REALITY VS. FANTASY By Victor Marrero Ever watch Death Wish I, II, III, IV ect, ect? Do you hear people talk about how kids don't duke it out anymore, they just pull out their Glocs? Ever had a Chicano Studies class taught by a teacher who doesn't come from the neighborhood, or class of people he or she is talking about? Or if they did come from the barrio they haven't gone back except to go to politically correct luncheons to get slimy with politicians. Does this or that teacher tell you things like Logan Heights "gangmembers" are connected with the Arellano Felix drug cartels? Does the teacher promote the idea that gang members are part of an international mafia conspiracy that networks all over the world? If what the media, the movies, and X teacher or teachers said were true then gang members would if they were internationally connected with drug cartels not be living in run down apartments. They would move to La Jolla, and eat at expensive restaurants instead of "kicking it" by the Liquor store in Logan. If it were true that inner city youth are walking the streets and going to school with Uzis on the level that some people believe were true then police wouldn't feel as arrogant and confident as they do when they approach the average 16 year old wearing baggies and showing tattoos. They would be patrolling the streets in armored cars, and tanks. If ghetto kids were as well armed and weapons trained as some distorted and exaggerated realities would lead us to believe, the whole police department would be like one giant SWAT team driving armored vehicles. What the L.A riots proved is that even facing people who are mostly armed with bricks, bottles, bats, the police will back off if the odds aren't with them, and their chance of winning isn't 500%. Do you ever see a cop approach somebody their own size or bigger, and that they think could be a threat to them without a lot of backup? That's why the National Guard was called after the riots. I say after because when we(I was one of the troops)got to Willshire Blvd everything was already said and done. It's my personal theory that I can state now since I am no longer a Private First Class whose place is not to "question policy makers" that the government delayed the arrival of troops by not expediting ammunition issue because it preferred to have things cool on their own. If there were so many gang members in L.A ready to go with their AK-47s, or whatever else I think that martial law and the Army would have been put into place long time ago. The powerstructure that controls our lives with their internationalized big money(the real mafia) could not afford to let that many youth equip themselves to fight them without taking some assertive action. What it's doing now is making sure that inner city residents who do arm themselves are put away by making gang profiles on them, and then hitting them with the Three Strikes Law. Ever see the movie Panthers? That's one from our side. A lot of California gun legislation has been passed after poor people started arming themselves to fight the state. Finally inner city youth are not part of an international mafia scheme because to do that they would have to be united across neighborhoods, nationalities, and have more sophisticated organization than what I've found working with them. If they were in fact united the police would have to take steps to see that they disunite by doing a drive by on one gang and then spreading the word that a rival gang did it. That's what they did when they heard there was a gang truce during the riots. As one of the National Guard Troops I remember that the gang truce was our boogie man. If the police don't do it with a drive by they'll cross out a gang's name on a wall and put the other gang's name on it. Or they can have their infiltrators spread personal lies and rumors to break the truce. Ever heard that saying "Divide and Conquer?" Look past your faith to see that it's happened here before, is happening now, and will probably happen more viciously in the future.