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Jesus Villa
Prof. Malvin
English 114B
April 16, 2015
It Ends Here
Los Angeles is known as a multiracial melting pot of the world. Its
home to many different races and ethnic groups. Due to the fact that
not everyone belongs to the same race there are often violent
outbreaks and invisible barriers placed upon certain ethnic and racial
groups. Different racial Groups are often treated and seen differently
by the public, law enforcement, media, and majority population. In the
books Always Running written by Luis Rodriguez and Twilight Los
Angeles, 1992 written by Anna Deavere Smith the best example shown
on how these people are treated differently solely on their skin color is
through law enforcement. People should not use the color of their skin
and background as an excuse to fight and believe themselves to be
better than everyone else. I believe that all people are like apples, they
can be green, red, or yellow, and no matter the color it will always be
an apple just like no matter your skin color you will always be a human.
I believe that the history and ongoing racial discrimination brought on
by the police in the United States must come to an end for we are all
alike.

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Both Twilight Los Angeles, 1992 and Always Running deliver
important messages. They show many things that can go wrong when
you mistreat one single racial group and look down on them. Always
Running is a memoir of author Luis Rodriguezs past as a gang member
and struggles he faced. The memoir shows the perspective of
Rodriguez a Mexican boy that chose the gang life due to unequal
treatment in terms of education, how law enforcement saw and treated
him, living quarters, and the racism he faced from wealthier and higher
social classes. Twilight Los Angeles, 1992 shows many of these things
that the author of Always Running Luis Rodriguez faced, but on a
different scale and showed what can happen when these things build
up. A person can only take so much abuse and slander until they fight
back and depending on the color of their skin and social status it can
either be seen as an uprising or a revolution.
Last semester I learned that Gangs in Los Angeles were initially
started by minorities in order to protect themselves from other groups
mainly white people who slander and abuse them for being from a
different country or having a different skin color. In Always Running I
see an example of how this might be true. In chapter Rodriguez
explains how most of the clubs began quite innocently(43).
Rodriguez claims that the gangs started as clubs and were made out of
necessity and protection. Rodriguez does however acknowledge that
gangs turned into something more deadly(43). Yes gangs now dont

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seem to look like a neighborhood watch and often kill the innocent that
are caught between them and their rivals, but thats because the
violence and hate towards them caused them to forget why they were
formed which was to protect themselves from injustices placed upon
them. They alone arent responsible for turning on other gangs and
creating violence within their race.
In Twilight Los Angeles there is a piece that talks about the
police taking gang members and dumping them on their rivals territory
so that they could cause violence and mayhem. Both books displayed
forms of police brutality and how the LAPD was one of the most corrupt
and worst law enforcement in the United States. It is clear that in order
to create a better society one where there is no violence the people of
the world must unite and forget their differences for there is no I in
team and not one race can move the world forward by themselves.
Another example seen of these injustices is when Rodriguez explains
how In the barrio police are just another gang (72). Rodriguez
explains how police would incite skirmishes, assaults, and shootings by
telling gangs that their rivals were talking smack and calling them
names. It is ironic how those that swear to protect the people and
prevent crime are the ones causing crime and hurting the people.
There is definitely something wrong when a person is frightened and
terrified by the group of people whose main goal is to protect them.

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Even today there are many examples on how the law
enforcement has become corrupted and still discriminates against
people of colored skin. Although it is now not as corrupt as it once was
back in the 60s the discrimination towards people of colored skin is
still very much alive. This type of discrimination and police brutality
can eventually lead up to an uprising that goes bad and hurts both
sides. When we cannot learn from the past then it is doomed to repeat
itself. The main topic of Twilight Los Angeles, 1992 is the L.A. riots also
known as the Rodney King Riots. The riots all began when police
officers were acquitted from all charges after they were caught on
video beating an African American by the name of Rodney King. After
hearing the outcome of the trials the people of L.A. went crazing and
started rioting and looting stores. Fast forward to 2014 and the same
problem arises when an African American teenager by the name of
Michael Brown is shot dead by a white police officer Darren Wilson.
Brown was shot at a total of 12 times. Although the fault is not entirely
Officer Wilsons fault since Brown had robbed a convenience store
earlier that day and matched the description given. However it wasnt
one accidental shot that was fired it was 12 shots fired, 12 shots meant
to kill the teenager not hurt him, but kill him. After the officer was not
convicted protests began both peaceful and violent. The protests led to
fights and looting of shops similar to the Rodney king riots. This was
not the only occasion law enforcement had cheated their way out of

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justice system. Many of these incidents go unnoticed and are not seen
and heard by everyone. The media plays an important role and can
shape and turn the tables making it the other sides fault. The media
can take the victims side or the other side not because it is the right or
correct thing to do but because it can get them more views.
If we take a look back we see just how racism and Racial
discrimination started in the policing. According to Dr. Gary Potter the
first police departments started in the north where many you used to
call it the watch and volunteered to serve. Many of the volunteers
often drank and slept on the job it wasnt until years later that the city
of Boston created the first police force in 1833. The north at that time
was known to be a lot nicer to African Americans and slaves. The south
on the other hand was always known to be very cruel and not so nice
to slaves and African Americans. The south also created their own
police force, but theirs wasnt called police force, it was known as the
slave patrol. Obviously by the name we can already tell this was not a
group of individuals who were fair and kind. The South had adopted a
different path and instead of being like the police force up in the north
who enforced the law, stopped crime and, treated others as fair as
possible they did the exact opposite. Instead of southern police forces
worrying about crime they often did everything in their power to stop
freed slaves from having equal rights and terrified those enslaved so
they couldnt start a revolt. These practices from the south had

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obviously circulated its way around and made it to other states where
more police officers and military personnel adopted them. Although not
many officers have adopted these practices there are still enough out
there to cause damage. A prime example of officers not from the south
taking up these practices was during the zoot suit riots. Many Mexican
Americans who were embracing the zoot suit style back in the 40s
were hunted down and beaten up for no reason by police officers and
marines and white sailors there were even some cases were women
who hung around with the zoot suit guys were raped and beaten. This
is the exact opposite of what we want in this world. Yes not all the zoot
suiters looked were innocent some were involved in selling drugs and
causing trouble but thats no excuse for beating innocent Chicanos in
the open street just for wearing a zoot suit.
If police brutality and racial discrimination inside police
departments does not stop I feel something bigger will occur. Perhaps
something much more worse than a riot. History has taught us that
things that are not learned the right way can always happen again.
Always Running shows us how a non-white individual is treated by law
enforcement and Twilight Los Angeles, 1992 shows us what happens
when those who have been mistreated stand up and let all the hate
they feel explode in a violent manner. This hatred people have against
others cannot be stopped with more hatred both sides must learn to

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forgive and forget. As Buddha says Hatred does not cease by hatred,
but by love.

Evaluation Letter
Dear Professor Malvin,
I found this essay to be the easiest of all three essays and
actually enjoyed reading the Always running book. I didnt find it very
hard to write this essay. The parts I had difficulty with was getting
started. I felt I had a lot of good things and evidence due to the fact
that I took a CHS course last semester and police brutality and
discrimination was a big topic we learned. I think I did a good job of
explaining some things and had some good evidence. I do however
feel like I might have gone on a tangent. Once I get into something I
find it hard to stop. Thank you for your time and patience with helping
me better grasp this essay

Sincerely,
Jesus Villa

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Works Cited
Rodriguez, Luis J. Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.
Willimantic, CT: Curbstone, 1993. Print.
Smith, Anna Deavere. Twilight--Los Angeles, 1992. NewYork,NY:
Dramatists Play Service, 2003. Print.
Potter, Gary. "The History of Policing in the United States, Part 1." The
History of
Policing in the United States, Part 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
Apr. 2015.
"Shooting of Michael Brown." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d.
Web. 30 Apr. 2015.
"The Zoot Suit Riots." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.