Rodney King. Can't we all just get along?

As word got around on Rodney King’s death, the first thing that came to many of our minds is one of the most famous quotes ever - Can’t we all just get along?

Over the years, that quote has been the butt of jokes and the symbol of serious introspection of ourselves and our society.

The hopeful answer is yes, we all can get along. Yet, the actual answer varies according to a number of factors, the biggest one being age. 

It appears that the younger people are getting along. White folks have saved black music by attending hip-hop concerts and buying rap music far more than blacks; there are many more interracial couples and marriages than before; and young people elected the first black President. 

Older folks aren’t so relaxed. Older whites hate rap music, frown when they have to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and can’t find a single thing that President Obama is doing right. 

Rodney King was never completely embraced by blacks and was never completely vilified by whites. As much as his life has been viewed as a minstrel side show, this ordinary man symbolizes everything that can go wrong when we don’t get along: police brutality, questionable judgement, riots, drug abuse, alcoholism and mental anguish.

Rodney King has been all over the news in the past couple months promoting his new book. I’m happy that I recorded his recent appearance on Book TV and will re-watch it soon paying more attention to what he had to share. 

Rodney may not be an American hero, but his famous quote will go down in American history. 

Daily Times editor Phil Heron wrote on Rodney and race from his perch as the county scribe with particular focus on how it relates to the City of Chester.

Click HERE to read it.