The Advantage of Disadvantage

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"The verdict was delivered around 3:15 p.m. on April 29, 1992. People were enraged. Despite video showing Sergeant Stacey Koon and Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Briseno beating an unarmed African American motorist, a mostly White jury failed to convict the officers of the assault and excessive use of force against Rodney King. Within minutes, large crowds mobilized in and around the city of Los Angeles. For the next several days, the Los Angeles metropolitan area was teeming with assaults, looting, arson, and even murder. President H. W. Bush addressed the nation two days after the protests began.1 He focused on the "incidents of random terror and lawlessness." He argued that what was taking place was "not about civil rights. . .. It's not a message of protest. It's been the brutality of a mob, pure and simple." President Bush's focus on the property damage and violence was an effort to delegitimize the protesters' grievances. It was an attempt to justify the mobilization of thousands of law enforcement agents to Los Angeles. 2 He gave an extensive description of the law and order measures that were being deployed in response to the protests, and he only briefly discussed of how he planned to address the grievances that incited the protest. President Bush insisted that "[in] a civilized society, there can be no excuse - no excuse - for the murder, arson, theft, and vandalism that have terrorized the law-abiding citizens of Los Angeles""--

LaGina Gause is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. Her research explores U.S. political institutions and behavior with a focus on racial and ethnic politics, inequality, and representation.