Last word Tookie...

Paul is right, those fools like Mike Ferrell and Joan Baez have NO idea what an absolute human cesspool the entire "gang thing" really is. The Rev knows, but can never miss a chance to get his face in front of the camera on any subject. The gang culture that Tookie helped "centralize" has wrecked countless communities and, as that fellow in Paul's story mentioned, ruined many a life (especially the childhood of almost any kid in an impacted area)...

It came close to doing the same for us in Inglewood when we finally left in 1969, when the deterioration of that part of town post-Watts 1965 riots was staggering. Though it was before the "official" beginning of Tookie's Crips, there was evil lurking, and I can remember plotting routes to walk home from school in 4th and 5th grade that offered the least chance of getting hassled. We started avoiding stores and neighborhoods we would visit regularly in the pre-Watts riots days. The punks in those days were still a bit away from the armed thug bunch they would become in the 70s, but they were still nasty. Let's also not forget how the gangs became so intertwined in the drug trade, further strengthening their grip on their decaying neighborhoods. That these creeps are somehow being portrayed as forces of good in their communities astounds me. Reading about old gang names such as the Acey-Duceys (a Crip or Blood strain that was based near Long Baach Poly) recalls not-so-pleasant memories of having to steer clear of certain areas and guys you knew were in that crowd...

In the post-Rodney King world (especially in Cali), it's almost heresy to say anything bad about these sorts, even the most-hardened gang thugs. Law-abiding folks are chided while a guy like Tookie is deified. Amazing...

Shame on the Mike Ferrells of the world, this was hardly a liberal cause worth fighting for...