[Chapter 670: Morals and Principles are Just a Passing Cloud]
It took a full four days for Los Angeles to begin regaining some semblance of order. At least dozens lost their lives, and the property damage was over a billion dollars.
Viacom and News Corporation were too afraid to make any more reckless comments. This disaster was clearly too big to ignore.
Unfortunately, NBC would not forget to kick them while they were down. William White had already made up his mind to portray those two old-timers as conspirators. Manufacturing fake news for the ratings was one thing; if they leaned any further into conspiracy theories, there would be no way to wrap it all up.
The public was understandably furious; the slanted news coverage was downright awful.
In fact, NBC had employed similar tactics for ratings. They just maintained a higher political sensitivity. When it came to issues involving religion and race, they simply wouldn't allow anything to be reported carelessly. Disobedient reporters had long since been dismissed.
Media credibility issues were no small matter; jail time could be on the line. So, both companies began to deny everything feverishly.
It was a real joke how the law worked; reports that instigated such harmful events typically faced no consequences. Just a few scapegoats to bear the blame was all.
Though legally they faced little, the ratings for both networks had plummeted. The public evidently rejected their so-called explanations.
Didn't get the complete video?
Well, that had been dismissed by NBC. The other networks could get it; were they here to be a laughingstock?
Ah, the editors acted unilaterally without proper review. They'd already been let go by the company.
Luckily, they didn't blame temporary workers; they had of course been mocked by NBC already. Rumor had it each company had dozens of temporary workers whose main job was to take the fall.
It was a crucial election time, and things had escalated. The Donkeys were hesitant to spout off anymore; they hadn't contributed anything positive to this crisis. Fortunately, the accusations hadn't been aimed at them.
The media in the U.S. held a unique position as the watchdog of public opinion. So there was no formal review of what they reported. However, creating rumors clearly exceeded that boundary!
Violent unrest from Black individuals was nothing new in America. It often made headlines. Setting a fire wasn't particularly grave; things would cool down after a while.
This situation was different, though -- dozens of lives were lost. The entire city found itself paralyzed. Besides Los Angeles, things seemed shaky in other places too. It was truly terrifying.
NBC's stance still garnered widespread support. Rodney King still bore some culpability. Speeding and resisting arrest were facts. Of course, the police had made mistakes as well; those last few hits with the baton were uncalled for.
Though the police's emotions were understandable, they had gone a bit overboard. Some form of punishment was warranted. While Rodney King made mistakes, those last blows were indeed cruel.
This had always been NBC's perspective. When they first stated this opinion, neither side was happy. Neither the Black community nor the police felt satisfied.
Now that the situation escalated, those who had been so outspoken had all shut up. NBC's approach of taking a middle ground seemed the most reliable. It left everyone feeling pretty frustrated.
...
"William, is this it? What about the damages in Koreatown? No one seems to be mentioning compensation."
William White found Jason's line of thinking to be quite strange. What was going on with him?
"I mean, do we even need to pay? You had insurance; this was an act of God. You didn't buy it, why should I owe you anything? Thus, if someone's stealing your property, take them down right away."
"Seriously, that's how you interpret castle law?"
"Of course! What do you think?"
"It seems I learned something new; I thought it was just for tax evasion."
"Ha! Don't joke around -- the IRS has its own army. Issues like these can just be left to attorneys. Why would you need muscle? You're something else."
After this incident, Korean folks had become quite wary of the U.S. A large number began fleeing the country. After all, Los Angeles police had abandoned Koreatown.
There was really nothing to be done; the police in Los Angeles had their limits. Beverly Hills was a wealthy area -- problems there weren't taken lightly. Koreatown, being tough, figured they could handle things on their own.
The facts were pretty clear: even though many were injured, fatalities numbered only a few. How many exactly? One or two, depending on the later count. Most stores burned, but casualties were minimal.
The violent actions from the Black community had, indeed, been quite crude. Most people just took advantage of the chaos. It was akin to the banditry of ancient times -- easily defeated.
...
"Max, you're here! Did you toss those garbage over to the cops?"
"Just handed them over."
"The kids were well-behaved, right?"
"They were all scared stiff, not talking back at all."
"Got it. Just a bunch of little punks."
A group of Black individuals handed over to the police were nearly all in tears, which left the officers in charge quite astonished.
They couldn't understand it. Why were these desperate criminals so well-behaved? After all, these were armed thugs, not petty thieves looking for a deal.
Someone thought they had been thoroughly beaten, but their bodies didn't show any scars, just a general air of defeat.
They didn't want to know exactly what had happened. They simply felt vengeful satisfaction.
In truth, they knew that these fellas had definitely been dealt with. Otherwise, how could they appear so obedient? They had their own ways of dealing with such matters; it was just no one dared to do it blatantly.
Robbing a Bentley dealership, they couldn't fathom what these idiots were thinking. They ended up getting caught. Such fools surely had dark desires deep within them.
Los Angeles police had never anticipated how well-behaved these thugs would be. It took less than half a day to complete the witness statements.
The police had no idea that these guys wanted nothing more than to be in jail. They believed prison was the safest place for them. If released, they figured they would hardly last long.
The gang leaders had been internally cursed by them. The idea of robbing William White -- what had their leader been thinking?
They knew their boss had likely faced a grim end. Most likely, he was already dust.
These guys' discontent made sense. In such chaotic times, everyone could make a quick buck. Yet now, they found themselves facing serious prison time.
...
"Sir, that group of thugs has spilled everything."
"No one claimed to have been tortured?"
"Nope, they were as obedient as kids."
"Damn, those guys are impressive. How did they do it?"
Looking at their own boss, the subordinates shared exasperated expressions. The CIA had similar tactics, but the side effects were too many for anyone to dare engage.
William White didn't care; he had not only a top-notch legal team but also methods he wouldn't disclose to outsiders. If you had the guts to claim I wronged you, just try your luck. Come on, do you really think being in a big house will save you from me?
A gang that had no hand in this was scared out of their wits. If this guy really got mad, they might find themselves in trouble too.
Forget it; maybe they should head to Las Vegas to weather the storm. Having such a monstrous figure in Los Angeles was genuinely frightening.
*****
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