Reponse to BLOODS: The gang life

I thought this article was really cool. In the beginning of this whole Isearch project, I was just going to research the Bloods and Crips. I figured that the topic was too narrow and it would be hard to try and find information. I'm glad that I got to read an article about the Bloods and kind of go back towards my original topic a bit. I thought this article was really interesting. All the other articles I read are about what types of things that gangs do, but they just come from the news or writer. In this article, the interviewer got to talk to a Bloods member himself, and actually dig deeper into the life of a gangster. This article was beneficial. I like how "Red" told us about how you can become a member of the Bloods and what some of their little terms are. I also think that reading this can help me with my oral presentation. I could maybe act out and dress up like a gang member of the Bloods, or use some of their terms.

#12 BLOODS: The gang life

Rick Pfeiffer interviewed a member of the Bloods. The interviewee "Red" started off by showing how a Bloods member would approach a member of another gang such as the Crips. He pulled his red baseball had so the brim was forward and then covered his mouth and nose with a red bandanna. To join the Bloods, you must "put in some work" or "shoot the 31". To put in some work, means to go out and commit a crime. You can go on a robbery for example, and bring something back for the Bloods. To shoot the 31, it means that you must fight everyone in the Blood Set all at once for 31 seconds. Red said that he wanted to join a gang since middle school. He saw a member of the Bloods who had his flag (red bandanna) and he asked him about it, the member said he was Blood. Before he was recruited, he was told about all the good things, and none of the bad. "'It’s different for every set,' he said. 'It was how the original OGs (founders) did it. Your OG (Original Gangsta) teaches you and you teach new recruits'". This was part of the gang life that Red shared. Experts say that young members are drawn into gangs because they want to find a way to belong to a group or family. In the Bloods, there's a Godfather and he is known as "Big Homie"and he is the founder of the Blood set. An "Elite Team" is also part of the Bloods, and they enforce discipline. Everyone listens to the Big Homie. Whatever he says, youdo it.

The Bloods like to go out and do what they call "banging out". Banging out is violence and you might use a gun, knife, or a baseball bat even. It's usually directed towards other gangs or people are involved in criminal activity and potentially have cash on them. Banging is one of the ways to bring money or drugs back to a family. A Blood would never bang out on another Blood. Some people put tons of money into the gang. Usually they will rent a house and supplies a member with drugs to go out and sell. Once you go out and sell the drugs or weed, you bring back the money to Big Homie, and then they by another house. "'It’s all about dollars,' Red says. 'If you bring money in, you get respect.'"

Red said that once a leader decides to "fold his flag" or resign, that he doesn't lose the benefits of the gang. Whenever you see a gang member with their flags around the chain on their pants, they are showing their respect for their Big Homie who is in jail. A Blood always wears their flag. You never hide it, or fold it. It also helps show where your turf it. For example, if you go into a place and you see a lot of red flags, you're probably in the territory of the Bloods.

Interview- Greg Dorr

For my interview, I discussed gangs with my brother, Greg. I originally wanted to interview a principal or headmaster from a school in a city where gangs were primarily present. I emailed two headmasters, one from Boston and the other from Texas, neither replied. In turn, I chose Greg because he's been going to school in Portland and Gorham, and had an apartment in the worst part of Portland. I didn't think I would get the chance to talk to him in person soon, so we talked over email. The questions that I chose to ask were:

1. Do you tend to experience a lot of gang activity in your area?
2. How often do you hear about or experience encounters with gangs?
3. Do you feel threatened and or in danger where you live because of gangs?
4. When you hear the word “gang” or “mobster”, what comes to mind? Is there any real connection between them?
5. Over the course of the past few years, have you noticed an increase in gang activity?
6. Why do you think youth join gangs? And why do you drives teenagers and early twenty year olds join gangs?
7 . Have you ever watched any movies that were based around gangs? If you have, is reality like the movies? Why or why not.
8. Do you have any ideas or suggestions on how to handle gangs?
9. Do you know any people that are gang members? If you do, how you feel it affects them, their family, and friends?
10. Where you live or generally spend your time, is it easy to decipher whether a person is in a gang or not? Explain.
11. How many gangs do you think exist in Portland?
12. What do you think is the number one crime that’s committed by gangs around where you live?

I gained a lot of information by interviewing Greg. Although it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, I definitely benefited from talking with him. I learned that there's quite a bit of gang activity in Portland even though it's on a much smaller scale than other cities, it still exists. He said that there's not a lot of encounters with gangs that's heard about. He said the city keeps those types of things low key, to keep their reputation. Feeling scared or threatened is always going to be there in any city, but Greg said that if one plans accordingly, it's not much to worry about. He also said it's different for women and other people, it depends on the person. Greg said that he has seen gang activity grow slightly since he's been there over the past few years and the recession and depression are making it go at a faster pace. Greg and I also talked about the reasoning for joining gangs, and he thinks that youth and young adults look at gangs as a sense of family because they might not have the best one. He also thinks they consider it to be a place that they fit in, and has a purpose of safety. Greg suggests that working on educating the youth and their parents and cracking down harder on gangs through laws would be a start to handling gangs. He said that he lived next door to gangs during the summer that he estimates around 5-7 gangs to be working in Portland. I gathered a lot beneficial and helpful information from Greg. I think his insight was a big help in my research and interest in gangs.

Response to Gangs, Guns: Who's at risk?

I'm glad that I finally found an article that wasn't going shootings or some type of crime. I wanted to find an article that talked about gangs in general and how they affect people. Although this was a little different than I was going for, I'm glad that I stumbled across it. The article talked about what type of things drive children (especially boys) into joining gangs. I think that this article was really helpful, and will help my presentation stronger. Although I haven't experienced being in a gang, or all of these different contributors, I agree with that they said. I feel as if I had to deal with abusive parents, a rough neighborhood, and poor performance in school, I would end up making bad decisions. All of the factors seem to be legit and potentially could cause someone to join a gang. I think that living in a neighborhood where there's a high crime rate and a lot of gangs, that that would make the biggest influence on a person. To grow up with all of that around you, and witness it...you'd seem as if you might as well get into it. If children are joining gangs because of their parents, something is wrong. Parents need to be parents, not neglect their kids or be abusive to them. I understand that there are special cases where parents have problems, but if kids are joining gangs just because their parents don't bother to spend time with them...they need to smarten up. It's not worth it for a child to go out and be a part of a group that's extremely dangerous and break the law. Overall, I'm glad that I found this article. It gave me good information about what could drive people into gangs. I think it's very helpful.

#10- Gangs, Guns: Who's at risk?

Gangs are very prominent in many countries and are quickly becoming a scare to the Caribbean. Many islands have seen a large spike in gang violence over the past few years and this helped the country's murder rate go higher. The counseling center stated, "As the casualties grow, the question must be asked- why are so many young men becoming gang members? Who is at risk?"

There are many personal factors that help contribute to young people joining gangs. One of them is low self-worth. It's said that youth who lean towards gangs usually have low self-esteem which could be caused by many different things such as parents who are neglectful, absent, or abusive, poverty, lack of life skills, and bad performance in school. Being involved with gangs sens powerful and give a sense of love and companionship to those who feel weak in various areas of life. Another personal factors is the lack of positive life goals. Also it's said that boys who end up in gangs, don't do well in school and have little to no ambition to go forward with schooling or a career. "Unlike the high-school graduate who dreams of going away to college or securing a good job, the prospective gang member is left with few meaningful opportunities and goals, and a sense of hopelessness about the future," stated Jeweleen Manners-Woodley.

School factors also play a role in the decision to join gangs. Kids who often perform poorly at school, lose all motivation and might drop out or become expelled. Without education, their chances of getting a job are slimmer and they gain the sense of underachievement. Families are also a leading contributor. Poor parenting and lack of involvement are very common. When parents are abusive, neglectful, or don't spend the time to help their children become positive citizens, it's hard and can drive kids away. Parents who also act as bad role models by using violence or criminal behavior, can also push youth towards gangs. Unstable home environments where there might be fighting, physical/sexual/or emotional abuse, aggressive behavior and street living can all enhance the livelihood of children joining gangs.

Other leading factors deal with communities that have a high crime rate and a large presence of gangs. Young adults who live in these areas are more likely to join gangs, whether it be by wanting to, or being forced into it. Other contributors are access to firearms and poverty. These play a part in children joining gangs.

Final Focus; further research needed.

When I wrote my blog analysis, I found that I needed to find some good information. I want to find an article that's really interesting so that I can drive myself to find more information and then do a good job on my presentation. Also when doing my essay, I thought a lot more about various things and my brain went off on a tangent to consider new ideas and questions about gangs. I figured that I should do a background research and that would maybe help me out with my presentation and interview, as well as driving to find more rich information. I started thinking more about how gangs affect communities, families, and friends. I also want to know statistics. I want to be able to engage the class in an activity where they can learn percentages and statistics about gangs. I think that once I find a really interesting and engaging article, then I will be on the go to try and find more. I feel that there are a few holes in my research that I need to fill. I feel that all of my articles are very much related. They have their differences and are about different situations, but I feel the information is repetitive. I want to do a background article just so I can gain more information that could help my research and my presentation. I previously said that I would like to find statistics, this too will fill some of the holes.

For my interview, I wanted to talk with a principal or social worker from a large high school in the city. I emailed the headmaster from a school in Boston to see if he would be interested in talking with me about gangs. I have yet to hear back from him. Another idea I had in mind, was to interview one or both of my brothers. One of my brothers has a lot of friends who could potentially be associated with gangs. My other brother had an apartment in the worst part of Portland, and didn't have very good experiences. In my presentation, I want to give as much information about gangs that I possibly can. I want to make it educational but interesting as well.

Response to Gangs Blamed for 80 Percent of U.S. Crimes

I really didn't think that gang committed that many crimes in the U.S.. I figured that they had their fair share, but not 80 percent! That's ridiculous. I chose this article because I wanted to reflect on something broader. I thought it was a good choice because it talked about gangs in general in the United States, and some of the things that they do criminally. I really liked this article, I thought it was super interesting. One thing that I thought was interesting is how gangs take part in identity theft, I honestly wouldn't have guessed they'd be interested in doing that. I liked in the article how they were honest and said that this is really a problem and that we need to take care of it. Also how they talked about the local and neighborhood street gangs and how dangerous they are, even though they might not seem like it. Officials are trying to inform people, not scare them. Overall I think I got a lot out of this article because it's a little different from what I've been writing about, and I think I'd like to keep on gooing with articles like this.

#9 Gangs Blamed for 80 Percent of U.S. Crimes

There are about one million gang members in the United States that are believed to be held responsible for 80 percent of the crimes that go on. The Justice Department said that gangs are spreading across the country. There are around 20,000 gangs in America that are criminally active and have a total of one million members all together. They're located and committing crimes in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia as well. The law enforcement officials are the ones stating that the criminal gangs are committing 80 percent of crimes. Some of the typical crimes committed by gangs include, armed robbery, auto theft, assault, alien smuggling, extortion, drug trafficking, home invasions, fraud, murder, identity theft, and weapon trafficking. It's said that gangs have usually been more of a problem is cities and that's the way it's been in the past. Officials think that could be changing. Gang migration typically goes from urban communities to more suburban and rural areas and that started years and years ago. Officials are saying that it's turning into a significant problem. The Justice Department's National Gang Center stated, "Gangs are now fully entrenched in many communities across the nation,".

The FBI has done research and work with criminal gangs and their motives. Their usual approach is to go for their leadership and try to break them down from the top. Since the rise in gang violence is so drastic, this isn't approach isn't effective enough. Department officials stated, "It is not enough to just gather intelligence about the violent offenders. We have to interrupt that violence,". Reports have been saying that the local gangs that tend to be smaller are now involved in the drug trade. The local and street gangs are a huge threat because they're still gangs. Prison gangs are also becoming a significant part of drug trafficking. The National Gang Intelligence Center is in the hands of the FBI which established this report.

Response to Police Strive to Gang-Proof Students

I think it's great that people are starting to take action of what's going on in their community and schools. This is the first article that I've read where people and the police departments are out there to help children with what's around them. I really like the idea that they're making a program to teach the kids about gangs. A lot of people go uneducated about these sorts of things, and that can be a danger. I also like how they're branching off from gangs and talking about alcohol and drugs as well. Children also need to be informed about these sorts of hazards and how to prevent bad situations involving them. For this article I wanted to find something that wasn't so negative and all about gang violence. I thought it would be beneficial to find an article about how people are resolving it, or how it's affecting a community and or schools. It's crazy that gangs recruit kids that are as young as 12. It's ridiculous, that's basically 7th graders trafficking drugs and being a part of shootings! Crazyyy.

#8 Police Strive to Gang-Proof Students

Gang warfare is flooding into the streets of not just Calgary, but everywhere. Gangs are looking in elementary schools to find new recruits. The police department in Calgary want to find a way to stop this and prevent children from getting involved with alcohol, drugs and being a part of street gangs. They started a program that is still being designed that would start from kids in the first grade and go all the way until graduation. The program would give informative talks about all the risks that a child can face where they're growing up and to push past all of the negativity and the gangs. Gangs are known for recruiting people as young as twelve. As of right now, the schools have an officer that comes in for a one our lecture and talks about drugs. Officers of the local police department say that they want to gather some new curriculum that's a little different. They want to not only offer advice on the risks of the city, but with a variety of experiences that they could potentially come across. With all hope, the new curriculum and the anti-gang strategies will be started with a few months. The Catholic school boards are also getting involved with the program and are willing to help out.

Response to Portland Gang Wars 'Crisis'

Why shoot someone? I know that I've asked that question before, but it really rattles my brain. I don't understand what satisfaction would come out of killing another human being. Ridiculous. Eleven shootings in the past few weeks? That's crazy and outrageous. It seems like this war is pointless and happening for absolutely no reason. The police are surprised that there hasn't been more of an outrage after the three homicides. One of the officers said that if were back in '88, then everything would have been taken more seriously and people would have been falling all over the place. I think that makes sense. Although I wasn't alive back then, it didn't seem like gangs and all this violence was as pronounced as it is now. There's so much of it going on now, that it's not really a big deal anymore. Also, you know something is bad when gang members are even getting scared and worried about what's going on. They are the ones committing the crimes and taking part in the shooting, and they're getting nervous about who's going to be next. Reading this article showed that things are getting so out of hand. It also showed me that it's way more of a problem now, then it was back twenty years ago.

Portland Gang Wars 'Crisis' #7

The gangs of North Portland, Oregon have started a war against each other. Almost every day, crisis workers as well as the police have been called out to shootings, worrying about the violence that's going on in the area. The massacre of shootings is said to have started in North Portland on December 12th at a funeral. A 31 year old man suffered many wounds. After this, the numbers of shootings started to climb. There have been 11 shootings in the last few weeks.
Leutenant Mike Leloff who is apart of Portland's gang enforcement stated, "We have a crisis".

The shootings are said to be tensions between the rival gangs, Bloods and Crips. Gangs members from both crews are shocked at how things are turning out and the war-like outbreak. Michael Johnson who was a former member of the Crips, said that more recent members are even telling him that they're scared. The Crips members are scared and admitting that what's going on is bad.

Reverund Frederick Woods spoke at a funeral for one of the shooting's victims, "Another senseless murder. ... You're so angry at one another, and for what? For this? For this?"

Hayden Response to Kelsey

I found yours very interesting even though I don't think that much about Gangs. Your notes were good and your citations seemed to be fine. Maybe you could murder someone as a part of a gang initiation for your field experience! Besides that I cant think of anything else you could do . . .

Katrina's third response

Wow. some of your information is shocking and sad. I like the personal ideas you put into your responses. The one warning I have is on your citations: for the WWW ones make sure to add the date you saw it, and for the Books, Magazines and People citation make sure you add the rest of the information and not just the title of the Magazine. But otherwise great information!

More After Grading Thoughts: Cole's Thoughts

Kelsey, I really enjoyed reading your blog. I find it really interesting to hear about the different gang wars. It probably wont happen but it would be really cool if you could interview an actual gang member, or maybe a former gang member would be a little safer. I also find the information on the Bloods and Cryps really interesting. Oh, and don't forget to add the date you saw the article on your citation.

After Grading Thoughts: Chauncey's Thoughts

I thought that your posts were written well. They could be read very easily and had next to zero grammar and spelling mistakes. Your 6th article, the one about Israel, I thought was interesting. I would want to hear more about international gangs after that one or how far the Bloods and Crips go around the world because you hint at it but never say it.
You could also do a background article on the effects it has on the families of having a gang member in the family or knowing one but not being in the gang yourself. It would be like what if your friend was in a gang.
I like your blog and will read even if I don't have to grade it anymore.

Jackson's 3rd response

Kelsey; your blog is interesting and captivating. There is a broad spectrum of possiblities for your topic, and I'm glad that you're branching out, like the piece on violence in the Middle East. This is all very current and well- written. My only suggestion is that when you cite a book or magazine, include the author, date, pages, and title of the article as well as the name of the magazine.

Response to Roseanne Barr: Israel is a 'Nazi state'

For this article, I decided I would take a different approach. I didn't find an article directly linked to gangs, but one that used them as a comparison. I thought it would be interesting to find other sorts of things that look upon gangs and how they affect other people. In Israel the Hamas are not necessarily a gang, but when we think about it in our own terms and our culture...they are closely related. There were all sorts of destruction and discrimination going on and they were calling their country a 'Nazi state'. In the US and other countries where there are gangs, things aren't necessarily that terrible but we don't know that for sure. I liked how this article related to gangs. It was good for a change to see a different side of them and look at the comparison between a street gang and another group of people that are causing issues in a community or country.

#6 Roseanne Barr: Israel is a 'Nazi state'

Roseanne Barr was a previous television star and is now a part of military campaign in Israel against Hamas in Gaza. The country is starting to gain the title as a "Nazi state". Roseanne wrote that she had planned to travel along with pro-Palestinian people. They were going to protest against the sailing between Cyprus and Gaza. Although she planned this, there was a demeanor with a vessel of the Israel Navy and they had to turn back and dock at a Lebanese port. Barr said that Israel is willing to attack any sort of boat carrying medical supplies and doctors and that they are a Nazi state. She also said the Jewish Soul is being tortured by the Hamas. There have numerous attacks and destruction of the Jewish people living in Israel. The people there are assured that they are inhuman acts. Also in Barr's blog, she mentioned street gangs and the comparison of Hamas to them. She said that the situation in Israel is like the Los Angeles neighborhood. Barr stated, "equivalent to Los Angeles attacking and launching war on the people of Watts to kill 'the Bloods' and 'the Crips".

Response to Gang Member, Kin Survive Shooting

Once again the Bloods and the Crips are back at it. Why would you shoot at somebody in the first place, and even think about shooting their parents? It's ridiculous anyways to get into a brawl that later can turn into something deadly, but bringing in the gang members' families isn't fair. With their child in a gang to begin with, I guess it comes along with it and you have to expect things like that to happen. I just don't think it's right. With the other shooting, I think it's really scary for gang members to be shooting where they can kill a family's children. It's one thing with adults, but with kids it's a totally new ball game. When I read these articles, it makes me appreciate where I live and what I have. I have a safe school to go to, a home in a nice neighborhood, and friends who aren't interested in drugs and shooting people. Another thing I took into account, was the location of the shootings. They weren't in the United States, they happened in the Philippines. This shows again that gangs are connected throughout the world and that there are so many lines and links to people that it's near impossible to stop.

#5 Gang Member, Kin Survive Shooting

In Cebu City located in the Philippines, one of the Bloods gang members survived along with his parents in a shooting with a Crips member. It took place on Sunday 2:41 in the morning. The member of the Crips gang was named Jordan Pumar and is part of the gang located in Compostela. There was another Crips member named Jay Rodrigues who quickly left the scene. The Bloods member was named Dong-dong Toledo and his parents are Neneta and Alfredo. The shooting caused the Christmas decorations of their home to be ruined. Before all of this happened there was a fight regarding Pumar's group along with the Bloods. Also in a village in Cebu, two men rode by a home on motorcycles and shot at the house and barely missed the couple who lived there, along with their three children. Police believe that the two shootings are related.

Response to No Easy Answer to Gang Problems

The Bishop of Liverpool was right on when he said there was no easy way to control gangs. There really isn't. There's such a world wide connection that it would take a miracle to end it completely. That doesn't mean that locally things can't change. If a group of people or a community take action, they can reduce the amount of gang activity and make an impact on gang members and their community as well. This is an issue that just can't end all at once, you have to start somewhere right? Dr. Jones said that people join gangs so they get to feel powerful. I think this is true, but not the only reason. I think that people choose to get involved in gangs because they don't have an easy life. They might experience family problems with drugs, or convictions. I think that just having bad influences on a person can influence them to follow in the same footsteps or rebel. I like how the community in this article is trying to take action to stop all the murders and convictions. It probably gives the people living in the community a sense of comfort and made them feel safer.

#4 No Easy Answer to Gang Problems

"There is no simple answer to solving the problems of controlling gangs," the Bishop of Liverpool stated. A man named Dr. Jones said that young adults get involved with gangs because it gives them the feeling of power and hierarchy. In their society there have been many different convictions. They look at the breakdown in their society because they are a very religious community. A boy named Rhys Jones was shot outside a pub after his football practice. Sean Mercer was convicted of murder and was also a gang member. There were 8 or so more people convicted that were also gang members who were associated with the murder. The people of the community and church are trying to find a way to put the gang violence away and make things right.

SITE!

The citation for the "Gangs to Grads" article is under the books and magazines. I put the name of the magazine where I found it.

Alex G. responce #2

Your articles were very good, and I loved the variety of each one. I liked the one about a place for people in gangs to change, I thought that was interesting, and good that some people want to get out of gangs and start a new life. I bet there are lots of books on gangs.

Alex Hadik- Blog Comment

You have been doing some excellent research here. As Mrs. Jewitt commented, it is very interesting how you have been able to delve into not only the obvious side of gangs but also the turn around that might occur. While you have some great research already, I'm curious now about the history of gangs and gang violence. Perhaps as "extra" study you can look into some the of the famous American and foreign or even international gangs, gang members and gang leaders of the past. The time of Prohibition I know to be an excellent starting point and you can possibly link the past business of illegal alcohol to the modern business of drug trafficking. I also happen to know that if you would like to delve more into the business end of this research, there are huge drug businesses occurring down in the Caribbean, perhaps somewhere else to focus your research other than Mexico. One more tip- Holland (I think it's Holland) has recently made drugs such as marijuana legal. Perhaps there are some studies about how this has affected gang relations there and in neighboring countries.
Good luck!

Samara'a response

Kelsey, I think your research so far is really good. It does seem that the main focus of gangs is drugs. One thing you could probably look into is how they handle all these drugs and drug trafficking at the same time. It would be interesting the learn the business side of things. I think it's great how there are places letting gang members and such turn their lives around.

One thing I would suggest though is to check the spelling of words before you post and reread it so it sounds how you want it to. Some things were confusing to me because it wasn't the right word choice. Other then that you're doing great! Keep up the good work! Oh, and don't forget to cite your article on gangs to grads.

Kelsey, after reading your blog I am terrified of gangs, not that there are any in Damariscotta Maine. But your information and research is so interesting, and the idea of having a whole network all over the world of gangs is fascinating, and horrifying at the same time. Even thought it's sad to hear about the deaths of people due to gangs, I think it is incredibly interesting to read about them. I also like how you found an article on ways to help the gang members. I can tell you are totally into the project, keep it up!

Excellent research . . .

I really like the fact that you are discovering not only the negatives associated with gangs and violence but also the positives as far as programs that will help these troubled individuals. Great research so far . . .!!!!!

Response to From Gangs to Grads

I think it's awesome that people really care about unstable people or people who want to turn their lives around. Having the idea for the camp where the previous gang members and prisoners could earn an education at the same time of getting their lives back on track is a great idea. A lot of the time there isn't that option for people to turn to and now there is. It doesn't just affect the lives of members but their families, friends, and communities as well. It impacts their whole life. I also really like the idea that they don't tolerate anything but excellent behavior, it shows that they are really serious about what they're doing and they want to do it well. I think that reading this article gave me an understanding of some gang members. No one is perfect and no one is bad. Reading this showed that even if you are in a gang or you've attended prison, that you aren't necessarily a bad person and that some people want to change how they are and put themselves back in line. I liked reading this article because it looked at the better side of gangs opposed to all the killing and drug dealing.

From Gangs to Grads

On Friday, November 21st there was a graduation ceremony at the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp. This wasn't like a normal graduation, but one for previous gangs members or prisoners who wanted to turn their lives around from the ages of 18 to 24. They had physical as well as mental training and of all the graduates, there were 28 high school diplomas and 23 who passed their GEDs. "Ten years ago I came here hoping to hire on and was told 'no chance.' I got out of L.A., stuck to it, and since then I've worked at the greatest place on the planet," this was a quote from Jim Cripe who was the district assessment coordinator who wanted to express his work. The camp was more along the lines of a rehab or correction center and is used to make large changes in one's life. Attending the camp the majority of the people were a mixture of various gangs. There were Fresno area Bulldogs, northern and southern Hispanics, and Bay Crips and Bloods. The center did tolerate any gang activity whatsoever and any unnecessary behavior leads to expulsion.

Response to criminal gangs in Mexico

I think that it's rediculous and scary at the same time that over 4,000 people have died because of criminal gangs. It's also scary to think about how the US could be brought into the mess that even in a different country. The whole concept of gangs in dangerous and creepy to think about, but at the same time it's cool. Think about it...gangs are everywhere. What if they had some type of connection throughout the whole world and one big leader. It's insane to think that there are lines everywhere that lead to gangs. The major theme of the article was drugs. It's rediculous if the majority of the deaths had to do with drugs and drug trafficking. With the plane crash that happened last week with the Minister and the crime fighting officials, they said it was realted to drug trafficking as well.

Reading this article made me think more about the other stuff that they do. Not only do gangs just kill people, they do serious drug trafficking, and they caused a plane to crash. It's not just the US that has to deal with gangs, there's Mexico and other places throughout the world that do too. I now want to know what other places have to deal with. If it's the same type of things as around here, or if they do their jobs differently.

Mexico Struggles with Drug Gang Violence

The president of Mexico, Felip Calderon is having some problems with keeping his ground after he lost many of his key officials to a plane crash last week. This year though, over 4,000 people have died or been killed related to criminal gangs. It is said that the US could could be brought into the situation. In Mexico during the past weeks there have been many bodies found in various places, even some hanging from bridges.

Last week there was also a plane that was carrying Minister Juan Camilo Maurina as well as many others, that crashed in a neighborhood in Mexico. They believe that it had to do with drug trafficking, yet authorities aren't quite sure yet. The president of Mexico has had a hard battle trying to fight against all of the drug gangs, kidnappers, etc. He said that Mexico have been the victims of it all, but also Americans could start facing what is going on.

"You are looking at an industry that is perhaps as large as $100 billion of cash flowing into Mexican coffers," (Fred Burton) who is a security analyst.

Response to 17 gang killings.

These random killings seem really creepy and sketchy to me. It's not like this was throughout a long period of time, like months...it was only four days. I also think it's weird how they were at strange times as well. It seems as if some of the deaths were just outrageous and there was no reason for them to be harmed. At the same time though, the LAPD claims that gangs and or drugs were involved. If that's true, which it seems to be, then there would be more of a reason for something like this to happen. Reading this made me think a little more about what gangs actually do. I didn't think that they'd all of a sudden go out and kill almost twenty people, it's outrageous. Now I'm kind of curious to know what their motives are and if they just randomly hunt people for fun, or if they keep it strictly business.

Weekend Violence Claims 17 Lives in L.A. County

- Authorities are saying that 17 deaths in the Los Angeles County were involved with gangs and or drugs. Five of the victims were shot and killed. The cases were in contol of he LA County Sheriff's Department and they sent otheres out to patrol close areas. It all started on Friday night around 9 p.m. where a woman was shot. It ended on Monday morning at 5 a.m. when a person in a mask knocked on the door of someone's home and shot the man who opened the door. The series of killings all happened within short time periods of each other. Authorities claim that gangs were involved with these killings. LAPD is working with the community to try and hold a gang summit.

Final Selection

After narrowing all of the topics down, I decided to research gangs. I think that this topic will keep me entertained for the six months that we have to follow it. It's one of those things that you never know what's going to come of it, so it's always exciting to hear what's going on. I can always research back in a time a little and see what types of things have happened with gangs in the past, as well as how much they have changed over time. I thought that if I researched serial killers, then it would potentially get boring after a while with no new information coming in. Then if I researched underage drinking, I felt as if I would get the same information over and over again. I could still get information about recent accidents which could be interesting, I just don't think I could be interested in it for the six months. I overall think that gangs is a good choice for me because I think some of the things that they do is really cool, and I would be able to get a lot of info.

There definitely is enough happening right now with gangs for me to have updated information. Gangs are apart of the whole world, so even if there isn't much going on in the United States, there might me something interesting happening in Mexico or the Dominican Republic. I decided that I won't necessarily be exclusive with the Bloods and the Crips, but also look at the other types of gangs in general. When I looked them up on the Internet, there were a lot of recent stories about gangs and accidents with them. There were stories about murders, assaults, and court summonses. There was a lot of information that I found and it was all easy to access. There was a lot of information in google news and a few in some newspaper websites as well. Believe it or not, there are gangs everywhere and things going on that you never would have guessed.

The topic of gangs is a very good candidate for ongoing research. Everyday there is something new going on with them like I said. It's such a broad topic. There are tons and tons of gangs throughout the US and the world so finding information daily shouldn't be a problem. Just because the police and school headmasters are trying to limit gang activity and get rid of it all, doesn't mean that they are going away any time soon. Time will definitely make a different with the research. Hopefully there will be changes in what's happening over time so that could be really helpful with my research. I also think that with the economy, there will be more gang activity then before. People are losing money, so I think that crime rates and drug dealing will be increasing.

I think that the topic of gangs will stretch my brain a little bit. I don't understand them completely and why they do the things they do, so that's one way that I can think outside the box. One thing that I think is really cool will be trying to spot out gang members. After learning about them I think it would be sick to be able to see a gang member in action. I want to go to a high school around the Portland area to interview a principal to see what they have to say about their gangs. I might gain a new perspective about gangsters.

Some Ideas...

Underage drinking doesn't seem like a bad topic to me. I can see how this would be a very relevant topic for our age group in Maine, compared to the other topics. We know underaged drinking goes on with teenagers that go to Lincoln Academy and sometimes there are tragic consequences when these students start driving.
I think the topic of serial killers could be very interesting if you focus on the psychology of the killers. You could try to determine whether genetics are a factor or if the motives are entirely generated by past experiences. It would be interesting to find out if it is possible to find pathological signs in the person's behavior before its too late.
The topic of "Gangs: Bloods and Crips?" is a good choice because of the ammount of recent, relevant information. I am curious to whether "crips" has any relation to "crypts" like the tombs where they put dead bodies. Overall, I think this your most dynamic topic with new information posted frequently.

Gangs...

I think this is a very interesting topic to research. Along with the questions that you want to anwser, you might want to research how gangs have changed over the years. This would be interesting to know because it would show how they change with different generations and how current events effect what they do. It will be very interesting to read what types of things you find!

interesting

It's too bad you couldn't find more information on serial killers- that would have been fascinating- especially with all the psychology that is involved. I like your choice of topics. They're not anything that I would immediately think of researching, but now that you've brought them up they seem very interesting. What are the Bloods and Crips? I'm really not up on my gangs knowledge. I bet you could get lots information if you were able to contact an inner-city social worker somewhere, and newpaper articles would be good for very current happenings. Also, it would be good to explore the positive sides of gangs, if there are any. Comradery? Are there "do good" gangs that help others? Or is that just another name for a volunteer organization? I can't wait to hear more!

Comments from Everett

It is knd of unclear what you want to learn about the bloods and the Crips. In your first paragraph, I think that redundant is the wrong word to be used in that instace. In paragraph 2 you say, "I personally would like to find out about the Bloods and Crips and just be able to follow them specifically and find out what’s going on with them" someone of average knowledge of gangs may not realize exactly "whats going on with them". Main question: What interests you most about gangs?"

It appears that your mind is made up on what you will be writing about for the next few months, an I look forward to be reading about the topic in the future...

EM

Hmmm My Three Topics

Isearch Topics

The three topics that I have chosen to research are gangs, serial killers, and underage drinking. With gangs, I want to look at the Bloods and the Crips, with serial killer, what’s happening with them right now and how they are being followed, and underage drinking and if the drinking age should be lowered or not. I thought doing gangs would be really interesting and same with serial killers, yet underage drinking is fairly redundant topic. We have to find a topic that interests us, and I don’t want to get bored with what I have to research.

When I looked up gangs I actually find quite a bit, and I was honestly surprised by it. I found up to date articles about things that are going on ever day with them. I personally would like to find out about the Bloods and Crips and just be able to follow them specifically and find out what’s going on with them. Between the Marvel database and Google News, there were many articles from today and this week about recent activities involving gangs. I’m interested in the Bloods and Gangs because I think it will be easier where they are the most common gangs that people have heard of, and that exist. The articles that I found were just about the gangs and what they are, they were about what types of things have happened such as convictions, murders, assaults, and other gang related activity.

Serial killers are a fairly hard topic to look up. There are a quite a few articles about them, but nothing is extremely recent. Not much happens during the event of hunting a serial killer down. It’s not something where you can just get information frequently you have to wait for a break through. I don’t feel like researching this topic would provide me with as much information that I need to keep my search going for six months. There also isn’t much action going on right now with serial killers. Most of them are in the past like Jeffrey Dahmar and Ted Bundy. They are previous killers and right now there isn’t anything going on like that. This will limit my search and would make it really hard.

The last topic that I was considering is underage drinking. The question is whether or not the legal drinking age should be lowered. I personally don’t think it should be, and I want to research all the different aspects of teenagers drinking. I would look at incidents and events that have happened to help prove my point, or possibly persuade me in the other direction. I found a bunch of articles on newspaper sites and Google news about teenagers getting drunk and being murdered, or found dead in swamps, or going to jail. This topic is redundant though. We hear constantly about not drinking although a mass majority does it. It honestly can be an annoying topic, and it gets old after awhile.

After looking up all three topics, I have decided that I want to research gangs. I think that following what is going on with the Bloods and Crips and even what’s going on between them would be really cool. I also like the idea of researching them, because around here we don’t have a whole bunch of that going on. We don’t have to worry about gang activity in our school, so we don’t necessarily know all that much about it.