if we just hang out at iSurfing.
I tell myself time heals. It really does.
People look at me like I should have been like Malcolm X or Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks. I should have seen life like that and stay out of trouble, and don't do this and don't do that. But it's hard to live up to some people's expectations.
Why can't we all just get along?
I don't see how you can grow as a world without being able to get along with people. So many people is hating out there and it's not making a difference.
I had to learn to forgive. I couldn't sleep at night. I got ulcers. I had to let go, to let God deal with it. No one wants to be mad in their own house. I didn't want to be angry my whole life. It takes so much energy out of you to be mean.
I realize I will always be the poster child for police brutality, but I can try to use that as a positive force for healing and restraint.