For many parents and school personnel, gang violence seems random, incomprehensible and impossible to prevent.Recognizing gang symbols first step to deterrence
BY
MICHAEL SELINKERFor many parents and school personnel, gang violence seems random, incomprehensible and impossible to prevent.
It is none of these things. Gang members typically follow simple codes and behavior patterns, which knowledgeable and alert people can interpret and act on.
Gangs recruit students between seventh and ninth grade. Younger recruits often display gang signs and symbols without understanding the ramifications; adults can use such opportunities to dissuade them from further gang activity.
There are key gang indicators to watch for; when they appear in numbers, local school councils and school personnel should meet to plan a counterattack.
There are 15,000 to 20,000 active gang members in Chicago, according to the Chicago Intervention Network, the city’s anti-gang agency. Gangs belong to "nations" which compete and fight with each other. Gangs belonging to the same nation may battle each other at times, but they will always defend each other against gangs from another nation.
There are two main nations in Chicago, the People (sometimes called Brothers) and the
Folks. Both cross racial and geographical boundaries. All major Chicago gangs belong to one or the other, as non-affiliation invites attack from all quarters. Folks are much less centralized than People and, as a result, generate more violence.People gangs include the Vice Lords, Latin Kings, Gaylords and El Rukn. Folks gangs include the Black Gangster Disciples (which has a number of factions), the Simon City Royals, the Two-Six Boys and La Raza. Both the Disciples and the Two-Six Boys consider themselves independent nations allied together.
Gangs take their identifying signs and symbols
very seriously; identifiers should never be mocked. Parents and school officials should carefully note gang signs on students when a crime occurs, as identifiers can be critical for conviction.Through the use of color and placement, gangs have appropriated many ordinary objects as identifiers, including single earrings, single gloves, shoelaces, jewelry pocket linings, certain kinds of shoes and jackets, hats tilted to the side and belt buckles worn to the side. Since many identifiers are borrowed from pop culture, not every person displaying a certain symbol, gesture or clothing style should be considered a gang member.
Folks and People anchor their symbols on different sides of the body, with the People using the left side and the Folks using the right. For example, members of People gangs wear their caps to the left.
Each gang has its own distinct symbol as well. For example, the Rebels use Confederate flags, the Latin Eagles use eagles, and the Imperial Gangsters use Imperial Butter logos.
When a gang wants to show disrespect for a rival gang, it paints the rival’s symbol upside-down. When a gang threatens a person with death, it writes his name upside-down.
Gangs also have hand gestures. Member often flash the symbol of a rival nation to determine whether someone is an enemy. If the person returns the hand signal, he is attacked.
Colors are another identifier, though there is overlap. The Black Gangster Disciples wear black and blue, but so do the Popes, the Simon City Royals and the Latin Disciples. Again, someone who wears gang colors is not necessarily a gang member
Gang members often use shoelaces to display their colors, with one color on one foot and the other color on the other foot. People tie their laces on the left, Folks tie theirs on the right. To show disrespect, gang members tie laces on the side of their rivals
only halfway up. Hooded jackets, hair beads, "slave" bracelets and painted fingernails also are used to display gang colors.The Chicago Intervention Network encourages parents and school personnel to watch out for gangs, but it urges caution in approaching them because members may be armed. Calls to the network, police or other knowledgeable authorities are recommended.
from the May 1992 issue of Catalyst.