We've seen it before: after the Rodney King beating, after Lakers championships turn into festivals of looting, and now after thugs nearly murdered a father of two because he was fond of the wrong team.

The predictable L.A. post-catastrophe blame game has kicked into high gear.

More cops. Better lighting. Zero tolerance for rowdiness. Maybe even a beer ban. It's that serious.

The Dodger experience must be saved. It's one of the crown jewels of life in SoCal.

Or should I say, "Was?"

Today Dodger Stadium is a hodgepodge of drunken thugs hurling obscenities and fists at whoever they choose to hate, commingled with fathers and sons, mothers, daughters and grandparents out for a day of fun.

Think Disneyland meets "Bladerunner."

The Mayor and his friend the Owner have been forced to acknowledge what the rest of us have experienced at Dodger Stadium for years: The walk from our cars to our seats and back is a gantlet of social dysfunction.

A hugely expensive LAPD presence will greet fans at the next home stand. We're told the team will pay for it. This isn't exactly the lumber Dodger fans were hoping for, but sadly, right now, the Dodgers need police batons more than a clean-up hitter.

So all the bases are covered: more cops, reward money, and outrage from politicians.

But left unaddressed is the fundamental question - Why Los Angeles?

Twenty-nine other cities held home openers without hundreds of arrests for drunkenness, fighting and a major felony as a nightcap. Is it just possible L.A.'s culture of lawlessness keeps coming back to bite us?

L.A.'s lawlessness cuts to the very core of our political culture: one set of rules for the elites, another for the peasants.

Last week the Mayor "agreed" to pay a $42,000 fine after breaking the city's ethics laws. Lesser fines were slapped on Councilmen Eric Garcetti, Tony Cardenas, Jose Huizar and Herb Wesson.

Funny, when you or I break the law, we aren't asked if we "agree" to pay a penalty.

And worse still, the Mayor won't actually part with a penny. A "legal defense fund" will pick up the tab. Ditto for Cardenas, Huizar and Wesson.

Presto! Another L.A. scandal is neatly swept under the red carpet.

For decades we've told the world: "Come to L.A.! We don't enforce our laws!" And we're supposed to be shocked when thousands of thugs took us up on the offer?

While our leaders look for the underlying causes of the Dodger Stadium lawlessness, the first place they should look is the mirror.