I witnessed race riots in the 1970's in NYC. I was a kid in the Bronx. There was always some retaliation from one group to the next for some incident or another. Cycle of violence and all that. One day a white guy new to an area got on a bus full of blacks and was beat into a coma. Everyone knew there'd be payback the next day on that bus. It was a bus full of high school kids. I walked over to the stop where it was supposed to happen and no one was around. Hmm. Dead quiet. Right in front of the stop, I walked into an apt building. I figure I'd go up a couple of flights and watch any action from the 3rd floor hall window. (I was about 12). So I walk into this building and the hall is full of cops. They are just staring at me. I walk up 3 flights past about 20 cops like I just lived there. I look out the third floor window and I see the bus coming. The bus stops, the door opens and the driver gets out and walks away. Suddenly white guys from every direction came, surrounded the bus, and smashed all the windows with bats and motorcycle chains, and were clubbing the people in the bus. Many of them tried to run for it, but were beat. It was a horrible sight. The cops let it happen for several minutes, then they came out and cop cars came from every direction including paddy wagons, and the cops just beat the shit out of everyone, black and white, clubbing, and arresting. Dozens of people were covered in blood.

Another time I was walking down the street, turn left to the next street and entered a bodega to get some items. Suddenly hundreds of white guys came to the intersection, turn up a block and bashed every car window and apartment window they could reach. Garbage and flower pots came flying down from windows above and then hundreds of black men came out with weapons and there was this giant riot. It was insane. I watched it from that corner. The next intersection, a block away, a cop car turned onto the street. I don't think he knew what he was coming upon. He stops for a moment, turns on his lights and sirens, and guns it down the street scattering this mob like moses parting the sea. He gets to my intersection, does a 180, and does it again. It's a miracle he didn't run anyone over. Then all hell broke loose with cop cars and paddy wagons coming from everywhere, it was so damn loud, the fighting and riot police beating spilled over to where I was and the old fat Puerto Rican man that ran the bodega, grabbed me, pulled me into the store, and pulled all the gates down locking himself and the customers inside. We could still see outside and watch cops clubbing everyone. Lots of bloody faces.