Angeles, from the black former policeman Mayor Bradley on down, strove to avert rebellion by channeling anger into manageable channels. Meetings in churches were organized, passionate gospel speeches were mixed with equally impassioned speeches of outrage — all designed to permit a powerless, cathartic venting of emotion. At the biggest meeting, covered by network television, the desperate mayor went so far as to make an explicit plea for no action. Just as good business trade unions see their primary job as imposing the contract and maintaining labor peace, so did the good community leaders see theirs as the maintenance of order.”

Happily they failed. The May 1st issue of the New York Times, which styles itself as the paper of record of the U.S. ruling class, noted with alarm:

“Someof the mercantile circuits of capitalist society is a political blow to its lifeblood.”

The 30,000-square-foot military enlistment center for all nine counties of Southern California was burned to the ground on the first night. The image of the riots, and of riots in general, pedalled by the enemies of revolt is a lie. This lie portrays rioting as an episode of indiscriminate mayhem where rioters attack each other like sharks in a feeding frenzy. Crimes against people, such as rape and drive-by shootings, virtually disappeared as previously atomized proletarians of different colors and ethnicities came together in mass collective violence, “proletarian shopping” and a potlatch of destruction. There were far fewer rapes and muggings during the period of the riots than there are in Los Angeles under the