Sunday, May 3, 2009
Life down a tragic road
I remember watching this back in the day. I always thought it was a truly sad story about a few kids who got involved deeply with a gangs at a young age. Chuckie, Woody and Midget all ranging between the ages of 10 and 12 years old where documented in Compton in 1993. They where troubled kids living in the crazy world of gangs.The mother weak with no control of her children; the father no where to be seen. A sad tale with a tragic ending. Fox undercover followed up with them ten years later 2003. The video was cut off when they tell what happened to Lil Chuckie, but from what I remember and the comments he had gotten killed. This is another display on how the early 90's was a time when the gang culture was at it's peek. Innocent kids turned heartless.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
WOW - that guy was determined. Kinda sad to see this kinda of stuff happening. Often times still see it a bit. Youngsters giving their life away to gangs and loosing it to jail or even death.
I must say though...those guys were down. As said - "cold blooded killers". Can't even begin to imagine where or even how in his eyelid did he hide that blade? crazy.
Must be damn hard for the mom or even the moms of the others that died as well.
The 90s was a horrible time even for graffiti writers as gangs began to infiltrate our circle and it even ruin culture. The 90s are considered the dark ages of graff.
Yes is very sad, through out my life I seen it happen somewhat. I have seen kids grow up into a gang life, but I never seen it as extreme as this! Most of the children I seen grow up into this either had parents in the lifestyle, had parents who where immigrants or older brothers in the gang. There are many factors on why parents of immigrants fall into this life I am not saying ALL because that is not true, but unfortunately there have been many cases. Also back then it seemed like there was not much else to get into if you lived in the hood, it was glorified in movies and T.V.More on that in future posts.
My hubby went through that in the 90s. Things were a lot different then. He tells me stories of how life 'used' to be, with all the traditions and "respect." He did his things, and did his time, and that 'old skool' era.... is now gone. When family comes around or clients in the shop, when we still lived in the States, he was the veterano... ... where you did what you had to do.
Things have changed.... Kids now I think are pettier... not heavy on the prison ideas of respect and religion. My BIL's son in on trial for murdering two kids who scratched out his name. My niece has a criminal record now for not ringing up everything her friends' bought. She is an honor roll student, cheerleader, etc... but chicana and lives in the hood. Because of the 90's, the gov't now criminalizes our children before they have an opportunity to graduate high school and leave the hood.
When hubby was getting deported, he was held in the county jail until his court date... his first time in jail, since the 90's... I was hella nervous, remembering the stories he had told me from before. He was expecting the same treatment and attitudes that he faced in the jails and prisons during the 90s. Nope. The jails now are all lock down or overpacked... and full of heroin addicts... maybe a few punkass kids trying to play "cholo", but it's not same... and I'm glad.
Parents of immigrants are where my hubby fit in, and during my old college years... we did a study on this.... where immigrant children are raised in a foreign culture to foreign beliefs that aren't understood or accepted by the family, who are still traditional, and other american families/children, who don't understand the foreign way of life. Kids can be mean to others that don't exactly "fit in." It is a struggle to fit in to either culture without losing a part of yourself. My hubby was the youngest of 7, and never really saw his parents. His older bros and sisters are, believe it or not, still really traditional.... and here is hubby,when he was a kid, speaking english just as good as I do, into the same music, not as religious, doing the partying, girls, drinking etc... A forbidden way of life according to his parents. Not accepted by his white peers. So, he and what started as a few friends, came up with their own way of life and did what they had to do.... thus... why 15 years later, I live in Mexico.
@ Refried Dreamer
Great points...
So your BIL son and your niece are going through that now? Yeah that is pretty ruff and hard am sure.
Most of the kids like these guys who went through that in the early and even mid 90's are now between late 20's and mid thirties, which in gang life is considered a veterano or a homie that put in his work. These days it's not the 50-year-old veterano’s that get recognized, its dudes that establish their reps younger and younger.
Yeah shit has def calmed down in different ways for sure, and that includes the jail and prison system as well. I can't say it is that great at all but somewhat better then it was back then for sure.
As for the immigrant parents that is true there is a struggle between two different worlds especially if the parent does not speak English and hardly see their kids because of working so much. What I think saved my brothers from joining gangs was that my parents where heavily involved in church. I can’t say they where much help in other ways we needed them like school etc, but the church thing is what I think kept us away. On the other hand my hubby has a similar story to the single immigrant mother at work all day and him running around wild. Not good in the long run. He realizes all that now that he is older.
Hubby is 35...36 next month. Yeah, old skool ideas... old skool ways. Like yours, hubby sees the wrong in the old ideas....and things he had done. What's sad is that all of his homies are doing life or have also been deported.... still living and dreaming that old skool "fantasy."
What I think is awesome now, that many immigrant children aren't taking part in that... and becoming Dreamers...and looking towards their future.
Post a Comment