Ties in being a G
A book that recently attracted my attention is Once a King, Always a King, by Reymundo Sanchez. It’s a two book biography (this being the 2nd) about his life as a gangbanger with the Almighty Latin King Nation. Now, anyone who knows me knows that gang life is deeply rooted in a part of me. I actually ordered the first book, My Bloody Life, a few days ago so it should be in the mail. I happened to have found the 2nd half of the biography at Barnes and Noble and figured I’d get it and read it after I finished the first one. I started to read Once a King, Always a King however and couldn’t put it down. I ended up reading the first 10 chapters in one day. I could not put it down. I’ve always been surrounded by gangs and have always loved that lifestyle but this guy put this shit in a completely different perspective.
Even up until recently, I’ve always regretted not being initiated into the Latin Kings or the 5.9 Bloods but this guy was so deep into that life that even I wouldn’t want to be that deep. He became addicted to coke and weed because he used them to temporarily escape the rigors of his life. People really don’t know the hardships that come with gangbanging and living in a neighborhood that is infested with hardcore gangs. This book could really bring an understanding to someone who’s never lived in such an environment. It would also make them realize how fortunate they’ve been if they’ve had a generally good life.
In Once a King Always a King the author goes into detail about his struggles to leave the Latin Kings and make a new life for himself. I totally related to his struggles when it came to trying to blend into the college scene. I completely did not feel comfortable around people who spoke better than me, who had their lives mapped out, and who were used to a studious environment. Eventually I was thrown out of college for poor academics; I simply didn’t like college and its surroundings. Like Sanchez, I looked at my old life as the life that may have been chosen for me. I didn’t realize that my life and my future were in my hands, for the most part. Fortunately, as the years passed, I was able to realize this and return to college. This time I graduated.
In retrospect, I notice a lot of people back in my old neighborhood that never realized this. They blamed their problems on “the man” and walked around looking for temporary relief from their woes. This temporary relief was brought by drugs, drinking, and sex. I can understand their dismay because often our family history, criminal records, environment, and judicial brutality (whether it be police or the court system) help in nothing but breaking us down, but there comes a time in one’s life that you have to take those issues and play as hard as you can with the cards you’ve been given. It’s easy to get lost in such an environment though. As I was stating earlier, I often saw lost souls roaming the ghetto streets trying to find some kind of structure in their lives. Whether that structure was brought by drug sales, hard work, or some demeaning trade like prostitution, they didn’t care as long as they could find something, anything to help them get some structure: a home to come to, have all their bills paid, food in their stomachs, and a little money to go out on the weekends… most of all, peace of mind. Everyone wanted peace in their lives. The thing is, when your surroundings include violence that’s boosted by young, restless, and vengeful minds it’s hard to get that peace. A slightly older gangbanger who has seen and understood the uselessness of that violence is brought right back into the centripetal force of that violence by the younger gangbangers who think they’ve got something to prove in the ‘hood. In gangs, real gangs, it’s all a matter of honor and loyalty to the gang. This means performing acts of violence towards your rivals and even killing them and doing it boldly. When you’re initiated, you take on the beefs of the gang, which means that a childhood friend who has joined an opposing gang is now your enemy.
Often a lot of people say, “I think that’s stupid,” in reference to that lifestyle and generally speaking, it is. But how would you live if you lived in that environment? How would you feel if a gang took over your entire neighborhood and they pushed you around until you either joined or moved out? As a 13 year old kid, moving out isn’t much of an option and often the parents don’t have the funds to just pick up and move to a safer, more expensive neighborhood, and any other neighborhood they can afford will most likely be in the same gang infested condition. There’s almost no escaping it. So what do you do? I personally knew a kid in my old neighborhood that had to run home to avoid being bullied by the local Bloods because he didn’t want to join. He couldn’t come out, not even to his front yard. As soon as the bus would drop us off he’d sprint home. Imagine living life like that. If you choose to join, all that torment will cease. Although you’d be accepting other drama like having to fight rival gangs, you’d at least be protected from the people in your own neighborhood and opponent gangs who’d just want to fuck with you. What do you do when your only option is to seek the protection of your neighborhood gang?
Most kids I knew joined because they wanted to feel like they were a part of a tight crew. As we grow older, it’s easier to accept the denial of being allowed into certain cliques but young teenagers don’t have that kind of confidence. They simply do not. You can judge them as harsh as you want for choosing colors but one does not know how low they feel at that point in their lives, and there’s very little you can say to increase their confidence when they come from broken homes, which many of them do. Additionally, as young teenagers they’re going through stages of rebellion, which everyone undergoes, but with their surroundings it’s much easier for them to fall into a vortex of brutal behavior. Many of those who judge young gangbangers have had ideal surroundings in comparison and don’t realize how fortunate they’ve been in that their environment didn’t influence severe aggression. I truly believe that if they’d been exposed for some time to those surroundings, even for just a few months, and making friends in that environment they’d have a much better understanding on those kids’ decision to pick up a solja rag. Not that they’d agree with it but perhaps by having a idea of a young gangsta’s way of thinking they’d judge a little less harshly and try to be a part of the solution that plagues poor neighborhoods. After all, they don’t do any help in any way by simply saying “I think that’s stupid.”
Even up until recently, I’ve always regretted not being initiated into the Latin Kings or the 5.9 Bloods but this guy was so deep into that life that even I wouldn’t want to be that deep. He became addicted to coke and weed because he used them to temporarily escape the rigors of his life. People really don’t know the hardships that come with gangbanging and living in a neighborhood that is infested with hardcore gangs. This book could really bring an understanding to someone who’s never lived in such an environment. It would also make them realize how fortunate they’ve been if they’ve had a generally good life.
In Once a King Always a King the author goes into detail about his struggles to leave the Latin Kings and make a new life for himself. I totally related to his struggles when it came to trying to blend into the college scene. I completely did not feel comfortable around people who spoke better than me, who had their lives mapped out, and who were used to a studious environment. Eventually I was thrown out of college for poor academics; I simply didn’t like college and its surroundings. Like Sanchez, I looked at my old life as the life that may have been chosen for me. I didn’t realize that my life and my future were in my hands, for the most part. Fortunately, as the years passed, I was able to realize this and return to college. This time I graduated.
In retrospect, I notice a lot of people back in my old neighborhood that never realized this. They blamed their problems on “the man” and walked around looking for temporary relief from their woes. This temporary relief was brought by drugs, drinking, and sex. I can understand their dismay because often our family history, criminal records, environment, and judicial brutality (whether it be police or the court system) help in nothing but breaking us down, but there comes a time in one’s life that you have to take those issues and play as hard as you can with the cards you’ve been given. It’s easy to get lost in such an environment though. As I was stating earlier, I often saw lost souls roaming the ghetto streets trying to find some kind of structure in their lives. Whether that structure was brought by drug sales, hard work, or some demeaning trade like prostitution, they didn’t care as long as they could find something, anything to help them get some structure: a home to come to, have all their bills paid, food in their stomachs, and a little money to go out on the weekends… most of all, peace of mind. Everyone wanted peace in their lives. The thing is, when your surroundings include violence that’s boosted by young, restless, and vengeful minds it’s hard to get that peace. A slightly older gangbanger who has seen and understood the uselessness of that violence is brought right back into the centripetal force of that violence by the younger gangbangers who think they’ve got something to prove in the ‘hood. In gangs, real gangs, it’s all a matter of honor and loyalty to the gang. This means performing acts of violence towards your rivals and even killing them and doing it boldly. When you’re initiated, you take on the beefs of the gang, which means that a childhood friend who has joined an opposing gang is now your enemy.
Often a lot of people say, “I think that’s stupid,” in reference to that lifestyle and generally speaking, it is. But how would you live if you lived in that environment? How would you feel if a gang took over your entire neighborhood and they pushed you around until you either joined or moved out? As a 13 year old kid, moving out isn’t much of an option and often the parents don’t have the funds to just pick up and move to a safer, more expensive neighborhood, and any other neighborhood they can afford will most likely be in the same gang infested condition. There’s almost no escaping it. So what do you do? I personally knew a kid in my old neighborhood that had to run home to avoid being bullied by the local Bloods because he didn’t want to join. He couldn’t come out, not even to his front yard. As soon as the bus would drop us off he’d sprint home. Imagine living life like that. If you choose to join, all that torment will cease. Although you’d be accepting other drama like having to fight rival gangs, you’d at least be protected from the people in your own neighborhood and opponent gangs who’d just want to fuck with you. What do you do when your only option is to seek the protection of your neighborhood gang?
Most kids I knew joined because they wanted to feel like they were a part of a tight crew. As we grow older, it’s easier to accept the denial of being allowed into certain cliques but young teenagers don’t have that kind of confidence. They simply do not. You can judge them as harsh as you want for choosing colors but one does not know how low they feel at that point in their lives, and there’s very little you can say to increase their confidence when they come from broken homes, which many of them do. Additionally, as young teenagers they’re going through stages of rebellion, which everyone undergoes, but with their surroundings it’s much easier for them to fall into a vortex of brutal behavior. Many of those who judge young gangbangers have had ideal surroundings in comparison and don’t realize how fortunate they’ve been in that their environment didn’t influence severe aggression. I truly believe that if they’d been exposed for some time to those surroundings, even for just a few months, and making friends in that environment they’d have a much better understanding on those kids’ decision to pick up a solja rag. Not that they’d agree with it but perhaps by having a idea of a young gangsta’s way of thinking they’d judge a little less harshly and try to be a part of the solution that plagues poor neighborhoods. After all, they don’t do any help in any way by simply saying “I think that’s stupid.”
The Saga was recounted at 12:09 PM
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