Bro Mathew, I know you directed your missive to bro Joe but allow me to chime in. I am not an expert about gang but before we deviate to the complexity of its history, let us keep it as simple as bro Wilmot suggested: warning and conjuring our children and youths about gang involvement. The obvious about gangs (especially in the 90s) were drive-by shooting, killings, rape, looting, etc; and the cause of such activities varied. The members are usually young people loyal to one another, and they would do anything to please each other even if it would cause them their lives. Most of the time their activities are costly youthful exuberance, which some regret after the fact - when it is too late. You would be surprised how many lives that have been lost over somethings as simple as someone stepping on another person's pair of Nike or Jordan shoes. He would simply gather his loyal friends or "gang" to beat up whoever did the stepping, which sometimes results to death. If it doesn't result to that the victim could be the one doing the killing in retaliation of the beating. It does not always has anything to do with drugs. Another example could be rivalry between schools. The "tough" guys from each school try to "stick together" so that they can "punk" students from opposing schools. This is how some of them try to prove their toughness by getting into fights to "earn respect." Such activities force youths to form cliques or "gangs" so that they can watch each other's backs. They form a way to communicate via sign language so that other cliques would not understand what they are saying. They create dressing styles and colors for easy membership identification. This is where we need to educate our children and youths. It has nothing to do with race or gender. I understand fully why bro Wilmot would think such thing never existed in Madison. I probably had similar reaction when the KKK announced a parade on State street a year before my exodus from Wisconsin. And the whole world was in shock about the incident in Jasper, Texas (of all places) a few years ago. Let us keep praying for God's guidance and keeping one another aware of what is going on. - Kelechi mathew jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Joe, In order to come to grips with the gangs phenomenon in America particularly in the black community, it is important to understand the underlying causes of this menance. There is a history that needs to be understood, its causes and consequences. There is a larger picture, much larger than any single black community, but together this is responsible for the sad state of affairs in black communities. It gave birth to the drugs, gangs and alll the other things for which blacks have been streotyped. See? Joe Brewoo <[log in to unmask]> wrote: ** Please visit our website: http://www.africanassociation.org ** Mathew, Can you expand on your propositions on this issue as to where the conspiracy theory fits into the rising activities of gangs in Madison. Do you have information on the race of these gangs????? and their location?????? It has been reported that most of these gangs perpetuating these nefarious activities in Madison are from out of town and a typical example is the debacle at the annual state street halloween parties. There is no doubt about the existence of gangs in Madison but please, lets be objective. As Wilmot pointed out in quotes "With the challenge of motivating our children to focus on education and wholesome activities, we may have the added task of warning and conjuring them about gang involvement". I believe this is where our energies should be channeled. Joe ----Original Message Follows---- From: mathew jallow <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Gangs in Madison? Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 13:25:34 -0800 Hi, This is an attestation to the conspiracy across America by the ruling class to encourage and perpetuate drugs and gang violence in every black neighbourhood in America. This will result to three things; - addiction and black-on-black crime - school drop-out and prostitution - an uneducated and poor underclass - the continued and accelerated distruction of the black family in America. Can you imagine the thousands of black kids who are killed each year? How about the number of those lucky to live only to end up in America's black gulags or prison system. It took the American Black Distruction Industrial prison system more than two hundred years to 1994 to reach the one million inmate mark, but can you imagine since 1994, a mere ten years that number has doubled to more than two million, and I think 60% of the prisin inmates are black. There is a war going on in America against the blackman and the U.S. justice system is wittingly or unwittingly leading this charge. This is like genocide my brothers and sisters. Where is the outrage? "Wilmot B. Valhmu" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: ** Please visit our website: http://www.africanassociation.org ** Hi, everyone! I just read earlier in the December 3, 2004 edition of the ISTHMUS newspaper some very scary accounts of rising gang activities in Madison schools and neighborhoods. If this holds true, it is quite distressing. Madison is a lovely city to live in. I've often bragged to my family, friends, and acquintances about the relative absence of crime in Madison. I even go as far as citing the statistic of only one murder in the whole of Dane County, not just Madison, in 2003. Now with police reports of gang activities and shootings, my heart sinks. With the challenge of motivating our children to focus on education and wholesome activities, we may have the added task of warning and conjuring them about gang involvement. May the Lord God Almighty grant our kids hearing ears and loads of wisdom! - Wilmot ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, visit: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/aam.html AAM Website: http://www.africanassociation.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.