On 2/25/06, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> Woj seems not to notice that lynching occurred in a context of
> systematic racial oppression. Gangbanging is awful, but gangs are
> what happen when people are marginalized and pissed on for a few
> centuries.
also, there is a causal link here. Lynchings were part of the process of marginalization that encouraged the poverty that spurs gang violence.
It should be noted in addition that much of the "black gang" violence is linked to the illegal drug trade (and is so like Prohibition-era gang violence). If I am not mistaken, the drug-dealing gang-bangers are largely subsidiaries of larger drug-distribution networks that are managed by non-slum-dwellers. -- Jim Devine / Bust Big Brother Bush! "There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality." -- Pablo Picasso