conversely, president bush argued that the unrest was "purely criminal". though he acknowledged that the king verdicts were plainly unjust, he said that "we simply cannot condone violence as a way of changing the system ... mob brutality, the total loss of respect for human life was sickeningly sad ... what we saw last night and the night before in los angeles is not about civil rights. it's not about the great cause of equality that all americans must uphold. it's not a message of protest. it's been the brutality of a mob, pure and simple."