The History Channel ran a show on Sunday, "The Secret History of Gangs." I think it carried less history than I'd have wished and less secrecy. The resulting show was sobering however. Here is a link to the Discovery Channel history of gangs.I was never poor and never lived in a ghetto as a kid and, unlike a great many, had two parents. I was alternatively petted and terrorized by my siblings while my parents worked long, hard days with a 1 or 2 hour (or longer) commute.
I tried drugs and alcohol and grew up knowing I didn't like the effects of the experimentation. Probably luckily for me, I was hypoglycemic, so the alcohol killed my blood sugar for multiple days every time I got wasted. I was too practical to want to lose all that time to feeling like crap.
Drugs were an expensive hobby I didn't have the money for, I always had other things I'd rather buy. Plus, they just made me hungry so I would be paranoid and worry about putting on more weight. Like I said, I was lucky.
All that aside, I suppose I've never been able to understand why people would be willing to participate in gangs. Most gangs seem to victimize others who are in just as sad of shape as the gangsters.
Some of the earliest gangs in the US were in New York I guess. The Irish gangs, the Whyos, Dead Rabbits and Plug Uglies terrorized the New York streets. Many were robbed and injured and there was a HUGE outcry when 3 people were killed. THREE.
Compare that to the Crips and Bloods. Hundreds have died. The drug trade seems to allow them to pay to arm themselves to kill more. The solution in L.A.? They declared a cease-fire and open territory.
That may have kept down the bloodshed in LA, but what about the rest of the US? Gangs are spreading. Thousands of new members poliferate across the US in the suburbs. And yes, even in my very small suburbian tourist town we have been cleaning up gang grafitti. It seems the Columbia River Gorge scenic area is a great place to grow weed...up on those high forest trails where few rangers go.
I feel saddened at the current hype and glamour that rap and hip hop seem to have given to a very violent life, and I wonder how these suburban kids justify their actions. Is it just a selfish disregard for others? Or do they feel that disconnected from family and society as a whole?
I think we should induct all our kids into the Mickey Mouse gang...oh wait, that was done. It was called the Mickey Mouse Club and you pretty much needed to be white and middle class to join.
no answers from a puzzled goddess, just questions and paranoia
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment