Are Gangs Active In Giles County
The question has been raised by a reader about gangs in Giles County. Is there an active or growing gang problem in the county? Have there been signs of gang activity?
posted by Allen Barrett | 8:50 PM
24 Comments:
Must be gang activity. Read the report from Dickey on WKSR.
Ask your children!
If you dont think there is a gang problem then take a stroll down Pulaski's wonderfull "walking trail" between Washington St and Grigsby St any afternoon about 5:00pm. I dont think the question was have you been told there is a gang problem, it was do you think there is a gang problem. Make no mistake there are gangs in our Pulaski and its a growing problem. The parents are the ones who have to get a handle on this problem. The majority of these gang members are kids 14yo to 21yo. without the parents of these kids the police have no chance.
This bothers me. The readers of this blog are far more concerned with a higher water bill than crime in our town. This is more than likely due to the fact that the readers do not live in the area of town known as the "northend" if they did they might care about this problem. I think this is the first topic I have seen where Mr. Mcpetters and Mr. Barrett do not have an answer. Where are they in this topic? O yea this doesn’t have anything to do with the government or some cover up out to ruin them. I think this is a problem that needs more attention from the citizens but maybe the readers of this blog are not the real concerned citizens of Pulaski. Come on Mcpeters and Barrett chime in on this topic lets see what you think.
Anonymous, Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:08:00 PM, said:
Come on Mcpeters and Barrett chime in on this topic lets see what you think.
You want to get rid of gangs? That's pretty simple. The illegality of recreational drugs acts as a subsidy to criminals. Get rid of the illegality, and you'll get rid of the sky-high profitability of the drug trade. So, step one... legalize drugs for adults to use behind closed doors and drawn curtains in their own homes.
Step two... replace the current punishments for teenage offenders with public shaming (locked in the stocks on the courthouse lawn, with ripe tomatos and rotten eggs provided, for their peers to throw at them). If there is a second offense, keep them in the stock for twice as long, then give them a good flogging. Third offense, flog em, stock em, and flog em again. If there is a fourth conviction, you should start flogging the kid's parents.
"Reform school" is nothing but a "finishing school" for criminals. The whole system should be scrapped, and replaced with public shaming and flogging of delinquent kids, and -- if necessary -- their parents or legal guardians.
1. Legalize drugs? That is a good one. Those adults would certainly stay in their homes and not come out just like the people who drink don't drive.
2. Stockades? Teenagers make mistakes. Punishment yes. Make the parents responsible for their children and answer to the problem and they might try and control them.
3. Reform school. How many have your visited. Where do you get your knowledge of these finishing schools. By all means let's go back to the stone age and flog everyone who commits a crime.
do not be mistaken by the size of Pulaski...there is definetly gang activity here.
Can't spell it but there is a poser gang called the Bahala? gang.
they started at Richland school.
not sure of the other gang name but there are some kids who try to be in the Bloods. That's why red shirts were banned at Bridgeforth.
yes they exist & kids are joining them all the tiime.
Look for the bandanas tied a certain way & worn in a certain way.
How do i know these things because my kid talks to me.
I know that one of the gang members is currently in juvvie & not on the streets Thank God but the gang is still active.
Also that is why North End park is the hangout & currently being policed more & was on the news.
The crack problem is a haven for the gangs & if someone is selling in a gang area & not a part of the gang they will be beaten or shot.
these kids are not just the north end kids either they are at Richland school which is considered a "county" school.
These kids are not just the dopers or the trouble kids either there are some kids in a gang that would drop your jaw.
Professional peoples' kids & some so called jocks are running with these gangs.
Like someone just said ask your kids..you'll be amazed at what they know.
teachers won't come out in the halls at school because of the gang activity at GCHS. But is it truly gang or gang want a be's.
The stockades are a good idea but that darn constitution kind of gets in the way. A wana be gang member will do something stupid just to prove their not a wana be. I haven’t talked to any teachers who wont go into the hall because of gang members.
Gangs - There are gangs. They may not be of the type we hear about in the large cities, but nonetheless they exist. It was mentioned in an earlier post that the "Bahala" gang exist. Their name is "Ball Hollow Boys." They are a group of white kids. The reason I make reference to their race is that so many think only black kids are in the area gangs. The "North End Boys" aka "KC" gang are primarily black kids from the north end of town. There are also the "Bottom Boys" referring to those who live in the area of South Rhodes Street. There may be others, but these are the primary groups that require mentioning.
Reading KM's answer to gangs is almost amusing. It just shows how out of touch people are with the children of today. Sure, parents need to be involved and informed, but too many parents work odd hours to provide for the family. Others pretend to be parents. They are the ones who will blame anyone else other than their child. They are also the ones who say, "my child would not do that."
Children get into gangs for various reasons such as: wanting to belong (to a group), lack of something to do, lack of self esteem, peer pressure, adolescent obstinacy, the feeling of power, drugs, sex and on and on.
Pulaski and Giles County must begin to deal with this problem. It can be like the little hole in the dike. Schools only have so much authority to deal with these children. Unless more harsh policy is put into place by the School Board, school administrators' hands are tied. Law enforcement officers can only arrest and carry them to juvenile detention. The court system is kind of where the buck stops. In the defense of the the Juvenile Judge, his hands are tied also. There is no where to place these kinds of children. DCS is a mess. Move them out of the home and they quickly find the same kind of students elsewhere to band an association.
This problem doesn't just affect the North End area, but this entire county. It doesn't just affect the "have nots," it bites at all of us. Thus, we ALL need to take heed. This is a society problem that quickly needs attention.
Keep your eyes and ears open. Listen to those children who feel comfortable in talking to you about this issue.
Gangs are a clear and present danger to all of us.
...Casio
Anonymous, Friday, March 21, 2008 4:34:00 AM, said:
1. Legalize drugs? That is a good one.
Do you have a better plan for taking the profits away from the drug gangs and the international cartels? You certainly can't be foolish enough to think that keeping drugs "illegal" will make any difference, right? After all, the government can't keep illegal drugs out of maximum security prisons. So how can you expect a stupid law to make an impact, in a semi-free society like ours?
Those adults would certainly stay in their homes and not come out just like the people who drink don't drive.
If they do use drugs and drive, then they can be caught by alert troopers, and have the book thrown at them. You would not ban "legal" prescription medicine, simply because people might ignore the warning labels, and operate machinery while "under the influence." Right? And you certainly are smart enough to be aware that returning to alcohol "prohibition" would be an absurd mistake. Right? Well, then, why treat marijuana and other currently "illegal" drugs any differently? Please explain your reasoning, if you don't mind. Thanks!
2. Stockades? Teenagers make mistakes. Punishment yes. Make the parents responsible for their children and answer to the problem and they might try and control them.
Punishing parents for the misdeeds of their children is a good idea, and one I already suggested, if you look closely. But teenaged kids allow their lives to revolve around how "cool" they are viewed by their peers. Thats why shaming via the stocks would be so effective. It was quite a crime deterrant in the colonial days, and that was long before kids were electronically networked together to make the "shaming" something that could be spread far and wide. (Imagine kids using a cellphone to video their enemies' shaming in the stocks, and posting it on their Myspace page for all the world to see? Public shaming would be devastatingly effective with today's children-- who are obsessed with public image above most all else!)
3. Reform school. How many have your visited.
None... but so what? The statistics say that "reform" school does almost nothing to "reform" juvies, and prevent them from growing up and becoming adult career criminals.
Where do you get your knowledge of these finishing schools.
I actually don't need any direct "knowledge" to oppose reform schools. I oppose them, just like I oppose "prison" for adults, on principle. I am quite sure that inflicting physical punishment, while in view of one's age group peers, is much more of a deterrant than the toothless "threat" of being given a vacation behind bars, at a place monitored by the ACLU to insure your civil rights are protected.
In truth, being sent to "reform school" is an important rite of passage for some dysfunctional groups, such as youth gangs. It's often the beginning of a punk's so-called "street cred."
By all means let's go back to the stone age and flog everyone who commits a crime.
There's nothing "stone age" about using public shaming and pain to deter crime. In Thomas Jefferson's time, there were no prisons, and crimes that didn't merit the death penalty were usually dealt with by flogging. Needless to say, the crime rate was much lower then, than it is today!
Incidentally, if you want to talk about real barbarism, just look at the American prison system. Anal rape -- often anal GANG rape -- is routine, with the "guards" looking on and doing nothing to stop it. Serves em right, you say? Well, one advantage of my "flog em" system, over today's "cage em and rape em" system, is that, if you are an innocent wrongly convicted, you get your punishment over with quickly, and then are set free. Under today's prison system, an innocent can easily lose one or more irreplacable decades of their life, plus wind up infected with AIDS as a result of the anal raping, before they are set free.
Could anything be more "cruel and inhumane" than modern prisons? I think not. And considering that flogging costs virtually nothing, while prison costs more than an Ivy League college, it's clear that prisons are a rape of the taxpayer's wallet to boot! Let's tear em all down, and start building stocks and whipping posts!
Anonymous, Friday, March 21, 2008 9:28:00 PM, said:
The stockades are a good idea but that darn constitution kind of gets in the way.
Not true! It is idiot liberal judges misinterpeting the Constitution who are the problem. Corporal punishment was universally practiced in America, when the Constitution was ratified. So "cruel and unusual" almost certainly was meant to outlaw, for instance, amputing the hands of thieves, and not the use of the stocks and the lash.
Of course, judges can make any kind of nitwit, ahistorical, ruling they please. But there is a way around that, short of officially amending the Constitution... Congress can pass a law (by simple majority vote) that takes away the Court's jurisdiction on state laws authorizing shaming and flogging. (Or abortion, school prayer... you name it.) Alas, the neutered wimps who "serve" in Congress will never stand up to the Supremes. Too damned bad.
AMEN to that!
Some of the comments in this whole list are true some are close.
The Ball Hollow Boys are a gang, they did start in Richland but they have some memebers in Giles County also. They are not a very large or organized group and are not too much of a threat. The bloods and the crips( KC by the way are Kitchen Crips and they are dangerous) they KC's are originally from Mount Pleasant and are recruiting a large number of our local youths. the bloods are alive and well in Pulaski. the numbers for both of them are about equal right now. As for people saying they are "wannabe's" -- you are partly correct. We do have some full fledged gang members and then we have the "wannabe's". The latter are alot more dangerous than the members. The "wannabe's" are trying to prove themselves to the real gang members so they will do about anything to get in. The initiation for the gangs is what is called a "beat in" Depending on what gang it is you get beat by either 5 or 6 members for 5 or 6 minutes. When the time is up then you are in FOR LIFE.
As for Mr. McPeters idea of punishment for the gang memebers selling drugs -- Well -- maybe a bit over board. Maybe a better solution is to make any drug offenses stay on the juvenile record for life along with any other felony that they committ. Alot of the drug dealers use these young teenagers to move their product because if the juvenile gets caught it comes off their record when they are 18 years old.
The best way to combat gangs is for parents to open their eyes and admit their child is bad and going down the wrong road instead of blaming the police because their sweet innocent little child got caught with drugs or guns. We give our children so much now that they just do not appreciate anything or respect anything.
as for making drugs legal. Come on Mr. McPeters is that just so you can get yours without being caught or something -- There are several studies that show that making drugs legal would drive the prices up and increase competition on the market. Plus do you really think that drug dealers are gonna say ,"Oh, It's legal now -- Let's go register - get a tax number- open a shop and start a small business and pay taxes on these drugs so we canbe legal law abiding citizens ? tell you what how about you just keep with government bashing -- You seem to know more about that.
If anyone wants to learn more about gangs and drugs. Just go on the computer and type in "bloods or crips". If you want too see what our local kids are doing get on myspace and hit browse and punch in the parameters you want and you will see what our kids are doing. You will be shocked.
Anonymous, Sunday, March 23, 2008 1:09:00 PM, said:
First of all... many thanks for your highly informative comments regarding the gang problem. That's the kind of fact based posting that allows this blog to achieve its stated purpose, and it's a shame there aren't more like it.
Alas, after talking sensibly about the gang problem, you went on to say this:
as for making drugs legal. Come on Mr. McPeters is that just so you can get yours without being caught or something --
Har de har har. I believe that alcohol should be legal, but that doesn't mean I'm a drunkard. I believe that cigarettes should be legal, but I've never lit up in my life. Can you not understand that it is possible to favor something being legal for reasons of PRINCIPLE, not self-interest?
Let me ask you a few questions, officer. Early in the 20th Century, when "the powers that be" wanted to "prohibit" alcohol, they recognized the necessity to pass a Constitutional Amendment giving the government that authority. And when Prohibition proved to be a disaster for everyone but the gangsters, another Amendment was passed to take that power away from the Feds. So, two questions come immediately to mind:
(1) Exactly WHEN was an Amendment passed, giving the government the power to prohibit the use of marijuana?
(2) If marijuana can rightfully be "prohibited" without an Amendment, does that mean that we could go back to alcohol prohibition without first passing an amendment?
There are several studies that show that making drugs legal would drive the prices up and increase competition on the market.
Well, that's certainly absurd. If marijuana was legal, you'd be able to buy it from your local farmer by the bale, for about the same price as hay.
Your alleged "studies" must have been done by someone with no understanding of how "supply and demand" work in the free market. Ask yourself this: when alcohol was re-legalized, did its "street price" go up, or down? And did Al Capone's gangs continue to dominate the alcohol trade, while terrorizing Chicago... or did they basically go away?
Plus do you really think that drug dealers are gonna say ,"Oh, It's legal now -- Let's go register - get a tax number- open a shop and start a small business and pay taxes on these drugs so we canbe legal law abiding citizens ?
No. If you make marijauna truly LEGAL -- like it was before the late 1930's, to no visible detriment of the public -- none of that bureaucratic nonsense would be necessary. If someone wanted marijuana, they'd simply grown it in their backyard. Or in a pot in their living room. Or they'd buy it from a farmer's co-op. None of that registration, tax numbers, and whatnot would be necessary for a product that was so inexpensive, per unit of volume. Marijuana is literally a weed... make it LEGAL, and its price will be comparable to that of any other weed. This is elementary stuff... Econ 101.
In closing, I'd like to ask you one final question: do you favor allowing marijuana to legal for use by seriously ill people who have a doctor's prescription for it? If you're not in favor of that sort of "compassionate use" of marijuna, you probably shouldn't bother identifying yourself as "Christian." Cause the God that created marijuana and put it on Earth for Man to use, is not going to mistake your callous indifference to the misery of the sick and dying, for any sort of doing unto others how you'd like to be done unto you."
marijuana is not the problem its crack. Plain and simple no one is worried bout the pot heads its the river of crack running through this town thats a problem. You wouldnt want to make crack legal would you.
Kids arent the problem - Its the Jackson gang
Can anyone name any one or gang thats ripped off more people or taken more money from than the Jackson Gang?
At least you know the normal honest gang by their baggy britches, wierd hair doos, tattoos, & other dumb id marks.
The Jackson gang wears suits & ties & pretends & gland hands everybody, while pickedy pocketn every stray thread they can find,
anonymous..
You are going to get an ulcer from being so upset about Mr. Jackson. You are entitled to your opinion of him, but can't you just keep them to yourself? How would you like it if the shoe were on the other foot?
As for those "honest" gang members you see around town, I just had to laugh. Did you notice the pit bulls as well? I did.
Quit worrying about the Jackson gang. This is a blog about the real thing; those that are out to hurt, rob and steal their way through life in Pulaski.
First, Allow me to apologize to Mr. Mcpeters -- You are correct - that was rude of me to say that your wanting to legalize drugs for your own usage. Please accept my apology.
Now on to that subject -- That is something that we could argue about all week so lets just agree to disagree about the lagalization of drugs. I have seen first hand what they do to families , careers and people. I know that you can argue that alcohol does the same thing but I have not seen it affect people to the extreme extent that drugs have.
I wonder how many people have gone to Myspace and Youtube since I posted my comments over a week ago. Did you see our kids on there sporting the guns and talking about smoking weed and that other nonsense ??
As for those of you that believe that underpriviledged kids are the only ones in gangs or selling drugs -- You REALLY need to open your eyes and look. Alot of the well to do kids are selling and are in gangs also. They believe thta are untouchable and are very bold about it.
It is really sad that our great society has come to this but then again we as parents are mostly to blame. Not keeping track of our children and not keeping controls on them are the biggest problem.
The gang problem and the drug problem are not ever going to go away but it can be curbed if the parents, community, schools and court system start getting together and working as a team to keep the kids under control.
Ride through Thomas Street park one afternoon and just look at how young some of the "thugs" are that hang out causing problems. Go to wal-Mart on any Friday or Saturday night and see whos children are out there smoking dope and drinking right there in the open. The police can't be everywhere all the time.
By, email, I received a suggestion to post the following link. It's worth reading, too---
http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0804/feature1.html
www.nea.org/neatoday/0804/feature1.html
Most of the children that in the gangs are children that stay in church 24/7. So what is really going on? Their parents are in the church also. These children get filled with the holy ghost on Sunday and go out and beat up on others all the rest of the week. What are they being taught?
I think that has got to be the most idiotic thing I have ever read opn this blog. Surely, that was meant as a joke.
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