The song April 29, 1992 (Miami) by the band Sublime describes social and racial inequalities. The song begins with a police officer reporting damage to a vehicle over his radio. Next the song begins describing the scene during the Los Angeles riots in the early 1990s. “The riots stemmed from the acquittal of four white Los Angeles Police Department officers in the beating death of black motorist Rodney King in 1991.” The 1992 Los Angeles riots following the beating of Rodney King by police officers are the backdrop to this song. The song goes on to describe the chaos that was the riots in Los Angeles. He describes the burning of buildings, the looting and the violence that occurred. Over the course of the song, it stops several times as multiple police officers talk back and forth on their radios, reporting different types of disturbances that occurred during the riots. According to CNN, “the riots destroyed or damaged over 1,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area” and “damages amounted to over $1 billion” (CNN, 2019). Sublime's song does a great job of helping visualize the scene that was the Los Angeles riots of April 1992. Overall, the song details the struggle of the poorest people economically, racially and society who struggle to survive due to the oppressive system we have. live below. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Sublime's song April 29, 1992 (Miami) best represents the conflict theory perspective. Throughout the song, he addresses the topic of injustice regarding race and poverty. If we think about this historical period, this song refers to the riots in Los Angeles following the beating of Rodney King by police officers. We didn't charge the officers with anything, which caused an uproar in the streets across Southern California. People had grown tired of the unfair treatment meted out to them because of their socioeconomic status and race by “the man” or, in this case, police officers. When the officers managed to free themselves after beating Rodney King, people took to the streets to rebel against the injustice that had taken place. If we look at the text, the conflict theory perspective on poverty states that “stratification results from lack of opportunity and discrimination and prejudice against the poor, women, and people of color.” In the case of Rodney King and the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King was beaten and not given the justice he deserved due to his socioeconomic status and race. Additionally, the white police officers acquitted of all charges released an even more extensive statement. These actions affirmed that white men still had power over people of color and could do whatever they wanted without consequences. That said, what happened to Rodney King was the last injustice people would support. This is what Sublime's song suggests through the lyrics. The song says, “But if you look at the streets, it's not about Rodney King in this messed up situation and this messed up police, it's about stepping up and staying on top.” In these lyrics, the band says that this situation is much bigger than Rodney King's injustice and that the entire system of our society is messed up. Those at the bottom must rise up against the injustice represented by poverty and race that suppress and repress us. At other points in the song, the lyrics talk about how the rioters got things they couldn't afford, like alcohol or cuddles. This showshow people living in poverty are unable to meet the needs of life. For example, only a truly needy person would steal things like diapers in the event of a riot. Furthermore, it shows the terrible situation many people in poverty live in and what the riots symbolize for many. At the end of the song, it is said that there are riots in every city in the United States. The point the song wants to makeThe bottom line is that injustice is everywhere and we need to take a stand. Looking at it from a conflict theory perspective, in this case we have the police in power and people of color like Rodney King being exploited like him. Furthermore, we are in conflict between those above and those below. Therefore, people at the top oppress those at the bottom in poverty or because of their race to maintain and maintain their positions at the top. Looking at the injustice that sparked the Los Angeles riots, one can see that Rodney King was beaten due to the biases of police officers. According to the text, prejudice is “an irrational attitude towards some people based exclusively on their membership in a particular group”. In the case of Rodney King, he was black and broke the law and the officers treated him harshly for this fact. In today's society, we can still see acts of injustice like this committed on a regular basis. For example, the regular killing of black men by police officers stems from this bias, as in the case of Rodney King. Over and over again in recent years we have witnessed the countless murders of black males by officers and other white individuals who claimed to be perceived as dangerous or armed without any evidence of this. Just as in the case of Rodney King, today's victims are not receiving the justice they deserve. Prejudice prevails and those at the top are able to continue doing what they want without repercussions. The inequality that people of color face is also a case of institutional discrimination. According to the text, “institutional discrimination affects the life chances of people of color in many aspects of life.” As mentioned in the song, people of color and those living in poverty face oppression and difficulty obtaining the necessities of life. Some examples of this are our school systems, workforce, law enforcement, and society as a whole. Looking at our police force, why are Black individuals more likely to be stopped by police officers and killed? Yes, this stems from prejudices against the police system, but also from institutional discrimination. This can be seen in the way law enforcement is taught to racially profile. So, institutional discrimination continues to exist today and is so ingrained in our society that I don't see any change in the foreseeable future. Next privilege plays a large role in the lack of justice that lower socioeconomic groups receive. Returning to the case of Rodney King, the police officers who beat him were acquitted due to their privileges in society. In today's society when we think about privilege, “white privilege” comes to mind. In the case of the four acquitted police officers, white privilege certainly played an important role. According to the text, white privilege is “the advantages that white Americans enjoy in their daily lives simply because they are white.” These benefits can be seen with Rodney King and the killings of so many young black males. It is unthinkable for police officers to shoot and kill a white individual, but in today's society it is all too normal. Furthermore, it is unfathomable how the agents of.