Colors, Letters and Numbers

Colors, Letters and Numbers. The three things that have been with us from infancy, to adolescence until now. No one ever thought that the symbols that were on our building blocks would symbolize what they do today. The movie Colors glorified bloods (red) and crips (blue) to some extent. It made a lot of teens and younger kids want to be apart of a gang because it seems cool, or maybe they just had nothing else better to do. The whole gang theme seems to be catching on through out all aspects of life. There are even reports of a homosexual gang that wears the rainbow as their calling card. There will never be a slow down in gang violence once there are members of the hip-hop community that glorify the gang lifestyle. Rappers such as Snoop Dogg who is a highly decorated crip, and Cam' Ron who is a member of the bloods, and often makes references to the "GMDC" (George Mochen Detention Center), which is a section of rikers island that is used to deal with inmates with violent problems., and is also where "The United Blood Nation" was founded.

This is a time where wearing the wrong color in the wrong area could do more than raise a few eyebrows. A time when there have been cases of deaf-mute individuals being attacked or even murdered because their sign language was mistaken for gang signs. We have to realize that gangs are no longer just a LAPD or NYPD problem. This has moved up onto a global scale. Bloods and Crips now have chapters in London and Paris. And as far south as Belize. People may perceive these gang members and thugs and may consider them ignorant. But by their imperial tendencies and recruiting methods, they may be more than just thugs. They are entrepreneurs. The only logical way I see, is to stop the next generati...

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... of someone's imagination, or just another one of Americas problems.

Nowadays gangs are also living the American dream They too also have a rich history, steeped in tradition. Their tradition may not hold the same values that ours do, but it is tradition nonetheless. The only real way to fight gangs maybe to educate people about them. Let the public know where they came from, how they started, and where they're going. Make sure that John Q. Public knows the difference between a blood and a crip. I know that its sad that making the "ok" hand signal could also be seen as offensive to a blood, and it could cost you your life. But the key lies in making the public aware of this rising problem. Not doing so may allow these gangs to grow unnoticed. Sooner or later we may have a "Sopranos" type show with African American actors, if we lie back and let America get whacked.