#RIP Tweets

#RIP to my homie, Jerrel McKay. He was gunned down today. There is no man out here who can do that to my brother and expect nothing to come back around. #WarZoneRiseUp

Nothing New

“Gang violence in America is not a sudden problem. It has been a part of urban life for years, offering an aggressive definition and identity to those seeking a place to belong in the chaos of large metropolitan areas.” -Dave Reichert.

Art and Territory

The two gangs associated with the graffiti are two Los Angeles centered gangs, Barrio 18 in the black graffiti, and Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 in red. The first thing I know is that the MS-13 graffiti is covering the Barrio 18 graffiti. Which means, this block that used to belong to Barrio 18, is now new territory for MS-13. I previously watched a documentary on Nat Geo specifically on MS-13, and one thing they mentioned was how they identified territory through where they placed the graffiti, and gaining or losing territory, always involved some type of exchanged gun fire.

To the left of the photo, the next this written in red, as far as I can see, says “187 Evil Side” which identifies the location. Or it can also be one of the gangs “cliques” that helps to operate specific parts of the gang's territory. Which could also operate not only to let others know who runs this area, but maybe to establish some sort of pride in the fact that it was this clique that gained more territory for the gang. But then also the fact that there isn't a lot of graffiti on the wall, can also indicate that this area is newly adopted by both gangs. An area that before didn’t have a lot of gang activity, but now can possibly be on the rise.

From this photo as well, we can get an idea for the type of neighborhood this was found in. The faded coloring on the brick, as well as towards the end of this building could mean that it hasn't been well taken care of. That indicates that the gang’s territory operates in a lower-income neighborhood, rather than a rich suburb like Wilmette.

What's interesting about this piece of graffiti is that MS-13 is in red and Barrio 18 is in black, but both of their colors are black and blue (flag of El Salvador). My only thought here is that since Barrio 18 used black, the rival gang used red in order to not associate the new graffiti with the same gang by using blue, they chose red to stand out, or maybe to indicate the blood lost over gaining this territory.

In The School

“During my eleven years as a New York City public school teacher, I saw firsthand the impact that poverty has on the classroom. In low-income neighborhoods like Sunset Park, where I taught, students as young as five years old enter the school affected by the stresses often created by poverty: domestic violence, drug abuse, and gang activity.”

-Sal Albanese

Young Boys

The men who fight wars are not the old, gray-haired men, that make the military decisions but rather young boys who for the most part don’t know the full story behind why they’re being shipped off. This is doesn’t just deal with the military, but young boys on streets across this country, fighting in gang wars. Some of the largest and most dangerous gangs in the United States today are Mara Salvatrucha, Barrio 18, Latin Kings, the Aryan Brotherhood, and the Bloods. These gangs originated in the big cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami, and Philadelphia, and from there they spread out to other cities. The first step of gaining influence in a new area is recruitement. Recruiting boys off the inner-city streets starts at ages as young as 8. What is it that motivates these young boys to join a gang at such a young age? Gangs offer an outlet for young people who feel they have nowhere else to turn, which makes them so dangerous.

Before the money, killings, and drugs are involved in gang activity, the first appeal is that it creates a family environment for gang members. The reason children that live in single parent households in inner city communities are labeled “at risk,” is because the gang will be extremely appealing for them. The gang life guarantees a newfound family, protection, and a good amount of money to be made (LAPD online). In the book Rules of Attraction,  by Simone Elkeles, Carlos got involved with Los Guerreros Del Barrio so he could protect his family from other gangs and to make a little more money. “I never complained when I made less than fifty pesos a day and worked like a dog after school. After I got canned and started running with Guerreros del Barrio, I made over a thousand pesos in one day. It might have been dirty money, but it kept food on our table,” (Elkeles 3). His older brother back in Chicago joined the Latino Bloods so he could protect his family after his father was killed during a drug deal. The idea of family and protection for young boys in these at risk communities makes the gang seem like the next best option.

The National Geographic documentary “The World’s Most Dangerous Gang,” follows the gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, around the streets of LA. The gang member they follow joined at eight years old. He killed his first rival gang member when he was twelve. One of his daily jobs is to recruit young boys. He hangs around parks and socialises with these boys. He shares with them the glamorous side of joining MS-13. He promises them a place where they would always belong, always have a family, and could make a good amount of money. After that, it becomes easy for these boys to make the choice to join the gang. If these boys have a family member involved as well, the family influence will be even stronger and recruiting becomes that much easier. Once they’re in it, they’re taught they are either going to end up dead, in jail, or in a hospital.

MS-13’s influence spans from Central America to Canada, and all the area in between. This gang was founded on the streets of Los Angeles when the first surge of Central American immigrants were making their way into the United States. The young El Salvadoran immigrants were constantly intimidated and threatened by the black and Mexican gangs already established in East Los Angeles, and when those Salvadoran boys formed their own group, they became the most dangerous gang this country has ever seen. With the continuing flow of immigrants fleeing Central America at record numbers with no family, the gang is an easy solution to a lot of their problems. When these illegal members are deported back to their home country, they take the MS-13 influence with them, making them an international gang force. Due to their international force, it makes them much more effective at drug and sex trafficking across countries, because then they only do business within their own gang.

Gangs have been present in society for a long time, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to disappear anytime soon. The current estimated number of violent street gangs in the United States is thirty-three thousand, with about one million four hundred thousand active members. The situation the police face now is that their past gang raids have been focused on taking out the gang leaders. But with that, it leaves thousands of young gangsters forming their own small sections of the same gang, making them more dangerous than before. These young boys that have nowhere to turn, nobody to look up to, are very easy recruits for gangs. Its a very harsh and sad reality that isn't just found in the inner cities, but everywhere across this country.

"Rules of Attraction" Number Two

There's no doubt that the amount of drugs in this country is an issue. The homemade drugs, such as methamphetamine, aren't being apprehended at the border between Mexico and the United States as much as cocaine and marijuana are for example. But there's an even deeper problem than just the drugs, but rather the gang wars and other gang related issues that follow these drugs being taken across the border.
In the book "Rules of Attraction", the main character Carlos gets caught up in between the drug gang wars. In Mexico he was apart of the gang, Guerreros del Barrio, and his Mexican connections made him a valuable asset for a drug lord named Wes Devlin in organizing the drug movements across the borders. Drug trafficking is continuing to increase, but that still makes the Mexican drug smugglers still very uncertain about the drug buyers here in the United States in case they're going to sell them out. But one of the reasons that Devlin recruited Carlos, was his boys were about to get in a drug war with another gang called R6. The drug smuggling from Mexico to the United States is a huge business, and its certainly not slowing down at all even with increased drug crackdowns, and border patrol officers.
Since 2006, there has been a Mexican drug war that is active in both Mexico and the United States over who controls the majority of the drug transportation and territory. The drug trafficking industry in Mexico is estimated at fifty billion dollars, and is also thought that if the drug industry was to completely disappear from Mexico, the economy would shrink by over sixty three percent. The six big drug cartels that are centered in Mexico, but also have influence in the United States are; Arellano-Felix Organization or the Tijuana cartel, Los Zetas Cartel, Vicente Carillo Fuentes Organization or the Juárez Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, La Familia Cartel, and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. Each of these drug cartels are fighting to make the most money, have the most amount of territory, and none of them are afraid to use violence to get what they want.
Many of these drug cartels will force migrants traveling from Central America and Mexico to carry drugs for them across the border, and if they refuse, they will kill them. Many also operate as coyotes as well, demanding high amounts of money, and for assistance in transporting the drugs.
The drug trafficking industry is an extremely profitable but yet very dangerous and often deadly operation to join. And it doesn't look like its slowing down at all, if anything the tensions are continuing to rise.

"Rules of Attraction" Blog 1

The current book I'm reading is "Rules of Attraction" by Simone Elkeles. This book is the sequel to another popular teen romance book "Perfect Chemistry", featuring the two main characters Alex Fuentes and his girlfriend Brittany, but this sequel follows Alex's younger brother, Carlos, and his relationship with a girl Kiara. The interesting thing about the Fuentes brothers, is both have been involved with gangs. Alex with the Latin Blood when they lived in Chicago. But when Carlos was in Mexico before he moved to Colorado, he was involved with Guerreros del Barrio. What I began to find interesting was the amount of gang influence that exists within the United States. Obviously that's a very broad topic, because there are gangs and drugs everywhere. But Carlos' gang involvement involved more the presence of drugs. In his second week of school, he was framed by a gang member that had connections to Guerreros del Barrio that ended up having him going to court and an after school program for at risk teens. One gang ritual is staying silent especially when faced with authorities, and not to snitch on anyone, and Carlos acted on that rule when he got busted. The gang culture that exists is very complex. But from this point in the book, some of these gangs are working internationally.
When I read the prequel to "Rules of Attraction" Carlos' brother was involved in drugs, but when he was dealing, him and his other gang members were working more inside the boundaries of Chicago. But in Carlos' case, his gang issues followed him as he moved from Mexico back to the United States. Now there could be two alternatives to that, he wasn't formally jumped out of the gang so that could be part of his punishment or maybe a symbol that he's still apart of the gang. But that's pretty impressive that street gangs in Mexico can still have power even when the gang member isn't in the same country. Or it could be that each gang has international connections especially when drugs are involved. Either way the influence and power that the gang life has over Carlos affects his every move and behavior. Along the way he shuts out different people he loves in order to try and protect them from what may happen if the gang finds out where the people he loves are.
The legacy of gang activity in the Fuentes family isn't something to mess around with. In this book, Carlos became extremely scared when he found the drugs in his locker, not because he could get in trouble but because he knew he was framed by someone within the gang. Which leads me to question how much international drug trafficking exists currently in the United States, how much of a threat these gangs are, and has the drug trafficking been around for a long time.