Here’s a list of some of the actors in Freeway:

Killer chola played by Alanna Ubauch, the actress that played “Josie” on Beakers World (she’s unrecognizable in this role!)

Vanessa’s gangster love is actor Bokeem Woodbine

Dan Hedaya who played Cher’s dad on Clueless is a detective

Brooke Shields as the serial killer’s unsuspecting wife

Amanda Plummer plays Vanessa’s mom

Brittany Murphy is a psychotic inmate

Fun Facts:

There is a scene where Vanessa Lutz shows Bob a picture of her deceased father. I thought the man in the picture looked familiar and then I found out that it was familiar because it is a picture of mass murderer Richard Speck.

Twin actresses Brittany Daniel and Cynthia Daniel were offered the parts of killer twins Brenda and Bonnie but they refused the parts. I wonder why?

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Back in medieval Japan, the day of the Samurai…if you failed or were dishonored somehow, you were required to commit Seppuku, or ritual suicide. It was the only way to regain your honor before you died. In the Japanese medieval times, honor equaled your life. In those times, a female’s honor was not as important as a man’s. It was not uncommon for a woman to get raped without penalty to the man whom inflicted it. The geisha would sell their honor or their virginity to the highest bidder. A female’s honor was no more than their ability to give a man pleasure. Women could be beaten, raped, and savagely murdered and often times get away with it. Whereas a man’s honor was based on his ability to be a man and to save face for their family. In Japan if you refused to serve in the military, shame and dishonor would fall into societal shun.

————————————————————

Let’s look at western cultured America. “DRAW!” No, really, it was then in society that you could meet your fate at the end of a shoot-out if you dishonored another man by cheating, stealing, beating, or more. Life was lived at the end of gun for notorious criminals like Billy the Kid. You crossed Billy; you’d meet your end at his six shooter. It is notoriously known, that if you played poker and you were caught cheating…your honor as a man would be challenged at the end of a six shooter, the resounding phrase that would echo in your ears before death would be “DRAW!” Followed by the ringing in your ears of the six shooter’s powerful kick and the sting of the opponent’s bullet in your chest!

————————————————————

Let’s fast forward now to the early 1900’s. It was the dawn of the Chicago Mafia. At first they started as a street gang driven by desire for the money. Then, if eventually began to take over bits and pieces of Chicago. It eventually turned into a turf war which was based off of respect and honor. If you tried to do crime on mafia turf, you dishonored and disrespected the family. You could meet your fate at the end of Al Capone’s Tommy gun. Chicago crime families had begun to fight crime families on a day to day basis. It was a war in the streets of Chicago. One notorious double crossing was the St. Valentine’s Massacre. Al Capone set up another crime family for slaughter, all for the greed of territory and honor. Turf meant honor.

———————————————————–

Let’s take a time warp to present day America. We even have television shows that flash the war of honor before our eyes. The news is riddled with bullets of dead kids, slaughter, and bloodshed. All for what?! Turf wars, honor based wars. Gangs bring little kids in; teach them the life against the law. Little brothers and sisters follow Big Sister and Big Brother into crime as they get gunned down, seeking vengeance and honor back from their sibling’s slaughter. The show Pit bulls and Parolees is a beautiful way to help ex-gang members try to better their lives. Gangland tells of the horrors behind the lines…drugs, weapons, turf, respect, honor, and fear. Chicago people now days face fear in their own homes, walking to their cars, and their kids walking to school. Even school buses have been proven not to be 100% safe for our kids. This nightmare is getting stronger, yet the government claims that crime is dropping. How? How can we sit here and let this continue? Fear of the horror that would be if we stepped in the way of that next bullet.

———————————————————

Cops are trying their best, but seem to be making minimal damage to stop this war on our streets. It is so bad that you can walk down your street to the grocery store, wearing everyday clothing and suddenly be surrounded by 10+ gang members with guns pointed at you; all because you accidentally wore the wrong colors. You can’t wear your own clothes for fear of getting a gun pulled on you. You fear as you send your kids to school in their clothes, for fear you sent them in the wrong colors. All because the gangs want more turf, their share of the money. In most gangs’ eyes, money = power, turf = honor, crime = respect gained and trust from your family. It is all about proving yourself to the gang, honor within the gang = protection within the gang.

——————————————————–

It is all about honor, even now days war of politics is all about who is the bigger most respected and honored person, group, or nation. Honor rules us, even those who don’t realize it.

——————————————

2011 Unpublished work. © by Rebbecca Abernathy.

Image via Wikipedia

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that gang membership is growing, with a current estimated 1.4 million members in 33,000 gangs, up from the 2009 estimate of 1 million members. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) did say though that the increased numbers may be due to improved reporting by government law agencies.

Gangs are involved in such activities as smuggling illegal aliens, human trafficking, and prostitution. The report mentioned a member of an LA gang who was apprehended by police for running a lab manufacturing pirated video games, and another who was caught for running a clothing store as a front for selling drugs and counterfeit goods. And gangs are turning increasingly to white-collar crime, engaging in such criminal business activities as mortgage fraud and identity theft. The advantage with white-collar crime is lower visibility, compared to drug trafficking and gunrunning, for instance, so there is less danger of detection by law enforcement.

The FBI added that gangs are expanding their operations and joining forces with foreign crime organizations in more lucrative undertakings. One of the most serious threats comes from the infiltration of the military by gang members, and the Bureau reports that members of 53 gangs have joined every branch of the military, though it is also possible that this is a way of escape from the gangs.

Technology plays a big role in both criminal activities and the recruitment of gang members. The increasing participation of gangs in white-collar crimes means increasing sophistication in their operations, and their increasing focus on high-tech crimes such as identity theft means their activities are harder to detect. And they take advantage of the extreme popularity of social networking sites and video sites, where displays of bravado and gang culture are proving attractive to many youths who often look at this kind of lifestyle as “cool.”

We can only hope that law enforcement methods will keep pace with or overtake the technological sophistication of criminal organizations. And it is imperative that we as citizens likewise increase our awareness of criminal methods. The more sophisticated we are in our knowledge of gang-related crime, the less likely we are to fall victim to it.

From the Desk of Attorney Monica Risam Nicklin, a United States/United Kingdom attorney working in London.

In the 1800’s Americans became fascinated with gangs and gangsters. Especially with the James Gang, Billy the Kid and many other outlaws that roamed the west committing crimes. In the 1900’s La Cosa Nostra became known to all Americans as the Italian Mafia with notorious gangsters as Paul Kelly, Johny Torrio, and the most notorious member Al “Scarface” Capone who brought with him s childhood friend Lucky Luciano.

Today the names of Billy the Kid, Paul Kelly, Al “Scarface” Capone and Lucky Luciano are kept alive by Hollywood who have cashed in billions of dollars portraying this criminals as examples of the American dream. But the glamorous life that Hollywood has depicted this criminals in their films is far different then what we are seen today in the streets of Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, New Jersey and many others states and cities across the United States of America.

There are many gangs in our society like the Bloods, Crips, Dominican Don’t Play, Latin Kings, Vatos Locos and many others, but for this article I will write about one particular gang considered by many expects as the most dangerous gang in the world with cliques or cells located throughout the United States and is unique in that it retains is ties to its EL Salvador counterparts. With Cliques already identified in California, Washington DC, Illinois, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Alaska, Arkansas, Michigan, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and several other South American Countries. I am talking about The Mara Salvatrucha “MS13”

As of 2010 the Mara Salvatrucha “MS 13” has been classified the most dangerous and well respected gang in the world. They wear the colors White and Blue, which are the colors of the Salvadoran flag, their membership is estimated to total over 40,000 in Honduras alone. Members are between the ages of 9 to 40 years old. Their increase in violent activities and careless disregard for the law has made them the most feared gang in the United States. Their membership has grown rapidly, for example in Charlotte, North Carolina, MS 13 membership is estimated to be over 200 members. Police have implicated MS 13 in at least 11 murders in the Charlotte area alone. In the Washington DC area membership is estimated to be somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000 members.

The reasons as to why gangs such as the Mara Salvatrucha have gained such power and membership could be attributed to many factors but gang experts across the country agreed that the main reason gangs have taken strong roots in some cities is because elected officials refused to accept their existences. This opened the door for gangs to recruit members in schools, churches, playgrounds and many other places within a community.

implementing educational workshops for parents and children to say no to gangs. These workshops have become instrumental in minimizing gang activity in our schools and streets /

    Before the briefing where we hear about the negative feedback for the Rookies that were assigned to the Mounted Unit training, McNally proclaims she is done with cops for relationships. Epstein is popping some pain pills every couple of hours but is cleared for duty, just not the Mounted Unit Training. As our rookies prepare for the morning debriefing, tension is expressed between Gail and Dov when the group comes upon Chris and Gail having a flirtatious moment. Sam Swarek (Ben Bass) and Oliver Shaw (Matt Gordon) hassle Callaghan and after some good natured ribbing, Shaw tries to ask Swarek a personal question only to get some equally good ribbing. The officers are debriefed, Frank Best (Lyriq Bent) tries to talk with Officer Noelle Williams (Melanie Nicholls-King) but she ignores him quite coldly. If you recall, she told him last episode about how she is trying to have a baby and going through fertility treatments. Apparently, that didn’t go over too well from Williams point of view.

    McNally and Diaz are back at the Mounted Unit training, with McNally still not feeling the love today and even less so with the negative report. Another rookie, Samuels, from division 27, is training with the rookies from division 15. Samuels and Diaz apparently were in the same academy and were pretty close. Samuels is fascinated with McNally in riding pants and she is quick to let him know that cops are not on her dating radar. Samuels hints to Diaz that he is having troubles in his division but can’t discuss them at that point in time and then they revert to complete boys which McNally calls them on.

   Cut to Dov and Gail Peck (Charlotte Sullivan) riding patrol with Dov doing the sour grapes spiel and the two sniping at each other. The two take a call for backup for a bomb threat at a restaurant. ETF is on site along with Dov’s new girlfriend, Sue Tran, bomb defuser for ETF. They arrive and are told the bomb is not there but the restaurant still needs to be swept. Tracy Nash (Enuka Okuma) is riding solo but after deciding to follow up on the female caller who tried to hide her phone number and failed, winds up riding with Gail since Dov is asked to stay behind and help out by his ETF girlfriend. Nash and Peck head over to Mary Vu’s house to find out why she called in the bomb threat.

    Nash and Peck arrive at Mary Vu’s apt. Mary Vu’s lies about everything from the get-go and proves to be very difficult especially when she takes off running and forces Nash and Peck to chase her down

    Noelle continues to try and avoid Frank Best . He tries to talk with Noelle, she avoids him.

    Back at the station, Nash tries to get Mary to tell her if there is a bomb in the restaurant. Mary keeps asking to pee. Nash brings up that the restaurant is a known hang out for gang activity. Mary tries lying again about what and why she did anything.

    Swarek comes in with a photo of Mary and her boyfriend sitting at a wedding reception next to known gang leader, Tommy Chan. Swarek uses the tough cop approach and Nash appeals to him to allow her to continue working the rapport she was building to try and get Mary to talk. Epstein reports back that the restaurant is clear, no bomb.

    Mounted Training continues and McNally struggles with the challenges given to her. Samuels continues to hint at having troubles back at his division.

    Peck and Dov try to get a name for Mary’s boyfriend. Sue Tran asks Dov out for drinks with ETF and Dov asks Peck if he should go, since he feels like he’s beneath Tran’s ‘Hurt Locker’ ETF status. Peck says the best line I think of the season so far: “Stop trying to be all Swarek about everything. You might as well just tell her how you feel about her.” They manage to ID Mary’s boyfriend.

    Nash continues to try and convince Mary to talk. Epstein and Peck show up in the interrogation room with her boyfriends photo. Mary complains about the coffee Peck is carrying and Nash connects the dots to Mary being pregnant and Kenneth, her boyfriend, being the father. Mary finally talks about how her boyfriend finally gave in and agreed to work for his cousin in the gang. She tried to stall his initiation with the fake bomb threat call. Mary admits that her boyfriend has to kill someone in a rival gang as part of his initiation. She doesn’t know who.

   The officers set up a task force to try and apprehend Kenneth before he can shoot his intended victim.

    Back at the Mounted Training, McNally asks Diaz why he and Samuels grew apart. Samuels finally admits to Diaz that after a 36 hr shift, he wrapped his patrol car around a pole and is being investigated. Samuels says that Diaz might be getting a call about Samuels past – apparently a past that Diaz covered up for.

    Dov and Gail are paired up in the search for Kenneth. Dov continues to pop pills. Gail and Dov also continue to snap at each other about their respective relationships.

   McNally finally breaks down and asks the instructor for the Mounted Unit Training, Officer Lucas, what his problem with her is and he explains to her how the horses work to overcome the public mistrust of the police. The discussion helps them come to understanding that works to relax McNally as the training continues. McNally manages to successfully complete a training challenge in 22 seconds flat.

   Shaw and Swarek are teamed up on the search for Kenneth. Shaw uses the opportunity to ask Swarek his personal question which is that he broke one of the 3 promises he made to his wife by going to a strip club. He asks Swarek if he should tell his wife about it and Swarek advises him to tell his wife.

   Nash continues to try and build a rapport with Mary who doesn’t want to bring her child in to the gang life that her boyfriends cousin is in charge of. Swarek works his contacts for a location on Kenny Chan.  Cut to Dov high on pain pills riding with Gail. Swarek calls in a 20 on Kenny Chan and tells them to stake out Kenny’s apartment in case Kenneth Chan shows up there with a gun. Gail realizes that Dov took way too many pills. Nash drops off Mary back at her apartment after her paperwork for release finally comes through and Mary asks Nash to hang around for a bit and Nash offers to make her a soothing tea for her pregnancy.

   Gail is frustrated by the fact that Dov is stoned on his pain pills. He insists he took the right dose. Gail rags on Dov and threatens to tell his girlfriend every stupid thing he says. Dov proceeds to say he loves everything about his girlfriend except the fact that she’s not Gail and that he would marry Gail if he was Chris. The revelation rocks Gail in her seat.

   Swarek and Shaw pick up Kenny Chans cousin, Tommy Chan, the leader of the gang. They get a witness to read the last text he sent out and they find out that Mary was set up – it was a test to see if she was a leak. She failed the test and they find out that Mary is the person that Kenny is supposed to kill. Swarek and Shaw try to get a hold of Mary Vu but she’s not picking up her cell. They contact Gail and tell her she needs to get over to Mary Vu’s apartment.

   Nash surprises Kenny in the kitchen and he holds her at gun point. A confrontation ensues where Kenny and Mary fight about her calling the cops. Gail and Dov arrive on scene at the apartment and find out that Nash is already there. Gail has Dov call Nash. Nash tries to talk Kenny down and ignores Dov’s call. Gail tells Dov to stay in the car and that they’ll tell back up that he had an adverse reaction to the pills. Gail takes the pills from Dov before she goes up to Mary’s apartment. Nash manages to talk Kenny down just in time for Gail to cuff him.

   Diaz finds out that Samuels purposefully signed up for the training when he heard Diaz was going to be there. Lucas asks McNally out and she frankly turns him down stating that she’s on the rebound but thanks him for helping her work through some of her current personal and professional angst. Diaz confronts Samuels about his trying to get him to lie for him. Backed into a corner, Diaz says he’ll lie again for his friend because he doesn’t want to lose what he’s worked for.

   Nash calls her detective lover, Jerry,  and makes sure they are good. Shaw tells Swarek his advice backfired and he’s in the dog house with his wife which means Swarek now has a new roommate. Noelle finally decides to talk with Frank. She tells him she gets it, that she understands why he wouldn’t want to be with her and ends with “since we haven’t even kissed yet”. Frank responds by kissing her.

   McNally and Diaz are at the local bar where they wait for Epstein and Peck to show up. Diaz goes outside to call Peck who is actually outside with Epstein, just sitting in the car. The two seem to be dealing with what Dov revealed under the influence of the pain medicine. The episode ends with Diaz coming around the corner on the phone calling Peck, who doesn’t answer the phone. Diaz looks up to see Peck and Epstein sitting in the car with expressions on their faces that raise questions for him.

If this wasn’t enough, it seems that our children are becoming the target of shootings.  There have been at least three shooting deaths involving teenagers within a month.  Between the gangs, drugs and crime, our teens have become an endangered species.  And I am afraid that if something isn’t done soon, we will see more and more of these senseless shootings.  One of the deaths touched a little too close to home.  He lived in my own community and just recently graduated from high school and was on his way to becoming a college student this fall.  Thinking about these courses of events prompted me to write the following poem:

Bitter Fruit Fallen From Leafless Trees

Bitter fruit falls from leafless trees

Hits the ground; splashing red stains

On urban streets

Distasteful in the hearts of the old

No longer able to deceive youth.

Leaving signs to mark their plots

Where Mothers’ dreams lie stiff.

Unable to move Cause

Bitter fruit fell from leafless trees

Sounds loud and echoed POPs.

As dreams fall to the ground

And life flows into the crevices

of the walkways and alleys.

Passersby let tears mingle

With the juices of bitter fruit.

One may ask how can fruit, bitter or otherwise, grow on leafless trees?  These trees are dead, they just give the illusion of life.  That is the way I see the gang members, who claim to be like family, but, their only bond is the blood and fears of those they prey upon.  They have no roots, cause they have nothing that they value more than hatred and the torment of others.  They are like terrorists who only have an illusion of power, because, if they truly had power, they wouldn’t have to hide in the shadows like cowards and would find a way to handle differences other than with violence.  For this reason, they are like bitter fruit; unwanted, useless, unappetizing and destined to wither and die.

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Date Rape Drug Sensors and Other Ways to Protect Yourself

Child Molestation: What are The Signs of a Molested Child?

Release The Weary Soul

    As an African-American, I thought this was more important when considering the racism practiced by the media, both print and electronic. There were few minority journalists who were making real impacts thanks to mostly white male editors and corporate heads who sought to maintain the status quo. Rocking the boat, you see, could cause controversy, which could lower profits.

   Rocking the boat would also throw a wrench into the propaganda machine run by the government and corporations trying to sell Americans the belief that “We Have Overcome” the stench surrounding black marks like the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, Jr.;  the real corporate-based reasons our soldiers were dying in Viet Nam;  the disgrace brought on by a paranoid President Richard Nixon and his Watergate Scandal; and the disgraceful activities of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI which collaborated with criminal elements to bring down the Black Panthers and cast suspicions on any groups that challenged the status quo.

    Gathering and disseminating information carefully, compassionately, and most importantly, accurately, would become as important as the air we breathe. Anything other than that would be propaganda.

   So what has happened since my freshman year in 1977?

   Journalism has become a shameful abyss of claptrap designed to appeal to one’s lowest standard of cerebral thought. Where Walter Cronkite used to explain the complexities of the Cuban Missile Crisis, we have pretty faces  and  network hunks giving us the latest on what First Lady Michelle Obama is going to wear at the Kennedy Center presentation that night.

   Where Bill McKay and Howard Cosell gave us hours of incredibly moving and affecting reportage and analysis during the kidnapping and murders of nine Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, we now have the guys at ESPN giving us hours on who Tweeted who about the date some teammate had with some superstar’s mom two nights earlier.

   Where we once had documentaries that took a hard look  at the criminal justice system, many exploring options that could make imprisonment more productive, we now have a number of shows that have turned murderers, rapists, pedophiles and gang members into folk heroes. These shows often provide forums for complaints about the “lack of respect” and “poor treatment” the cons receive. Somehow the lack of respect and poor treatment their victims received at their hands are rarely discussed.  Worse still, today’s journalists are willing to flagrantly distort what they are told for a “story”.

   Tonight, I was Stumbling around the Net looking for interesting videos. I hit a site called Good Media, which appeared to be a watchdog stop exposing questionable media tactics. The video I was led to was called “The Death of TV News in One Horrible Racist Video.” It was done by CBS affiliate WBBM in Chicago and put together by the Maynard Institute for Journalistic Education.

http://www.good.is/post/the-death-of-tv-news-in-one-wildly-racist-video/

    The clip involved a pair of shootings in the Windy City, which resulted in one death and  the wounding of two other people. The short clip had the usual quick cuts and included comments by two young people, one a four-year-old, hip-talking boy who had as much business being interviewed for this

as a sightless person does trying to drive through a Manhattan street during rush hour.

   Personally, I would like to have asked the boy’s mom what was he doing out in the street so late, which was well into the night.

    Reacting to a reporter’s question, the little boy offered viewers a “Boyz N the Hood” gangsta pose while boldly proclaiming, “I ain’t scared of nothing.”

   The reporter then  got into a “Let Me Shoot for an Emmy” mode by acting shocked and asking the boy, “When you get older, you gonna stay away from all these guns?”

“No,” asserted the boy.

“No? What are you gonna do when you get older??

“I’m gonna have me a gun”

   The piece shown on air ended here and left me shaking my head, believing that at age four we were seeing someone whose fate was destined to break his mother’s heart by dying in her arms before he reached the age of 20. I believe “death by murder” is still the number one cause of death for African-American males under 21.

   But somehow, the Maynard Institute for Journalistic Education found some key footage that had been removed from the aired report. These snippets completely changed the meaning of the boy’s words. In fact, the boy’s response became downright admirable.

   In the abridged piece seen on YouTube, after the boy says “I’m gonna have me a gun!” The reporter asks, “You are? Why you wanna do that?” The boy responds, “I’m going to be the police.”

The reporter finishes with some type of short approving comment.

   Needless to say, the station will explain the omitted five seconds left on the cutting room floor as a normal editing measure. But the truth is, this station was looking to milk the Ghetto Gangsta stereotype that they have painted over any black youth not fortunate enough to live in much safer suburban confines. This case was particularly sweet, because the future gang-banger portrayed was only four years old, too young to even shoot virtual guns online.  Moreover, they were willing to distort his comments in order to paint “their” picture.

   I question whether The media would risk doing the same to a blond, blue-eyed boy named Chip.  I believe not because that would not play well with the Sarah Palin soccer moms and their beleaguered husbands, many of whom live next door to journalists and their bosses. They only get extra media notice when their fair-skinned children are kidnapped, assaulted or murdered. Ironically, when such things happen to children of color, the media, except most notably Nancy Grace  (a white former Prosecutor) ignores it unless some scheduled puff piece about a singing poodle isn’t ready.

    As a Journalist, I won many awards writing for a local New Jersey weekly, breaking a number of major pieces that revealed that filth can be found in small town suburbia. I also had the fortune, however, of meeting and writing about some of the most wonderful people around, whether it be the couple celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary, a gifted middle school teacher who lost her life to illness much too early  (Fran Venute); or the great burgers Joe Locascio grilled at his family restaurant,

    Whether it was a hard news story, sports piece or feature profile I strove to get every word and sentiment behind each word correctly, and 29 New Jersey Press Association Awards, including 12 first place plaques with nary a complaint about accuracy told me I did a good job.

   Fifteen years ago I became a teacher and have found some of the foulest practices some will undertake to embarrass, devastate and rid themselves of people who are brighter, more popular and innovative, but that’s another story for another time, and perhaps a book.

   No, this one is about the dishonor that now surrounds journalism. Often, a story’s accuracy is not so much embedded in what you read, see or listen to. Instead, and as reflected here, it is entrenched in what you don’t get to read, hear or see.

    The bottom line, don’t believe everything the media tells you, often it’s a distortion or worse, an outright li

   I am happy that NAACP executive director Benjamin Todd Jealous took the station to task over this atrocity. By the way Mr. Jealous speaks from experience, formerly serving as the Executive Director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 black community newspapers.

    But things haven’t changed that much, and don’t you dare deny that, because I’d ask you to explain the rampaging disrespect given to our Nation’s first black president.

There was nothing to hide,

everyone would know,

that the times have changed,

and it would show,

more than a half a century ago,

a police officer could fire his gun,

nothing would be done,

and he’d do it without worrying

whether the entrance wound

would be anterior or posterior,

and never be doomed,

or face the risk of civil liability,

no one would meddle,

and possible prosecution wouldn’t settle,

that was a different era,

a time when a cop could say,

with conviction, without friction,

and with a face as hard as a rock,

that he was a member of the biggest,

toughest, best armed gang on the block,

even city officials would ignore that shock,

and it was a pity,

because it was a different era,

an era that had the segregated city,

when the Civil Rights Movement was little more

than an angry whisper,

being swept out the door,

as tension would stack,

in fact,

most of the police involved shootings

of that time had racial overtones,

it wasn’t just white on black,

it was the men in blue who made the attack,

the black neighborhoods were sure,

that the presence of the city’s finest,

was just another plague to endure,

poverty, ignorance, despair, and police,

but it just wouldn’t stop,

there were two offenses for the young black,

talking up to a city cop,

or, worse, running from one,

and they were put to that test,

it would almost guarantee in a beating at best,

gunfire at worst,

which sparked the riots and the fights,

even the most prominent members of the black community

were made to endure insults and slights,

many would say,

we are much better off today,

when every other seventeen-year old street boy,

could be a walking sociopath,

making threats,

with a 9mm in the waistband of his sweats,

and drugs became a predominant economy on the street,

common sense takes a backseat,

as Lady Liberty drops her torch

by her feet,

she closes her eyes and feels the heat.

A gun in a student’s backpack accidentally discharged when he dropped the bag, wounding two students at a high school Tuesday, Los Angeles police and school authorities said.

A 15-year-old girl was in critical condition with a head wound and a 15-year-old boy suffered a neck wound, said Deputy Chief Patrick Gannon. Both were hit with the same bullet. The student who brought the gun apologized before running to a classroom, Gannon said.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry,’ when the gun went off. It made it appear to the teacher that it was an accident,” Gannon said.

The shooting occurred in a classroom at Gardena High School, Officer Gus Villanueva said. Principal Rudy Mendoza said students were on a break at the time.

Officers took the youth into custody and transported him to a police station while the school 15 miles south of downtown remained locked down.

Nelda Robledo, one of the worried parents who gathered near the school, said her 16-year-old daughter texted her that after the shooting students were ordered to get down on the ground or hide in a corner.

Police initially reported that three people were shot and the shooter was at large.

As at many district schools, Gardena High School checks incoming students with security wands at the entrance. It’s unclear how the student got in with the gun in his backpack, said district spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry.

“We’re trying to find out if the wanding is random or if every student is wanded,” she said.

Pollard-Terry said each school decides whether it needs to check students with a wand. No district school is equipped with walkthrough metal detectors, she said.

Several parents interviewed at the scene said their children described a lot of racial tension at the school.

“There’s usually fights every day, you’re going to see blacks against whites and whites against blacks every single day,” said Christy Westbrooks, whose 16-year-old daughter attends the school. “Spanish, whites, Samoans — they don’t care what race. Every day there’s a fight.”

Discipline has long been a problem at Gardena, which ranks one of the district’s lowest-performing high schools. Roughly 35 percent of students drop out.

Five years ago, more than 2,000 suspensions were given out, and 15 students expelled. Those figures remained high until last year when the number of suspensions dropped to 300 and expulsions to two.

Forming a discipline committee was one of the principal’s goals for this year, according to the school’s website.

Frantic parents rushed to the school after hearing about the shooting on the news. They paced nervously as they waited behind police tapes for word from their children.

The problems with most of today’s kids begin at home. Our children need love, guidance and nurturing. Quite frequently unprepared individuals are faced with parenthood, void of the suitable level of responsibility necessary for raising children. A parent has to be self-secure to instill positive values in their children. Children pay more attention to their elders than we give them credit for. Discussing issues of sexuality, womanhood, responsibility and self respect with girls, give them a feeling of who they are and how far they can go in life. Also, they feel the love, concern and warmth from their mothers.

When parents are involved in their children’s lives, they are better equipped to sense their children’s thoughts, feelings and their surroundings. Healthy interaction with our children results in their healthier state of mind.  Boys also, at times experience loneliness, unwantedness, and in some cases, bitterness. Unlike girls, boys are made to believe that they must have this tough exterior, otherwise, they are seen as wimps or punks. Lots of boys seemingly have tough exteriors, but on the inside, they are just as insecure and vulnerable as any female. The only difference is that they may feel a little more uncomfortable expressing themselves, especially in cases where they don’t have strong male figures in their lives. It’s easy for young men to turn to gangs to feel a sense of power, value and belonging. So many times, they simply think that there’s nothing better out in the world to hope for.

10 WAYS TO COUNTER GANG INVOLVEMENT:

1. Prior to parenthood, ensure that you are financially and emotionally stable, which contributes to a more solid foundation for children.
2. Take measures to minimize the teenage pregnancy epidemic. A child cannot properly raise another child.
3. Pay attention to your child’s needs and surroundings, as peer pressure abounds.
4. Arrange public parent/child meetings to develop closer parent/child bonds. Children need reinforcement and to really know that parents and other adults care.
5. Attempt to support teachers. They are often underpaid for the responsibility that their job entails. Although most teachers care for their students, adequate financial compensation for their extra efforts and time may expand their assistance toward additional areas of students’ lives.
6. Prevent children from exposure to negative television and radio talk programs which encourage immoral behavior. And expose them to positive and educational programming.
7. Become a part of mentoring-type programs such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, which can provide positive adult role models.
8. Initiate the development of harsher laws and punishments for gang-related crimes.
9. Initiate the establishment of more police protection in our communities.
10. Enforce strict discipline for children, as minimal problems become large problems if not addressed.

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