Gang, Bang, You're Dead | News | Phoenix | | The Leading Independent News Source In Phoenix, Arizona

But then it hit me: if you re smart enough to write and ask questions, then you re probably smart enough to listen (no disrespect). My life is already controlled by others the way it had been on the streets. You could do so much better by being yourself and different. However, things inside me began to change. Yes, it is true that you have to be beaten to get out of a gang. Yes I felt very important and powerful. I didn t feel loved and I was a scared child in a cruel world who had to play tough or be someone s pet victim - get my money, shoes, or bike taken from me.

Well I am in a gang. So I'ma fuck this cash up and shit on 'em. The gang only showed me to be more of a fool and that your homeboys are not always going to be there for you no matter how much you say you love them. No one really knows who they are at 17. I thought that just by being one of the homies things were going to be given to me. And it s our instincts and emotions that are more in tune with what our gifts are than we are consciously (again this culture doesn t promote that). But it s easy to forget that there s a price to be paid for the things you do. To do that, I m going to give you a little bit of my background: I am 27 years old; I ve been locked up since I was 17 years old; I was in a gang for only a year and a half before I got myself in serious trouble. You need to want the best for you though. You seem so smart to me.

No, I'm not in a gang anymore. One dude told me that, if I wanted a roof over my head, I d better start selling dope (drugs) or do anything to make some money. If you feel abandoned by anyone in your family, chances are you will be attracted to the so-called gangster lifestyle. Initially depression, I'd imagine. Since hanging out didn't consist of doing much, I didn't think much of it. This was due to my not feeling I could trust the advice from those trying to help me and because I thought I had to find all the answers myself. If you plan to have this baby, you better finish school. Did you have family members in the gang? After you take it, it s a lot harder to change. Anyways I was introduced to gangs by some vatos I kicked it with, I haven t done any hard core drugs and all of mi ese's don t want me to touch that stuff.

"H to the izz-O, " Raines began. Beanie: Well, legally speaking, there will be a loose affiliation. However, if you are in a gang and do want to get out, I do suggest that you bring as much attention to the situation as possible. If he cannot be gotten to because he is aware and on guard, his wife or girlfriend and children might be a target. The gang taught me how to spend the rest of my life in prison. Many in gangs get similar choices like beating someone up because they are told to or committing a crime. I ain't gotta know when, if you put your hands on me lil nigga. Cousins stab and shoot at each other because they belong to rival gangs. I conclude this letter by saying, yes I would have still been in a gang if I weren't in prison, and no, I wouldn't be thinking the way I do now.

How does it feel when you see one of your gang members die? Only God, through His word, can change us and make us a new man. Let me ask you this: Do you remember what was happening in your family when your relationship with your mom started going bad? He died in the back seat of his sister's car as she drove toward the hospital. I know it wasn t all you needed her to be, but life wasn t easy for her either, and this isn t making excuses for her because there are no justifications for neglecting your child. One day it's all 'Inspectors, U. N., disarmament, ' then she busts a C. K. and disarmament is just an option. Gang gang gang, bang, gang.

Many people you know probably are not going to want to have anything to do with you, and sometimes even your own family won t either. This isn t an easy question to answer and it made me dig deep cause, even though it may sound wrong, I ve got to be honest; I have never given it much thought until now. Mitch: This is my house. For some insane reason I thought that by joining a gang I somehow was going to be free of all the rules and laws (how wrong I was). I shot a nigga's mammy crib up a hundred times. His sister, Carolina, had a long relationship with a gang called Mexican Brown Pride, though she apparently was never a full-fledged gang member.