Graffiti indicating MS-13, originally a Salvadoran gang.
Plainfield parents and youth can learn of street gangs and how to avoid their enticements tonight at the YWCA.
Guests speakers and the Street Warriors of Newark will be featured. Special awards honoring some of Plainfield's youth, as well as entertainment and light refreshments. Free child care provided.
MS-13 graffiti, Arlington Avenue.
Gang Awareness Symposium
Tonight, 7 - 10 PM
YWCA
East Front and Church Streets
Posts
5 comments:
Learned Thinker --
I had always been told it started in L.A., and was originally Salvadoran, as you say, but that as it has grown it has drawn members who count other countries as their homeland -- including Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Check out the Wikipedia article --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mara_Salvatrucha
it may draw members from other countries, but its origin was on the soil of El Salvador. It, along with the Mexican mafia, made its way to LA due to the prison systems of Folsom, San Quentin, and Pelican Bay; their confinement to these prisons, upon release, vaned them to the Oakland/LA areas, which is why the concentration of the two-mentioned organizations are high in that area.
fyi Mr. Damon, I would shy away from 'factual' encyclopedia's such as Wikipedia. They are not considerated academic, nor scholarly (by scholars and researchers).
LT
Is Dan writing a dissertation here, or is this a daily blog? I think it's perfectly acceptable to cite Wikipedia for quick info. Are there readily available scholarly tracts about the MS-13 gang?
Dear Learned Thinker,
You say: "its not a Latino gang, it's an El Salvadorian gang. Once you say Latino, you generalize the whole community.". However, your reasoning implies that all Salvadorians are members of this gang. That is just as bad as saying that it is a Latino gang. The truth is that it is a criminal enterprise among many that draw too many of our youth into lives of crime and violence. Instead of debating the demographics of MS-13, we should be discussing what we can all be doing to provide positive alternatives to all of our kids, regardless of the nation of origin.
-Christian Estevez
Mr. Estevez,
I do apologize for the way in which you interpreted my stance. But you too, have missed the message. I corrected the label of Latino to El Salvadoran because that is correct and accurate. NOWHERE do I suggest nor imply, ANY generalization. My reasoning, as you so eloquently put it, suggests nothing of the sort. All it does is accurately depict the ethnic origin of the gang. I research and study organizated and street gangs, which spurns about my particular nature in the subject.
Again, I do apologize for even hinting that sort of interpretation.
LT
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