Cegninedorf
Twang'em into trees!
(I just have to get this off on my chest/out of my brain, and I'm just curious about the experiences/reactions of others to similar situations...)
Currently, outside my apt window, there are 13 police officers and 4 police cars and 1 police wagon...and those are only the ones that I can see from my street corner. There are far too many leafy trees in the way, but I can see the flashing lights through the trees of all of the other police cars by the other end of the yellow Caution tape that has now cordoned off my generally busy street completely for the past 3 hours. Shortly after getting home tonight, I heard the squeal of tires, and then 6 distinct gunshots, and some crying. I will find out if someone died later on the news tonight. However, I know without a doubt that the shooting is gang-related. It's just the way it is.
I know that gangs live in my neighborhood -- Gangster Disciples to the north of me by one block, and they control a huge amount of territory north and west, and then the Latin Kings are to the west and south of me, and their territory is growing based upon the graffiti I see on buildings closer to my school...in fact, several middle schoolers at my school come in their black & gold already (Latin King colors). (In the book "The Gang Book" which is endorsed by the Chicago Police Dept, there are something like 100+ gangs in this city; on a map of my area, I could pinpoint which gangs were around me & how their territory has grown since it's publication date last year...)
At school, I see scrawlings on the girls' restroom doors in the second grade floor that state "Down with LK, King Killaz" and "GD 4-ever" and the symbols for the two gangs. It's scary. I lend out my books on gangs & gang violence -- Reymundo Sanchez's "My Bloody Life" and "Once a King, Always a King", Luis Rodriguez's "La Vida Loca" and Saniya Shakur's "Monster" -- to one kid/LK in particular to wake him up...he reads them, and asks me for more, but because of his wildly unstable home life, this is the only consistent relationship he has. My boyfriend, who is also his soccer coach and a school security guard, has gotten close with the kid & talks with him about the reality of gangs, and how he himself saw people shot in the street while growing-up on the westside (Pilsen neighborhood) due to gang violence. It's not pretty at all.
I used to walk home through the Gangster Disciples (GD) late at night while in grad school, after I'd get off the train...I wasn't too aware at the time of which gang it was, and occasionally I'd walk straight through their street meetings or undercover police investigations because I'd be thinking about whatever happened in school or things to do or reading; I was never bothered (I figured it out later on because of the men with the bullet-proof vests on & those who were combing on the ground and sometimes the yellow Caution tape; I'm really not that oblivious!). One 20 year-old former member even told me that I had nothing to worry about when we talked about the local gangs. Sure, I don't look like a threat, but if I happened to be walking by the wrong person at the wrong time...
Even at my school where I teach -- 3 blocks from my apt and right up against Latin King territory, which has taken over the high school next door to us -- the kids can't have recess because of accidental shootings from drive-bys. Fortunately, the latest one that I can think of happened while only the teachers were at school in a meeting; it was a half-day and the kids had already gone home. (Right outside of our meeting room, four shots were fired at a guy/an enemy walking his dog; only the dog's paw was hit.)
I'm still going to teach at this school for a couple more years, but I'm tired of the neighborhood. I'm moving to the southeastern side of the city; when I tell colleagues that I'm moving to the southside, I get looks of shock and fear. I'd spent quite a bit of time on the southside for a previous job and I was really surprised at how beautiful and well-maintained the area is; I just happen to work with a lot of narrow-minded people, I guess. I am tired of the increasing amount of violence around me. Dealing with the 45-min drive to & from school will be worth it, I think, if I don't have to worry about drive-bys, I guess. A couple of summers ago, I even saw a car speed up, fly through the stop sign at the intersection and slam into a parked car, pushing it up onto the sidewalk...then back up, hit it again, and speed away. It was on purpose. What if someone was crossing the street at that moment? Or on the sidewalk? Or -- *what if???* -- it was the wrong car???
After this shooting tonight, I'm just glad that I'm officially out of my apt on the 30th. Perhaps that sounds like I'm a 'fraidy cat for wanting out, but I have to look out for myself...because to gang members, I really am just someone in the way of their real target and a tally mark if I go down. I really no longer feel like taking that risk. Granted, this doesn't happen every day...but I just haven't seen it get better here, yet. Hopefully someday.
And that's the end of my spiel.
Currently, outside my apt window, there are 13 police officers and 4 police cars and 1 police wagon...and those are only the ones that I can see from my street corner. There are far too many leafy trees in the way, but I can see the flashing lights through the trees of all of the other police cars by the other end of the yellow Caution tape that has now cordoned off my generally busy street completely for the past 3 hours. Shortly after getting home tonight, I heard the squeal of tires, and then 6 distinct gunshots, and some crying. I will find out if someone died later on the news tonight. However, I know without a doubt that the shooting is gang-related. It's just the way it is.
I know that gangs live in my neighborhood -- Gangster Disciples to the north of me by one block, and they control a huge amount of territory north and west, and then the Latin Kings are to the west and south of me, and their territory is growing based upon the graffiti I see on buildings closer to my school...in fact, several middle schoolers at my school come in their black & gold already (Latin King colors). (In the book "The Gang Book" which is endorsed by the Chicago Police Dept, there are something like 100+ gangs in this city; on a map of my area, I could pinpoint which gangs were around me & how their territory has grown since it's publication date last year...)
At school, I see scrawlings on the girls' restroom doors in the second grade floor that state "Down with LK, King Killaz" and "GD 4-ever" and the symbols for the two gangs. It's scary. I lend out my books on gangs & gang violence -- Reymundo Sanchez's "My Bloody Life" and "Once a King, Always a King", Luis Rodriguez's "La Vida Loca" and Saniya Shakur's "Monster" -- to one kid/LK in particular to wake him up...he reads them, and asks me for more, but because of his wildly unstable home life, this is the only consistent relationship he has. My boyfriend, who is also his soccer coach and a school security guard, has gotten close with the kid & talks with him about the reality of gangs, and how he himself saw people shot in the street while growing-up on the westside (Pilsen neighborhood) due to gang violence. It's not pretty at all.
I used to walk home through the Gangster Disciples (GD) late at night while in grad school, after I'd get off the train...I wasn't too aware at the time of which gang it was, and occasionally I'd walk straight through their street meetings or undercover police investigations because I'd be thinking about whatever happened in school or things to do or reading; I was never bothered (I figured it out later on because of the men with the bullet-proof vests on & those who were combing on the ground and sometimes the yellow Caution tape; I'm really not that oblivious!). One 20 year-old former member even told me that I had nothing to worry about when we talked about the local gangs. Sure, I don't look like a threat, but if I happened to be walking by the wrong person at the wrong time...
Even at my school where I teach -- 3 blocks from my apt and right up against Latin King territory, which has taken over the high school next door to us -- the kids can't have recess because of accidental shootings from drive-bys. Fortunately, the latest one that I can think of happened while only the teachers were at school in a meeting; it was a half-day and the kids had already gone home. (Right outside of our meeting room, four shots were fired at a guy/an enemy walking his dog; only the dog's paw was hit.)
I'm still going to teach at this school for a couple more years, but I'm tired of the neighborhood. I'm moving to the southeastern side of the city; when I tell colleagues that I'm moving to the southside, I get looks of shock and fear. I'd spent quite a bit of time on the southside for a previous job and I was really surprised at how beautiful and well-maintained the area is; I just happen to work with a lot of narrow-minded people, I guess. I am tired of the increasing amount of violence around me. Dealing with the 45-min drive to & from school will be worth it, I think, if I don't have to worry about drive-bys, I guess. A couple of summers ago, I even saw a car speed up, fly through the stop sign at the intersection and slam into a parked car, pushing it up onto the sidewalk...then back up, hit it again, and speed away. It was on purpose. What if someone was crossing the street at that moment? Or on the sidewalk? Or -- *what if???* -- it was the wrong car???
After this shooting tonight, I'm just glad that I'm officially out of my apt on the 30th. Perhaps that sounds like I'm a 'fraidy cat for wanting out, but I have to look out for myself...because to gang members, I really am just someone in the way of their real target and a tally mark if I go down. I really no longer feel like taking that risk. Granted, this doesn't happen every day...but I just haven't seen it get better here, yet. Hopefully someday.
And that's the end of my spiel.
I heard that mobsters used to roll in my area -- Rogers Park -- years ago...then again, where didn't they go?
