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heartbreaking when you see elementary schools in blue on the map.

• smhost 10y ago
  I once walked in on my 15-year-old brother and his friends watching what looked like a home video of some guys in wifebeaters apparently standing around doing nothing. I asked them what they were watching, and they said it's a gang video. I got interested so I ask them some more questions, and they went off describing local gang activities, their sources of income, etc. A few years later, I was taking a criminal justice class at a nearby community college, and the term project involved working with local law enforcement to understand criminal activity. When we got to talking about gang activity, I realized I already knew a lot about what the sergeant was saying, and I remembered that encounter I had years ago with my brother. I mentioned it to the sergeant, and he told me about pee wee gangsters and how they have been an increasing problem recently. I'd forgotten about all of that until just now, and I hadn't realized how disturbed it all had made me feel back then.
  • metaobject 10y ago
    Did your brother actually get involved with gangs, or was he and his friends just curious?
    • smhost 10y ago
      At least one of his friends peddled hard drugs, but I don't know where the drugs came from. And it seemed to be more than mere curiosity. I could sense their desire for that lifestyle, and they were clearly getting social cues from those videos. The way they used words, they way they dressed, etc. To my knowledge, it was fortunately "just a phase" and they're now more or less normal, functioning suburbanites with mediocre desk jobs.