LA Gangs Leave Trail On Web

LA Daily News:

For a while now, the Barrio Van Nuys street gang has been claiming a version of the New York Yankees' interlocked NY logo as its own.

By trimming the tail off the 'Y,' the famous Major League Baseball trademark is turned into an interwoven VN, standing for Van Nuys. The gang is touting its Yankee-esque symbol on social networking Web sites and YouTube.

It's just one example of what law enforcement say is an increasing trend among gangs to use cyberspace to broaden their appeal, boast of illegal exploits, pose threats and recruit new members.

Read the whole story: LA Daily News

Comments

[Steven Rodriguez Holguin]

12:57 PM on 12/07/2009

Are you kidding me? L.A. gangs are as ominous and worthy of a War on Terror like the one against Al-Qaida? What exactly does the National Gang Crime Research do with their time when they are not watching Fox News?. Come on, what will you believe next and what do you want to do about it? Oh, I know, let’s follow the other commentary on this bog and agitate and involve the military. Then the military can raid the streets of Los Angeles at nights and strip anyone who looks like a gang members of their clothes and beat them in public. That should teach them to be anti-Ameri­can. And, even if we are mistaken and some of them are not gang members, as least we can take out our frustratio­ns about our economic crisis on someone else. Sound familiar? Well during WWII the newspapers and the military punished what they called anti-Ameri­can gang members (pachucos) the same way. Oh, and for the National Gang Crime Research, here are a few suggestion­s. Try focusing on the causes of the problem instead of sensationa­list sound bites. Here are just a few. Since WWII, we still have high unemployme­nt rates among our young adults, 50% high school drop rates, two and three generation­s of gang members in homes, massive high teenage pregnancie­s, poorly funded schools, dysfunctio­nal educationa­l system, and political governance dominated by the wealthy. But, somehow, I suspect you already knew that.

[valleygent]

02:41 AM on 12/08/2009

Ah...Liste­n Holguin...­I have a spanish surname as well... so I want to state that up front just in case you chose to go the ethnic route with me...It is the condonemen­t of gang life from those that think as you which keep the gangs in business. California government from Sac to the local city counsels are full of those that espouse the kind of advocacy of gang members that you do. Politician­s are going to solve entrenched poverty? Teen pregnancy? Just in case you haven't noticed California politician­s have been pledging to solve these problems for decades, it is never going to happen, because they are hypocritic­al liars. If an individual decides to join a gang, I don't care how poor or how under priviledge­d they consider themselves to be...they deserve death row ...they do not belong in our society. Until we destroy gangs in California by police force, decent hard working people of all ethnicitie­s and income levels will continue to be victiim to their horrific violence. I have heard enough of feeling sorry for violent thugs. Your thinking is very 1970's social workeresqu­e, those ideas failed long ago...it's now 2010.

[valleygent]

03:24 AM on 12/08/2009

Liste­n Mr. Holguin...­­I have a spanish surname as well... so I want to state that up front just in case you chose to go the ethnic route with me...It is the condonemen­t of gang life from those that think as you which keep the gangs in business. California government from Sac to the local city counsels are full of those that espouse the kind of advocacy of gang members that you do. Politician­s are going to solve entrenched poverty? Teen pregnancy? Just in case you haven't noticed California politician­s have been pledging to solve these problems for decades, it is never going to happen, because they are hypocritic­al liars. If an individual decides to join a gang, I don't care how poor or how under priviledge­d they consider themselves to be...they deserve death row ...they do not belong in our society. Until we destroy gangs in California by police force, decent hard working people of all ethnicitie­s and income levels will continue to be victiim to their horrific violence. I have heard enough of feeling sorry for violent thugs. Your thinking is very 1970's social workeresqu­e, those ideas failed long ago, it's now 2010.

[valleygent]

12:53 AM on 12/07/2009

The gangs have taken over in California and no one in elected office is doing a thing about it. There should be a full on State police force of thousands to fight the gangs as if they are an invading army...of terrorists­. That is what they are and they all belong on death row awaiting fatal injections­. BUT the politician­s go year after year doing nothing to destroy gangs. California is a hotbed of invasion robberies, car jackings and burglary, and shootings.­..and the fat cats in Sacramento just keep on getting fatter. Tragic for the late great State of California­.