Grade school kids confused for gang members at Elitch
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Two children, ages 5 and 9, were told to turn their St. Louis Rams jerseys inside out this week at Six Flags Elitch Gardens. The park said that the number 13 represented gang activity and disrupted the family atmosphere of the park.
Read more from KUSA/Denver.
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Anyways, this reminds me of something that happened over 20 years ago, my four & seven year old cousins(white folk, just in case it should matter) from Michigan came to visit me, I was 7, those guys chased me around trying to jump me in for days, they broke & burnt my thumb on a lawnmower motor. Kids of any age are capable of doing anything that anyone older can do. Living officially in the sticks, this kind of behavior was somewhat new to my 7 year self at the time. To end that story, another older brother to those two was shot & killed by one of the brothers while playing with a gun, in their own house. That's where "dangerous" activity occurs, in around homes & neighborhoods the such, plus generally it's a specific behavior. Just beacuse there's people in gangs doesn't mean that they're coming for YOU, it doesn't automatyically put you in danger.
Of all the things I hate to here, people saying they "don't go to [insert park name] because it's all gangs & such" or "those people made me scared, they acted/looked like they were in a gang!" It's so silly, folks.
1) You are at an amusement park. Just think about that.
2) Did you walk through a metal detector? Oh, I forgot, "gangsters" carry special weapons that are ceramic & they need to get in the park to hunt people & other activities[/SARCASM].
3) Even if somebody's in a gang, they cannot attend an amusement park because they will never be able to shed the scent of their gangness. They must all stay in their respective areas & do harm to one another.
BTW, my favorite anti-gang measure? Maximum size for a group of "teens" at the mall, three:). Keep 'em in small groups.
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1. The kids were not ejected from the park, told to leave, etc. They were asked to wear their shirts inside out. That's it. Don't believe me? Try reading the article.
2. It's painfully obvious that most of you don't have a clue about the realities of gangs. Sure these kids look sweet and innocent in the pictures that the paper took. But that's the papers job to help put the "angle" on the story. While these kids are likely not involved, I have known plenty of kids this age who were. And yes, I do mean 5 year olds, who are great spotters for cops when deals are going down.
3. Gangs come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I'm with 2Hostyl in that I'm sure most of you are assuming that they aren't gangbangers cause they're white. Guess what? That's irrelevant. I've seen white homeboys just as much as I've seen the others in my neighborhoods.
Simply, wake up and welcome to the real world people. Sure it may seem like an overeaction, and I do feel sorry for those kids. Six Flags should have put that in their dress code. But they are thinking about the safety of their guests believe it or not. Or maybe it'll take someone jumping you because of what you wear before you'll wake up to that realization, like gang members have been known to do to others (including kids) cause they didn't like what they had on.
** shakes head at the utter naivity and ignorance of so many today **
Money Cheat E-mail Me At Hellomoto02@aol.com*** This post was edited by Christopher 12/11/2003 2:33:26 AM ***
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