Black Gangs in U.S.

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Looking for opinions from Americans.

OK, when growing up, black gang violence was 'the thing' in the media (at least here in the UK when discussing America).

As far as I'm aware, there's nothing on this subject in the media anymore.


I assume this is still a big problem in certain areas of the U.S?

If it isn't, do let me know.

Are there no more black gangs in the US?


I'm curious if the media in the US still mention it, and if it is given any airtime at all.

It's such an issue that the media is too afraid of covering it, there were over 700 murders in Chicago last year and my Milwaukee 90 miles north had a 150, they give those BLM riots political cover but a lot of the people participating were gang members. Liberals and thus the media do not talk about it because it does not fit their narrative.

You'll hear claims that BLM does nothing about black on black crime, but only from people who can't be bothered to look at the record. Many of the same people are involved in various kinds of community organizing, of course. Regarding gang membership, it is still the case in many places that people have no real choice. Some parents hide their kids away successfully, but no one should have to make such a choice.

Gangs began as a natural response to racist policing, which was at first legal and is still widely tolerated. They are part of the same problem, and you can't expect to fix one without fixing the other.

You should also examine the different characterizations of groups by skin color. For example, check out the case of the Bay Boys of Lunada Bay in California. Fox especially sensationalizes violence by black people, but most news networks use different language for dark skinned urban groups and light skinned rural groups who have essentially the same MO.

Why did you specifically ask about black gangs in the first place? I assume you have just followed the popular narrative about violence in the US.

Gangs are not a response to racist policing, it is straight up organized crime and thuggery. Have you actually lived a gang infested city? They sell drugs, traffic women, run protection rackets, commit untold amounts of violence, and fight over turf so do not get it twisted in thinking it is something at all dignified or for the betterment of their communities. Useful idiots fell for this same trap back in the 60/70s too, they had a real fascination with lionizing criminal gangs and "leaders" too.

Gangs in Sicily resulted from racist policing, and corrupt policing of any kind will always lead to gangs. Historically, they often end up collaborating to oppress the same people who originally needed them for self defense.

Make up a simple explanation that justifies existing prejudices, ignore history, and crack some skulls summarizes the criminal justice policy of the right wing everywhere. It always makes things worse, although less bad than some but not all policies of the left. Naturally, those worst policies become the arguments against trying anything besides skull-cracking. It may not work, but it satisfies the prejudiced masses.

First-of-all, I'm thinking this should be in PPR.

Secondly, YES, black gangs still exist; and, YES, they're still a big problem; and, YES, they are given airtime----although, not as often as actual incidences, occur (like Jacoby said, the media is scared-off of covering them).

Baltimore had over 300 homicides last year----second, per capita, in the nation ----and, a Baltimore City Police spokesman said: "a huge percentage of 2016 homicides involved shots to the head" (translation "professional hit" [almost ALWAYS aka "gang"]).

Off-the-top-of-my-head, we have "The Bloods", "The Crips", "The Black Gorillas", "Dead Man Incorporated"----and, there's another fairly active one, that I can't, for the LIFE of me, think-of, right now.....

Anyway, "The Bloods" and "The Crips" are the same gangs as in East L.A., Chicago, Detroit, and lots of other cities----they're VERY organized; they're like some kind of workers' union, or something----and, have been active for as long as I can remember (again, like Jacoby said, the same as the racial riots in the 60s and 70s). AFAIK, the other two gangs I mentioned, are strictly Baltimore-based.

We had a TERRIBLE time, here, a few years ago, with the gangs running the prisons----accomplished, mostly, by prison guards who chose to keep their pockets lined with "hush money", from the gangs.

We also have a Latino gang here, in Baltimore----the "Latin Kings"----but, pretty much, all they've managed is ATTEMPTED murder, and racketeering.

Cheers

Over here we heard about some riots, and lots of attention was given to LA gangs.

Then, of course, there were lots of movies on the matter.

But it's all completely vanished.


I assumed it was still an issue, but the media were either:

1) Too scared to mention it out of fear of violence (unlikely)
2) Have been asked not to mention it (likely)
3) Too scared to mention it out of fear of being seen as discriminatory (also likely)

There are probably other reasons I can't think of.



I find it amazing that such matters seem to produce huge reactions in others, with the racism card often being played. So, I thank you for the honest responses.

I'll probably have a few questions on what you said in the replies; I'll ask them later.

Yeah, it seems quite common with some Aspies refusing to believe what they haven't experienced. If we were black people (Jacoby and I) relating the information, however, they'd believe EVERY word.

^ i used to think you were black, actually.

i live in southern california, here the media mostly focuses on latino gangs, all the gang-related murders i can immediately think of were latino-on-latino. for some reason, our media doesn't really report on gangs as much as they did in the 2000s, it did flare up in 2014 with the gang injunction and it's related trial but then died afterwards again.

i don't think many people here outright deny the existence/presence of black gangs, but they certainly get less coverage, and AAs make a much smaller percentage of the population as a whole (compared to latinos).

Yeah, alot of people did----and then, when I finally thought to put "White female" in my signature, cuz I got tired of people asking me (NOT that there's anything wrong with their asking----it's totally understandable, because of TV shows, like "The Wire"----it just got really old), the system started acting-up, and then we changed-over, and nobody could change their signatures, for awhile; MAN, I was chompin'-at-the-bit!! LOL


No, it's not about people denying the existence of black gangs----it's about denying the experiences of a white person, living in a bad neighborhood; BOTH Jacoby and I have been challenged on what we've related, time-and-time-again. We, and other white people on here, have even been challenged about being poor----too many just only wanna believe what they've been spoon-fed, all-of-their-lives, that white people can't "hurt" (suffer, live-in-poverty, etc.).

It gets alluded to, to a certain degree, why do people think over 700 people got murdered in Chicago last year? Most people don't really sit and think about it all that long, perhaps that's from a lack of experience and perspective of the environment There were record high murder counts in cities all over the country but this doesn't fit the narrative. Our media does not like to report on black on black crime, that's the reason I think that's even a term to be honest since some people consciously or unconsciously separate themselves from things they don't see as being their problem. It's always been real to me, I grew up around it and it breaks my heart thinking about the people who's lives were led astray & ruined and those that simply never even had a chance which is depressingly so many of my peers.

I so wish I had my class photos from 1st and 2nd grade, just for memento's sake but mostly so I can see the faces and names of my classmates I've long ago forgotten because I do think about them often about where people might of gone in life. I was literally the only white kid in those grades, one of the few in the school, so I know what it was like being a minority myself but being so young the concept of race had not yet even occurred to me. It's very easy to dehumanize people from a distance, I saw firsthand the trauma/pain/abuse these little children had to endure so it's not a mystery to me why some turn out to be the adults that they do. This is a community that is in a state of collapse on all levels and while they need help it is also a two way street, people deride the idea of 'pulling yourself up from your bootstraps' because so many people are not capable of doing on there own and I understand that but there still needs to be desire for independence, a desire for bettering one's self, a desire to rise above regardless the circumstances they were born into.

People might think dehumanization is something only done out of malice but it comes in many different forms, ignorant paternalism might mean well but it is ultimately a supremacist belief even if not made out of hate. People speak of the racism of lowered expectations and some would say that is an excuse to not help the disadvantaged but people need to maintain some agency and control over their lives to be able to feel they can improve themselves and climb out of whatever hole they find themselves in. We are all victims of circumstance, some more than than others, but what truly makes us human is the desire to rise above that. We have to ask ourselves, what is missing from America? How are our communities suffering? What is lacking is more than just simply economics, it's something social and spiritual too that we've lost along the way. We need to reassert our values and familial bonds, people need a purpose in this world and a reason to feel connected and it can't simply be one fear or anger.

Acting like black people have had time and opportunity to pull themselves up by the bootstraps simply ignores history. Segregation, Jim Crow, explicitly racist Social Security and Unemployment laws, and redlining are all well-documented facts of recent history. Every time people try to pull themselves up, plenty of people above them are trying to pull up the ladder and kick them back down again.

So, yeah. People need more agency. IN CONTEXT.

OK, a little time to reply. I'll reply to this post:

Maybe it's less a case of they 'can't be bothered', but more a case of we all have stuff to do/life tends to get in the way.

If you're a liberal: isn't the title 'Black Lives Matter' actually racist?

Shouldn't it simply be 'Lives Matter'??



Many KKK members have jobs/pay taxes etc.

But that doesn't mean they won't stab your black friend.


You really believe they have no real choice?

That sounds like passing responsibility.



If they have to, they have to.


The very high crime statistics involving blacks - even blacks killing blacks - is the fault of the police?


I can't comment on this as I don't know US law/police issues well enough. Maybe other Americans can comment on this.


So it isn't that the police have to be more extreme as blacks would appear to be, in general, more violent?


Hence the question in the first place. For some reason whites seem keen on molestation, whilst blacks are keen on stabbing/rape/murder.


I'll have a look, thanks.


I don't watch Fox so can't comment. But it couldn't be that blacks are more violent?


What is MO?




1) Every reason given in the opening post
2) Because doing so is not a crime
3) Curiosity on the views of others

etc.


I don't even know what the popular narrative is. Please enlighten me.

All I know is as of my opening post i.e. black gang violence used to get lots of airtime, now it doesn't (at least not here in the UK), and I'm curious on why others think this may be.

Especially so if the problem is still as bad.

The noble savage is racist cultural trope that I think unfortunately manifests itself where good intentions may lie but it blinds people to reality and leaves them vulnerable to empower the very people that torment those they think they're helping. So when I hear somebody speak about how gangs are just communities expressing resistance to persecution then I can only turn my head in disgust, what you are doing is essentially abandoning the good people to these criminals and abusers who could care less about communities. It's not the KKK and Neo-Nazis that minorities should be afraid of in their neighborhoods, they're bad guys don't get me wrong but it's not because of them that they have to live fear and borderline military occupation.

I've spoken about my opinions on the drug war many times and I think taking the power away from these criminal gangs would go a long way in liberating these neighborhoods, far too many people are in prison for totally crimes where they themselves are the victims while we have far too much tolerance for the real victimizers in our society. There is so many different levels to this, it's not just one thing and it's fixed. Even when fixed, the wounds are going to take a long time to heal but this can only be achieved as a oneness as Americans first not whatever identity group you box yourself into.

sonicallysensitive, you can take your tired, sad distractions, put them in your pipe, and smoke them. Google all your arguments to find where responding to them leads, because it's been done already a thousand times. Too bad, the tone of the first post made me think you might want a real discussion.

That's a very important point, Jacoby. I should look back to find the thread where I got ripped for pointing out casual bigotry from a left commenter. It doesn't matter, though. Putting social programs into the hands of people who fundamentally distrust the people whom they serve will never work. The people administering the money act like prosecutors, and the people receiving it feel like criminals. People are beginning to realize that the best way to make people not poor is simply to give them a big chunk of money and let them spend it how they want. At least, it beats spending half the money on administering the grant or giving people things they neither want nor need.

It has been hispanic gangs that have mostly been in the news on Long Island particularly the El Salvadorian dominated MS-13.