Free speech for gangs?
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Recently, the moniker “6NO south side” turned up on the tarp covering the free speech wall at the east end of the Downtown Mall. So is this the name of a Charlottesville gang? According to Charlottesville police detective, Brian O’Donnell, it is.
O’Donnell says it’s the name for the gang located in the 6th Street South East, Friendship Court area. Just last night, Charlottesville hosted a Gang Identification and Prevention Forum, where experts told the 100-plus audience to stop denying that gangs exist and that gang activity was increasing in Virginia. In fact, O’Donnell says the local 6NO south side moniker recently started turning up in Harrisonburg. According to one forum expert, graffiti is a way to stake out territory or send messages to other gangs. Other Charlottesville gangs include the PJC (project crud) in the 10th and Page Street area, and PSpect from the Prospect area.
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This is America, man. Gangs deserve free speech as much as anyone. Don’t forget that if it weren’t for “Our Gang,” we wouldn’t have Darla, Buckwheat, Spanky, and Alfalfa.
[...] Nothing like a little shooting in the neighborhood to brighten up the morning news. Since no one is cooperating maybe it is just a bit of gang activity. For a city of 40,000 we have a very lively gang community. Police tells us the weapon was a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun which they recovered next to the victim. They are still trying to figure out who shot him. Charlottesville Lieutenant Gary Pleasants stated, “At this moment, we do not know whether it is self-inflicted, accidental, or intentional by someone else. We’re investigating that right now.” [...]
[...] New Attorney General Robert McDonnell will be in town this Tuesday, March 28 to help the Boys and Girls Clubs of Charlottesville/Albemarle launch a program designed to keep area youths from joining gangs. As was reported on the Hook.net, gangs are alive and well in Charlottesville, even putting their monikers on the Downtown Mall’s free speech wall. McDonnell will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will take place at 6:00 pm at the Omni Hotel. [...]
Time for a reality check. Who didn’t think this would happen once you put up a giant chalkboard accessable to *anyone* in the public!? Idealism is nice. But you’ve gotta be prepared to take the good with the bad. And you’ve gotta figure taggers are going to be some of the people exercising their right to free speech.
[...] Last Friday near Garrett Square, a 15 year-old was beaten so badly he’ll need to have a metal plate inserted in his face, says Charlottesville police Captain Chip Harding in a Charlottesville Newsplex report. According to the teen, he was jumped by over a dozen members of the gang the ”Bloods” for refusing to join. Police can’t confirm whether or not the Bloods are really recruiting in Charlottesville, but they have arrested one of the attackers and charged him with the assault and for being a member of a gang. As was recently reported in the Hook.net, Charlottesville has its own gangs and AG Robert McDonnell was recently in town to launch a gang prevention program. [...]
[...] So far, police have arrested six teenagers in connection with two gang-style beatings that took place near Fourth and Garrett streets. According to police, 12 to 15 teenage boys participated in the beatings, breaking the jaw of one victim and smashing in the teeth of another. As the Hook pointed out in Februrary, gangs are nothing new to Charlottesville, even putting their monikers on the new free speech wall. Then of course there is the ongoing trial of Louis Antonio Bryant, an alledged gang leader facing life imprisonment if convicted. But the arrival of a national street gang is new. [...]
[...] in February 2006, when the moniker 6NO south side turned up on the free speech monument, it seemed hard to believe there was real gang activity in Charlottesville. However, as [...]