We tell ourselves that we have seen enough of that afternoon in Central Park. We do not want to see those pictures again, but we are held by what the jostling camera reveals, and by the questions that the camera will not answer. Young woman after young woman is encircled, stripped, and fondled.
Police officers are nearby, but nowhere to be seen.
It is important to remind ourselves that this is the center of New York, of the golden city, not some mean street in a distant precinct. And it is bright afternoon, not some treacherous hour of dark. And it is, after all, a Sunday of celebration. A happy parade has just made its way down Fifth Avenue. A few days after the Central Park riots, on the other side of America, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship.