Can’t we all just get along?  Meaningless words from a meaningless individual.  Rodney King was nothing more than a thug, so let’s just set the record straight.    His priors included battery against his wife and attempted robbery of a convenience store owner while brandishing a tire iron.  The night of his beating he was on parole, drinking, and attempting to flee from police so he wouldn’t go back to prison for violating conditions of his parole.  Only when he realized he couldn’t outrun them, did he pull over.  Having said that, the beating that ensued was excessive.  There was a point where he was no longer a threat and the police officers who were beating him should have stood down.  The acquittal of those same officers led to some of the worst rioting this country had seen since the 60’s.  But Rodney King was only the catalyst to a larger problem in LA as well as across the country.  Men of color were absolutely being singled out merely for the color of their skin.  After the officers were acquitted, one might say it was the straw that broke the camels back.  Fast forward twenty years and some strides have been made as a result of his case.  Police forces around the country have actively recruited minority officers in an attempt to integrate.  More emphasis has been put on street patrols so people get to know law enforcement first hand.  And technology has made it even more difficult for rogue officers to run amok.  The Rodney King tape was one of the first of its kind.  It was the earliest use of taping, as evidence.  Today, this is a common practice.  It is a check against anyone partaking in violent behavior, not just police officers, the vast majority who do the jobs with honor and respect on a daily basis.  So ends the chapter of a very unpleasant period.  We now have a black President and a country filled with people, even with all of our differences, who really do just want to get along.