Quotes By Rodney King

It's not painful to relive it. I'm comfortable with my position in American history.

People look at me like I should have been like Malcolm X or Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks. I should have seen life like that and stay out of trouble, and don't do this and don't do that. But it's hard to live up to some people's expectations.

When I leave here, when my final day on this earth is up, I want to leave in peace. I want to have peace in my heart.

We wouldn't be as far along as a country if we didn't take on some of Martin Luther King's ways that he instilled in us.

I realize I will always be the poster child for police brutality, but I can try to use that as a positive force for healing and restraint.

The trouble that they see me in is a part of my life that I'm working on.

I tell myself time heals. It really does.

I'm a religious person. I remember my mom told me: 'Vengeance belongs to God. It's up to him to wreak vengeance.' It's hard for me to get to that point, but that's the work of God.

I saw my hometown burning that day.

People, I just want to say, can we all get along? Can we get along?

I had to learn to forgive. I couldn't sleep at night. I got ulcers. I had to let go, to let God deal with it. No one wants to be mad in their own house. I didn't want to be angry my whole life. It takes so much energy out of you to be mean.

It's happening right now... it's just not on film, it's not being recorded.

As far as having peace within myself, the one way I can do that is forgiving the people who have done wrong to me. It causes more stress to build up anger. Peace is more productive.

Obama, he wouldn't have been in office without what happened to me and a lot of black people before me. He would never have been in that situation, no doubt in my mind. He would get there eventually, but it would have been a lot longer. So I am glad for what I went through. It opened the doors for a lot of people.

Can we all get along?

I know and value what it means to wake up and be alive and to share my story. I'm so blessed to be here and to be able to talk about it.