Rodney King’s Celebrity: Much Ado About Not Much

Wherever Rodney King goes, it seems, trouble follows. And with a name identification that ranks up there with Madonna’s for instant celebrity-status recognition, it looks like we’re stuck with him for a while.

The question, simply put, is: Should we be? Does just being Rodney King warrant the kind of attention and reaction that Rodney King gets?

The latest test came last week when King showed up with his Santa Ana Heights attorney, Milton Grimes, for an appearance before a Tustin High School African-American student group.

According to a Times reporter who was there, King spoke sometimes fumblingly, sometimes touchingly on various subjects--ranging from his reaction to the not guilty verdicts in the famous Simi Valley trial, to urging that students stay in school.

In short, Tustin High got what Oprah or Donahue would kill for--a free Rodney King appearance. But when school officials and some parents learned belatedly that King had been on the grounds, they repudiated his visit.

School officials were justifiably upset about being in the dark (after all, it is their school district), but methinks they protest too much. They castigated Grimes publicly for deceiving them about King’s appearance, but they should privately congratulate him for his handling of the situation.

First, Grimes’ reasoning was sound: To many students, particularly black students, King is a near-mythic symbol. It’s hard to conjure up a reason why letting students see King in the flesh constitutes any serious breach of the educational mission.

Second and most important, Grimes avoided making the event a media circus. He didn’t alert TV stations and was most circumspect. Even if he was a tad presumptuous in inviting such a controversial figure to the school on his own, Grimes made up for that indiscretion with his overall handling of things.

But that narrow question is, for me, less vexing than that of King’s ongoing celebrity status.

Forget high school audiences for a moment. What about society at large? Why should Rodney King hold any particular interest for the rest of us?

History is not always overly discerning as to who receives its fateful touch. Indeed, could there be a more unwitting and unlikely historical figure than King--a man with a criminal record made famous only because he tried to outrun police, got beaten up and just happened to get videotaped?

For me, that does not accord him either heroic dimension or, even, the benefit of my continuing interest. For me, he remains a human victim, a symbol. What interests me is not King himself, but the perpetual crisis over how black men are treated by law enforcement authorities.

Having said that, however, I would still concede King’s place in the public arena if he just had something to say. But I have seen or read precious little from him to suggest that he has much to contribute about the event that made him a celebrity.

Consider another reference point.

PBS aired a documentary recently on the role of American black soldiers who liberated survivors of Nazi concentration camps after World War II. The film dealt with the heroic efforts of the soldiers at a time when their own country denied them rights.

The Washington Post reported that the documentary included twists that were “disturbing and inspiring. Some anecdotes are downright chilling,” the Post’s review said.

Did Rodney King ever bring that kind of light to his experiences? Has he earned a public forum for anything other than “being there” when a man videotaped his beating? Has he contributed in any significant way to the dialogue of this painful problem?

Other than his “Can we all just get along?” comment, he has not.

The hell of it is, it’s not King’s fault. He can only be who he is.

What’s the big deal, you ask.

The big deal is that Rodney King is in danger of being turned into a traveling exhibit, like King Tut on wheels.

He was and always will be the victim of what the LAPD did to him that night. He isn’t the star of anything.

The ultimate irony of Rodney King’s life is that, try as he might, being Rodney King is forever going to be both his blessing and his curse.

So, on the one hand, it doesn’t bother me that King spoke to students at Tustin High. But all things considered, I’d much rather hear from one of those soldiers that liberated the death camps.