Wednesday, 19 March 2008

Asian Gang Life in LA

associatedcontent.com
Mar 18, 2008

Frankie was born in Phnom Penh Cambodia, 1 of 3 brothers in 1963. He grew up in Cambodia in the rural areas which was prominent at the time since the country was not well developed or urbanized at the time. His family lived a simple life until the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot came in during the latter part of the 1970's and initiated a mass genocide that killed millions of Cambodians.

They forced his family to work in hard labor camps under Khmer rouge guards that carried ak-47's and killed anyone including women and children at will. Many died from starvation, exposure, and from being overworked. They killed his older brother when he was caught hunting a duck to provide food for his starving family. Eventually the Khmer Rouge abandoned the civilians when they started to lose the ground to Vietnamese forces. The Bunla family then escaped through the mine ridden mountains to the Thailand border where the Red Cross provided care. Eventually some kind church folks sponsored his family to the United States.

His family had heard of the United States by many people all over Cambodia as the land of opportunity. They were overjoyed to be able to start a new life in America. Yet, it was tough because they had no education, no money, no skills, and could not speak English. So his parents started working in sweatshops in downtown Los Angeles. They lived in a tumbledown apartment and Frankie and his brother started going to school. The neighborhood that they lived in was poverty stricken urban downtown area of LA. There were homeless people all over the place and gangs roving around the streets. Right after they enrolled in Los Angeles High School they ran into problems.

First of all they were alienated because they couldn't speak English for crap. There was a communication problem right off the bat and being the new kids on the block with crappy clothes, they were subject to scrutiny by the other kids at the school. The school bullies jacked their sack lunches and attempted to eat it but seeing that it was some foreign food with rice they just threw it away. This went on for awhile but the waste of food pissed of him and his brother so they tried to fight off the bullies but got their asses kicked. They told their parents but neither their mother nor father could do anything because they were both working more than forty hours a week and had no time to sort out any of the school problems the kids had. They kept reporting the bullying to the principal and teachers but they never really solved the problem.

Eventually, they started to learn more English and attempted to assimilate into the culture as fast as they could to try and "fit in." Frankie and his brother started to hang around other Asian students at school and they started to bond. The bullies did not pick on them as often since they started hanging out with the other Asian students. The other Asian students were comprised of Vietnamese, Filipino, Laotian, and Chinese nationalities.

Despite being in a clique of about 10 guys, it did not deter other rival Mexican and Black students from trying to start trouble. Frankie could not understand why the other students always wanted to bother them. There was one incident where Frankie was playing ball and beat the other team really bad. They exchanged a few words and then a fight broke out. At first it was only a few of them, but then everyone left and brought back their crews and a rumble broke out. There were more than 30 people brawling on the court and it was over before the police could respond. Frankie and his brother had bruises all over their bodies. After the fight, Frankie and his brother were approached by some guys that were friends of his friends in his group. They offered them to join their gang called "Oriental Boys" After reminiscing over what had happened when they were alone and when they were part of a larger group, they decided to join the gang. The guys in Oriental Boys hung around some other gangs that were affiliated with Bloods.

The gang committed several robberies of convenience stores. They used the money for alcohol and drugs. They hung out together a lot during the weekends. Then Frankie and his brother started to skip school because they were having a hard time learning because of the language barrier.

It was tough living in the urban area of Los Angeles. Park and Burgess' Concentric Zone Model fit in the case of Frankie's family, and all of the other immigrant families that move to the United States in search of opportunity. They start out in the Transitional Zone where tumbledown houses and ghettos are the only housing that poor families can afford. One night Frankie's dad was walking to a liquor store when he got stabbed with a screwdriver by a gang member. I would dare say that this would have not happened if he lived in an upscale neighborhood like Beverly Hills. When Frankie and his brother found out they immediately went hunting for skinheads and gangsters. Armed with a pistol and shotgun (which they acquired when other members drove a car into a gun shop) they went hunting for Mara Salvatrucha and anyone who looked like they belonged in a gang.

One night Frankie was working in a restaurant when some gangsters from MS stood outside trying to start shit. One of them came inside and started to disturb the customers. He eventually saw Frankie and attacked him with a machete. Frankie grabbed a hammer and cleaver and started running away. He eventually ran into a restroom and waited for his attacker to come through the door. When he did, he attacked and killed him.

Another night Frankie's cousin was just walking to his friend's house when a group of Mexicans started to yell racial slurs at him. He returned later with his friends and performed a drive by with an Uzi wounding three and killing another three. The next day his cousin was caught in crossfire in a gang fight. They shot him twice and he was severely wounded. He survived but lost an eye because shrapnel obliterated his cornea.

LAOB is different from other Asian gangs. Unlike Vietnamese gangs who are into making money, oriental boys is just into hanging out, having fun, and protecting each other and their turf. A few members are drug dealers but most are not. A lot of members in OB did in fact steal cars and stereos. Their favorites were the 1989 Toyota Camry because it was easy to steal and go joyriding. After joyriding they would ditch the car someplace and run away. Sometimes they would sell the cars that they stole to certain body shops that would pay in cash no questions asked. They are all over Southern California and like most gangs, will group together when shit hits the fan with another gang.

The multiple marginality theory presented by Professor Vigil states that, "Macro historical and macro structural forces-those that occur at the broader levels of society-lead to economic insecurity and lack of opportunity, fragmented institutions of social control, poverty, and psychological and emotional barriers among large segments of the ethnic minority communities." It seems that the stories are almost all the same. Everyone starts of an immigrant from another country. They attempt start a new life and have a hard time making ends meet. Cliques start to form mostly based on race and ethnicity. It is only natural that people of the same culture will stay together both physically in neighborhoods and socially through friends.

Social control provides a large insight as to why someone would join a gang. The family is the core. When there is cohesion within the family, then everything is okay. But in most cases, the parents of immigrant families have to work long hours and can never talk or watch over their children. Because of the poor funding of schools that cater to the lower echelon of society, teachers are incapable of effectively teaching immigrant students English. The police look down on poor people and do not attempt to understand the cause of the problem or the kids a chance.

When Family, School, and Police fail to positively direct the kids growing up; gangs come in and become their support through street socialization. Gangs provide a sense of self worth and belonging. They teach their members how to function and survive on the street. And they replace the duties of the police by "backing up" each other in confrontations and protecting one another.

What I do not understand is why they kill each other. Everything seems to start when one member of a group disrespects another gang and things start to escalate until someone is either dead or severely wounded. Then a cycle of retribution and vengeance starts and people start to get hurt or die.

Frankie and his brother somehow miraculously finished high school and got their degrees and now own a mechanic shop in southern California. They were lucky to have left the gang life unscathed and with their lives. Both of them have families of their own and seem to live a normal life. My uncle's cousin is still a member of LAOB even at age 29. I do not know why he has not matured out. My guess is that because he is very well respected around the LA area, he fears he will lose it if he were to "mature out" of the gang lifestyle. He can travel anywhere in LA county and he will have friends. I also figure that since he did not graduate high school, he has no real vocational skills and cannot do much as a normal citizen. His body is full of tattoos which are not really aesthetically pleasing to a lot of employers which is probably why he only does odd and end jobs. He rarely hangs out with any of the immediate family for fear of rival gangs targeting them. Some members get locked up in prison. Others still roam the street with no goals, hope or future. Some pay the ultimate price just to belong and stand up for what they believe is true to them. Thus is the life of a gangster in the barrio.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

lovely jubbly fantastic thanks so much

Stop by my website accident claims

Anonymous said...

For our 1st mortgage we had been repeatedly lied to
guaranteed same day loans and delayed
by Commerce Bank this past summer, who after three
months of waiting and them requesting exactly the same data
time and again (they misplace private personalized earning statements and court documents as being a norm apparently)
http://noteafrica.com/note/RickieNaka Bank named to tell us our loan lastly closed, nevertheless they by no means locked within the 6.
3/4% we had been quoted. We have been informed the market was now at 8%.
This was not very good news. But we had been as well exhausted to start out over, we essential to close.

Following 4 months of tightened belts with on time payments instant cash pay day loans, we attempted quick money loans.

Anonymous said...

I think the admin of this web site is really working hard in support of his
site, for the reason that here every stuff is quality based stuff.



Also visit my site home cellulite treatment