Even though I skip Tell's sermons, I can't resist the following. Maybe it will start a new thread. S. Tell asked >> Why is it that only groups which have "color" in common are "gangs," that is, why is the attribute of "color" so significant?<< Michael Etchison replied:>> Well, perhaps it's because the gangs involved in this incident themselves believe it to be true. Some gangs are segregated. Others are not. The police in Edmonton may be racist fools in linking race and gang membership in this instance, or they may just be noticing what the gang itself is doing. << Racist institutions involve a vicious circle. Ignoring a lot of details and historical background, racism in hiring and pay, in housing, and in the financing and organization of schooling (etc., etc.) mean that more members of "minority" groups engage in street crime and join gangs as a an alternative life-style and source of income and pride. This in turn encourages the police to treat all young members of minority groups as potential criminals and gang-members, as any African-American male in the U.S. can tell you. Many police officers _are_ racist fools, but there's also a certain amount of so-called "rational or statistical discrimination" going on. This police treatment reinforces the racist institutions listed above, so that even when it's not subjectively racist, it's objectively so. (The institutions also encourage the gang members themselves to embrace racist stereotypes which just encourages the police, etc.) Of course, here in L.A., we had the whites-only "Spur Posse." We also have had groups of cops who themselves act as if they were in gangs. There's also the KKK, the nazis, and the militias, which by most definitions are gangs. Gangs aren't _only_ due to racism against minorities, but often embodies majority-group racism (and machismo). Further, institutionalized racism encourages people to interpret all gangs as being "minority." (Just as capitalist institutions encourage us to not label Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. a "gang.") in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ., 7900 Loyola Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A.
