Tourists get peek at LA gangland
(UKPA)
01/18/10
Just miles from the scenic vistas and celebrity mansions that draw sightseers from around the globe to Los Angeles, a bus tour is rolling through the dark side of the city’s gang turf.
Passengers paid £39 a head and signed waivers acknowledging they could be crime victims to put their fate in the hands of tattooed ex-gang members who say they negotiated a ceasefire among rivals in the most violent gangland in America.
If that sounds daunting, consider the challenge facing organisers of LA Gang Tours: trying to build a thriving venture that provides a glimpse into gang life while also trying to convince people that gang-plagued communities are not as hopeless as movies depict.
“There’s a fascination with gangs,” said founder Alfred Lomas, a former member of the Florencia 13 gang. “We can either address the issue head-on, create awareness and discuss the positive things that go on in these communities, or we can try to sweep it under the carpet.”
Several observers have questioned the premise behind the tours, and some city politicians have been more blunt.
“It’s a terrible idea,” city councilman Dennis Zine said. “Is it worth that thrill for 65 bucks? You can go to a (gang) movie for a lot less and not put yourself at risk.”
But more than 50 people brushed aside safety concerns for Saturday’s maiden tour to hear how notorious gangs got started and bear witness to the struggling neighbourhoods where tens of thousands of residents have been lured into gang life.
The unmarked chartered coach wound its way through downtown. The first sight was a stretch of concrete riverbed featured in such movies as “Terminator” and “Grease”, where countless splotches of grey paint conceal graffiti that is often the mark of street gangs and tagging crews.
After that, it was on to the Central Jail, home to many a thug, past Skid Row’s squalor and homeless masses and into South Los Angeles, breeding ground for some of the city’s deadliest gangs.
Motoring through an industrial area, the bus enters the Florence-Firestone neighbourhood, close to the birthplace of the Crips and current home to Florencia 13, a Latino gang that was accused by federal prosecutors of racist attacks against black residents.
Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
Tags: Dennis Zine, gang tours, gangland, gangs, Los Angeles, Skid Row, tour
Posted by Chris
on Jan 18 2010. Filed under News.
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These idiots are proud of that gang life in their hood, it goes to show that blacks are not the ones glorifying gang culture. Every time you turn around these Mexicans are starting a new gang or running their fucking mouth about starting some shit! They are only able to do this shit is because of their population is growing, and they are out numbering blacks, which is cowardly to me because when it was even, they didn’t say shit!!!!!
That type of separist mentality isn’t going to get us anywhere, Clay.
I understand that Blacks are outnumbered in the hood by Latinos, but that doesn’t mean that programs such as LA Gang Tours is out to glorify any specific hood, even though Florencia 13 is the only one mentioned here (Latino Gangs).
All gang members are proud of their hood, but the reformed Florencia member who’s facilitating the process clearly states that he is trying to show the positive of the turmoil in the hood.
Turning the poison into medicine.
Lay back with the stereotypical non sense Clay.
In the words of Rodney King “Can’t we all just get along?”
I’m still studying from you, and I’m educating myself. I actually enjoy reading everything that’s written on your site. Keep the articles coming. I enjoy it!