Gunnar's Reaction to the Rodney King Verdict

In chapter 7 of The White Boy Shuffle, Gunnar reacts strongly to the news of the Rodney King verdict. He has a sudden feeling of anger that he couldn't quite cure like most things in his life with a poem or a "glass of milk and glazed doughnut". He wants to take his anger out on someone or something as he says "I wanted to taste immediate vindication, experience the rush of spitting in somebody's, anybody's, face " (132). Gunnar's response to the verdict is different from the way he reacts to his issues in other parts of the book. In this case, he feels like writing a poem and having his ideas spread is "kid stuff" that wouldn't stand up to the enemies or make any progress. He describes the American poet as a "whiner" and "at best an instigator" and praises Psycho Loco's violence for being a powerful vitriolic stimulant. When asked about his poetry by the man who has invited Gunnar  and Scoby in his house, Gunnar puts down his passion for poetry. He responds by saying that he "writes about whatever". To me, it seems like he is frustrated that his works have no real purpose and more direct forms of confronting racial issues through violence offer more satisfaction. This leads him to act uncharacteristicly as he and Scoby beat up an innocent Wonder Bread truck driver who is in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught in the middle of the riots after the verdict has just come out. 

In class, Mr. Mitchell brought the Wonder Bread truck beating to the forefront by mentioning that the event actually happened in real life and someone alive during the riots should remember it. However, it might be difficult for some to recognize it because of the way Beatty changes things. Beatty completely fictionalizes the event by making Scoby and Gunnar the perpetrators. He turns this entire scene into a sort of joke as Gunnar and Scoby don't use actual weapons (like rocks) but instead use "doughy satchels of bread" that Scoby finds in the truck. In the book, we get the sense that Scoby and Gunnar aren't really serious about attacking the driver. Scoby is "chewing on a cupcake" while he holds the bread. Beatty describes the aftermath of the beating by saying it "snowed breadcrumbs" which makes it seem more like a foodfight than an actual attack. In real life however, this event was much more serious. The man who was attacked was a truck driver named Reginald Denny who was pulled from his truck at the intersection of Florence and Normandie and beaten heavily. There were four rioters who were involved in the beating and they came to be known as the LA-4. This attack was captured on video by a news helicopter and was on television so the entire country could see it. In the book, the beating isn't particularly graphic or bloody but the images broadcasted live were. 
I'm glad that Mr. Mitchell brought this up in class because I was unaware that Beattey was playing this scene off of something that actually happened.