'Suburb gangsters'

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Please tell us something we don't already know. Better yet, how about an innovative idea to solve this problem? This has been a know issue since my high school days almost 20 years ago. And this problem is persitent in most neighborhoods across the country. Kids from well-to-do family wanting to associate and create an identity for themselves. IMHO, this stems from parents wanting to provide financial stability to their families but often neglect spending precious time with the children. Furthermore, in California, where the norms seems to be the lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, a modest 1400 sq. ft. and a 15 year old minivan is not enough. Lets get the biggest house possible and the most expensive materials possessions possible. We'll max out our credit and work two jobs to pay the notes. Kids? What about them? They are comfortable in our big home watching MTV and playing Grand Theft Auto. Its almost disturbing that some of the most sought after video games are the ones with "hoochie" and "gangster" theme. Are we really oblivious to these facts? Parents, please spend time with your kids and get involved with them doing creative things...

Our family in Vacaville can certainly relate to this issue. We are middle class, with two university students, and one high-school aged boy. Some 3-4 years ago, our teenager and his schoolmates decided that the "cool" life was the "gansta" life. They wore "green" as their color, and called their group, a "crew". They created little hand signs, and eventually a name for themselves. All the parents thought this was just a harmless group of kids, trying to express themselves. After all, this isn't the City, or Oakland. Soon, and we don't remember when this happened exactly, the colors changed, the "crew" became a gang, the boys started to get into trouble. The hand signs became vulgar and intimidating. Vacaville police seemed to treat this as "good boys just going a little too far". Many, many times over 3 years we received calls in the middle of the night to "pick up your kid; he's hanging with the wrong crowd". We'd pick him up. We'd tell him, "you are such a good boy, don't mess that up with this silliness, and by hanging around the wrong crowd. "I know you didn't know they were going to steal from the 7/11, I know you weren't the one with the spray can, I know you didn't smash the windows of those cars down the street". After all, even the police didn't seem to think they were really "bad kids". "His a good boy, just needs to stop doing this". Sure, they were out at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, but they weren't the bad kids. Our son is now facing felony charges for possession of controlled substance with intent to sell. He faces possibly a year in jail, and a felony record to follow him for the rest of his life. He hasn't graduated from high school. He dropped out. I wonder who thinks he's a "good boy" now. We can't even tell you when it happened; when it all turned. We took too long to wake up. The Vacaville police, and us as parents, took too long. Be careful, good kids can do bad things. Stay involved. You can't get too involved this day and age.

One thing you forgot to mention is the BIG CITY REJECT. It's when you have the kid that wasn't so tough in the BIG CITY that moves to a amll town and infects the ignorant minds of SMALL TOWN town kids. Rather than being the SMAL FISH IN A BIG POND he is now the BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND.

I think what he has to say is very much true. Kudos to you speaking the truth about what is going on. Stopping your middle class kids from doing these things may make Vallejo a little better. Someone said once that a wanna-be is more troublesome for people than real criminals.

I am glad some people took interest in my article. You'll have to excuse me for not being able to state all the facts and offer solutions but I recently turned 21 and am not as knowledgeable as some. About the BIG CITY REJECTS, I am familiar with that because I know many who are like this. They come from Oakland or S.F. to a smaller city like Vallejo and they think they can start new and with psuedo knowledge of the streets. They start to tell everyone they have seen and done it all. Unfortunetly in the mid-sized city of 130,000 that is known as Vallejo it sometimes is hard for these transplants to fit in. I have seen young men come from Sacramento, S.F., Oakland, etc. and get seriously hurt while trying to "represent" their past city and "troubles". I know many gangmembers in Vallejo and I am not in a gang, but when I ask what do you think of outsiders coming in and disrespecting Vallejo they say they won't stand for it. People have gotten shot and killed in Vallejo just because they start to "disrespect" this city. A few days ago word around Central Vallejo was that a few caucasian young men from Stockton were shot because they were bad-mouthing Vallejo. They lived with minor injuries. As for the woman in Vacaville I feel sorry for you, it goes on everywhere. The reason I wrote that article was to shed some light on people who were unaware (there are many) and to maybe increase the attention or supervision of their children. Vallejo has been named the 4th most dangerous city in the Bay Area, right after S.F. and this is no place for innocents to be. 2007 we had nearly 20 homicides. Back in 93' Vallejo was the homicide capital of California with nearly 60 homicides. The last time Vallejo was past the 30 homicide mark it was the year of 96' with 32 homicides, beating out Richmond by 2. Vallejo has gotten better mainly due to the fact that the FBI stationed here temporarily to destabilize three of the most dangerous gangs in California; Black Guerrila Family, Pitch Dark Family, and the Romper Room Gang.

Another problem is that richer young men try to gravitate towards Vallejo because of its history of having some famous rappers. I've heard of rich kids coming as far away as Oregon just to check out Vallejo. The other day one was actually mugged by gunpoint in front of our house, you could tell he was rich and he was wearing a Mac Dre shirt and he was from North Dakota just visiting. I wonder if he'll stop to read a map in a bad part of Vallejo again.

I liked your article Martin and I the more I read what you have to say the more impressed I am. Have you ever considered film making. We have a great public access TV station here in town (www.vcat.tv) and if you’re at all interested I know they would love to talk to you. You seem like a young man with something to say and there are people at VCAT that could help you say it in a video over the air waves. Their number is six four two-8228

Thank you man, we used to call 'em Victims, now they're called Marks. They will never know that though, till they get that sack,money,or car took. As far as the "graff artist" go, most are either 10 to 30 years old and white, or the run of the mill banger kid on the west side of town. So, posers, marks, victims, keep coming through cuz there ain't enough jobs out here to keep the kids paid.

I am interested in VCAT but I have no experience in film making and have no equipment. I would love to video tape the troubled areas of Vallejo and create an informative documentary on what happens on the streets of Vallejo. And I would like to say that I find it somewhat funny and unfortunate how East Vallejoans cross the I-80 freeway (going west) just to see the poor areas. They pick up the customs of urban life and try to adopt it as their own. I have studied ethnograghics and criminology for the last 2 years and Vallejo would be considered a textbook city of mixed poverty and crime with a mix of middle class and upper middle class so called "decent" families. The rich try to look ghetto and the poor strive for the "American Dream" whether its by legal actions or criminal. Despair is everywhere and some day the Vallejo city leaders with realize this and maybe do something for the poor. Some day I hope to be involved in this cities government. I hope to one day be a city councilman or possibly even Mayor. I would love to represent the poor in this city that for decades have been neglected.

Martin, I hope you remember that pledge when you are on top. 99% of politicians do not keep their word once they get the whiff of perceived power that goes along with the position.
I hope you will make a difference and be the 1% exception. My support would be yours!

Martin I agree with most of what you said. Only I live in East Vallejo and never had to cross the 80 to go see a poor area. I had dope feinds walking into my house thinking it was the dope house. There are pocket areas throughout Vallejo walk a couple of blocks and your on the wrong street.

Martin, the beauty of public access TV like VCAT is the equipment and training is all provided to the public. Public access is set up specifically to give the ordinary citizen a voice along side the powerful commercial media outlets. There’s a very small membership fee they charge to pay for upkeep but for students and some other groups the fee is even waived. I hope you check it out someday if you have time. Anyone in Vallejo that wants to put the power of mass media behind their message is welcome too. VCAT needs you to keep the service going!