Babylon Is Burning

"We experienced the riots from a dual perspective: as citizens enraged by the Rodney King acquittals, and as residents of a neighborhood that was badly hit by their violent aftermath. The feeling of rage and futility was so palpable everywhere you looked, the moment those verdicts were read; this was the prime mover of the Los Angeles riots. Then, opportunistic, chaotic elements mixed in with the political elements, and in time the looting and destruction crowded out and muddied the political impetus of the riots. The frustration, the feeling of the government abandoning and harming us all had created a widespread atmosphere of 'we don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn.'
"Burn, at least, until it is understood that this was not okay, not for any of us."

Maria Bustillos at The Awl compares the London riots of 2011 to the Los Angeles riots of 1992.