Korean owners protected stores during LA riot with guns

[LiveLife]

While browsing for Home owners defending lives with guns thread, I came across this NPR transcript of a Korean store owner who assembled other Korean business owners and defended their stores of 20 years with guns while other stores were looted and burned - http://www.npr.org/2012/04/27/151526930/korean-store-owner-on-arming-himself-for-riots

... Kee Whan Ha. At the time of the riots, he organized members of his community to protect their stores ... he and fellow stores owners assembled with weapons to protect their properties. Mr. Ha still lives in Los Angeles and owns the Hannam chain store, which includes a supermarket in the heart of L.A.'s Koreatown.

HA: Yes. It's very painful. Also, one of our security guard was killed. So it's a human loss, some property damage, but fortunately, our business was unharmed ... I assembled my people, all the store owners, people who has a big rifle or the hunting rifle, everything ... our next door ... electric part [store] ... the riot people came inside, and they steal everything. They put the gasoline, then they put the fire, so whole building's on fire.

MARTIN: ... Why did you feel you had to defend your store yourself? ... why you didn't feel the authorities would do their job.

HA: I don't see any police patrol car whatsoever. That's a wide-open area, so it is like Wild West in old days, like there's nothing there. We are the only one left, so we have to do our own ... The riot people took the next building, put it on fire. Then these people want to come to our store. Then we are shooting each other.

MARTIN: Sure. You were trying to create a - sort of a protective barrier, and you did succeed in saving your store ... How are things now?

HA: I think it's much better there. We have a lot of relationship with the African-American community, as well as the Latino community. Also, we have a lot of connection to the police department.

 

[LiveLife]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=2786084#post2786084

I marched with the rioters during the Rodney King thing ... the rioter ... were just out to destroy anything. I watched as they torched stores, a very beautiful Jag, restaurants etc.

The one most powerful image that still to this day stays in my mind is when we were marching past the Sheriff's detention center. The Deputies were all outside their building standing side by side with nightsticks in hand. The rioters marched right past them and burned down this restaurant right accross the street (that used to be mostly frequented by the Deputies). Deputies didn't even flinch. They were only concerned about protecting their building. Screw all the other buildings around them.

Taught me that when the chips are down, don't relie on the police. They will get to you when they get a chance, but their first priority is their own interests.

 

[LiveLife]

http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/Arti...reans-wrestle-with-aftermath-of-LA-riots.aspx

When the rioting began in South Central, Crips and Bloods who had been killing each other days before set aside their differences and joined forces to pillage Korean businesses. The Koreans believed they had little choice but to band together in self-defense.

L.A.’s Korean immigrant community sustained nearly half the riots’ $1 billion in property damage; the dreams and pride of more than 10,000 Korean shopkeepers and their families were reduced to ash in the conflagration, including 2,300 predominately Korean-owned businesses in South L.A. alone. Many of those businesses never returned, casualties of the riots’ political aftermath.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Malarkey. That detention center had incarcerated inmates inside, and those deputies were 100% responsible for their lives and safety. They absolutely did the right thing by defending an occupied building with hundreds of defenseless people inside who would have otherwise been burned alive by savages.

 

[M-Cameron]

Malarkey. That detention center had incarcerated inmates inside, and those deputies were 100% responsible for their lives and safety. They absolutely did the right thing by defending an occupied building with hundreds of defenseless people inside who would have otherwise been burned alive by savages.

still doesnt change the fact that police have no obligation to help you.....

hell, even if there was no one inside, do you really think they would have done anything differently?

a few dozen police Vs. and entire angry mob.......they wouldnt have stood a chance.

 

[LiveLife]

http://www.culturalweekly.com/korean-american-identity-la-riots.html

Just imagine yourself as the person in the quote below ... will 7 round magazines be enough if you were caught in the next riot?

When the Los Angeles Police Department made the decision to retreat from the riots’ flashpoint of Florence and Normandy, the emboldened street gangs took advantage of the chaos by looting and burning the Korean owned stores in South Central Los Angeles. Many shop owners, who had not been able to flee South Central when the violence erupted, were stranded in the stores.

“We frantically called the police but nobody picked up. When they did they simply told us that there was nothing they could do about it,” recalls one of the victims. While the Los Angeles media was busy reporting the burning and looting of the stores, the Korean American media, particularly Radio Korea, which had switched to an emergency broadcast, were reporting about the family members who were still stranded.

The next day, the street gangs targeted the neighboring Koreatown, approximately 2 miles north of South Los Angeles. As the police, which had retreated from South Central the day before, began urging the Korean American shop owners in Koreatown to evacuate Koreatown because they had no intention of protecting it, Korean American shop owners armed themselves to protect the businesses from the looters. “Had they not done so,” recalls Professor Leo Estrada of UCLA in the film, “the entire town would have burned down like South Central the day before.” Estrada was a member of the Christopher Commission who at the time chose to drive through Koreatown in a patrol car made available to the commission members.

 

[CZsp01]

We were living in NY at the time of the riots and the Korean community felt the tension on the other coast! I dont remember much but I know my family was armed.

 

[LiveLife]

If such a riot occurs in NY in the future after the 7 round magazine changeover, you would need a backpack just to carry spare magazines ...

 

[Strange Bob]

The Police

You're always on your own unless proven otherwise. That has to be your attitude.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1976377/posts

 

[CZsp01]

I remember several times when the whole power grid would shut down in NY, scary times! Glad I dont live there anymore.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

This perspective of the events is one of the greater "quashed" stories of the couple of decades surrounding Sa-i-Gu.

The fact that it was a stone cold race war and the attacked race defended themselves with privately owned firearms - many to go on to be banned by the CAWB - after being left to hang by municipal, county, state and federal government entities speaks right to the heart of the Second Amendment.

Interestingly - the only time any one really talked about it was to highlight the effect on Korean women as a result of the Rodney King trial as opposed to addressing the long escalating violence agains these merchants (male and female) before that trial and the horrible beating which precipitated it. This very escalation was behind a great many of the merchants "arming up" as a response to police ineffectiveness regarding practical prevention. Not a "dis" on cops but rather an observation on policy and deployment.

 

[Ky Larry]

The police will always defend the areas where the rich people live.The rest of us are on our own.

 

[TRX]

There's a bunch of local news video up on Youtube, some riot footage and interviews with local Koreans. Plus the film clip with the iconic image of the shopkeeper and his family standing on their roof with rifles.

I don't know if those guys were born Americans, naturalized Americans, or resident aliens, but that one image pretty well exemplifies the right to keep and bear arms.

 

[nathan]

Koreans are tough people . They know how to defend and fight. The LA cops would rather leave that part of town to the rioters while they regroup and defend White dominated areas of Los Angeles.

Kudos to the Korean Americans for standing against evil in difficult times. It should be an example to all of us that when social order falls, there is no leeway. Either you get robbed and killed or you shoot back to defend life, limb, family, friends, your neigborhood and freedom.

 

[LiveLife]

LAPD motto is "To protect and to serve". But under riot conditions, LAPD was unable to provide police protection to it's citizens. The courageous decision by the Korean American shop owners to form a private citizen protection group against armed gang members was not too far from what the patriots did back in 1776 - they fought for life and liberty to pursue the American way of life.

When the Los Angeles Police Department made the decision to retreat, ... the street gangs took advantage of the chaos by looting and burning the Korean owned stores in South Central Los Angeles ... When the rioting began in South Central, Crips and Bloods who had been killing each other days before ... joined forces to pillage Korean businesses. The Koreans believed they had little choice but to band together in self-defense.

the police ... had no intention of protecting [shops/businesses], Korean American shop owners armed themselves to protect the businesses from the looters

What Obama/Feinstein and other law makers sworn to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are proposing to do and what NY state just did will only decimate the law abiding citizens' ability to defend themselves from armed criminals/gang members and future riots.

 

[nathan]

Thats why one need s body armour , high cap mags and 100 rd drums to defend against rioters. There is a purpose to them, not only for military use but in the case of widespread looting and mayhem like what happened in Los Angeles South Central and Korean town , circa 1992. I myself can remember asking that same question, Can this happened in modern America? Yes it did . It happened in the 60s and 70s . It resurfaced again in 1990s.


Now that we are in the 2010s, we better be mindful of things can go heywire in a heartbeat. Order in society is never absolutely stable. It can go downhill and opportunists like thugs and mob mentality can take place at random. If you are not prepared, then you are SOL. Dont underestimate the power of the mob.

 

[LiveLife]

Don't forget the looting that occurred with hurricane Andrew and Katrina. Local law enforcement agencies were not able to provide law and order immediately after the hurricane and many, many home owners were robbed and businesses looted.

I still vividly remember the two crying ladies who told the TV reporter that they saw their neighbors, who they grew up with, go from house lot to lot (the structures were blown away) and robbing their neighbors at gun point. The only reason why the two ladies still had what little they possesed was because she had a revolver and her mom had a shotgun. Truly sad, but reality, even in 2013.

California is anticipating an 8-9 earthquake soon and a recent state-wide disaster drill we ran painted a picture where major metropolitan cities hit may be without water, power and police/emergency personnel for several weeks. Add to that the disruption of traffic flow/freeways/highways and trucking/rail service for food/essentials and you may see looting like we have never seen before.

Is there any town/city/county without criminals or gangs?

Be prepared, it may be your neighbors who may be robbing you when disaster strikes.

No, I am not a prepper but a concerned citizen.

 

[nathan]

The reason why I love my Remington 870 with rifled sights IC barrel. WIth slugs its a deadly combination perfect for that 50-75 yds mansized target takedown. If stupid looters makes their move God forbid if it does happen , they be SOL.

 

[SSN Vet]

Military service in South Korea was compulsory for many years. I had several Korean friends who were a decade older than me back in my college days, and every one of them had served in their army.