It wasn’t until college that I actually met someone that knew someone that was in a real gang. I know at Oneida High School (or maybe the middle school), we couldn’t wear bandannas for their alleged gang symbolism.
I never had any experience being anywhere near gang activity, even living in downtown Buffalo. I heard on the news about drivebys and gang shootings but I felt disconnected from the “gansta” lifestyle.
My best friend in college liked rap music and was from Brooklyn, I guess that counts for something. He also made fun of me for putting quotes around “gangsta,” which I’ve always done—in the air if speaking aloud. There were rumors that one of our friends kept a gun in his apartment. He was from outside of Philadelphia.
It is with this vast knowledge of gang life that I have been drawn to the show “Gangland” on the History Channel. Watching the show has been like watching a movie for me as I feel a complete disconnect from that lifestyle. However, watching the show has made me feel like a proper judge of who are the “baddest” gangs in each city—Chicago, LA, New York, quiz me.
I felt like I knew a thing or two about the policies and procedures of gang life—what justifies violence and how to not offend gang members.
That was until last night.
Last night I looked over my DVRed choices before selected the most recent episode of Gangland. The episode focused on Salt Lake City, Utah and the various gangs that occupy the Mormon communities.
Apparently, these “gangstas” do not watch Gangland. They clearly do not know the unwritten laws of the streets. The first kid they interviewed said that he was a member of the Crips because he “respected Snoop Dogg.” They went on to explore the many different Crip gangs in Salt Lake City, who often battle one another—although they didn’t explain what a ‘battle’ entailed—loud shouting, perhaps?
“Crips fighting Crips?” my husband asked during the show, “that doesn’t make sense.”
The “baddest” of the SLC (Salt Lake City if you weren’t following) Crips was a man known as “Mr. C” who’s rap sheet included shooting a gun in the air and lighting fire to an abandoned house.
He has since left his “street life” and become a missionary for the LDS (Latter Day Saints).
Lame.
Needless to say, I am very disappointed with Gangland this week. A bunch of kids who wear blue and graffiti a building shouldn’t be called a gang.
Says me from my farmhouse in Durhamville. I’ll ask my friends from Buffalo that have friends in NYC that know people in gangs. They’ll agree.
