What We Should Have Learned From the L.A. Riots

As the director of a documentary on the Rodney King uprising, I hope what we’re seeing today makes more of a difference than 1992 did

The author, at right, with George Holliday, who in 1991 used his new camcorder to capture LAPD officers beating Rodney King. (Photo: courtesy of the author)

In the right hands and on the right occasion, the pen is mightier than the sword — and a camera can be louder than a cannon. The one in the above photo blew a…