'I thought I'd have to get up, get myself going'

[Unknown]

Ms. Matthews, My heart hurts for you and yours. I don't know that I could survive what you have been through. I hope your memories of your children will bring you joy and strength. Thank you for trying to help others.

Patrice Matthews wrote:

Dear Mr. David Maclay,
Thank you for your time in writing this excellent excerpt about my family. I truly appreciate the time and professionalism you exemplified in your writing. God Bless you, from my family to yours.
Sincerely,
Patrice Matthews

[Unknown]

You know plenty of white people, have them in your neighborhood, work with them - have no problems with them so you're not a racist. Well I can say the same about blacks except that I call many my friends and have them to my home and have been to theirs as well. We've cried on each others shoulders. I'm sick of hearing what holds people back. Surely barriers are that but people find ways around them IF they want to and if they're not given reasons for giving up. I could tell you about my own history but it's not pertinent except I've never once used it as an excuse but rather a motivation.

HG Robinson wrote:

<quoted text>
I used the term Whitey one time when another person on this forum said we should take the “boy”(a mentally ill inmate) and lynch him from Victory Arch.
The white folks on here got a bit upset being called what they perceived to be a racist name. Of course no one was the least bit upset over the lynching remark, I guess that was okay.
Post after post can be racist white people saying whatever, but as soon as I say something everyone is quick to holler racism. I am not racist. I know plenty of white people; got em in my neighborhood, have them at work and don’t have any problems.

[Packing Heat]

Terrence,

Lets go eat Kraft Dinner!

Have have some rib eye with it!

Mugwump III is the king.

[FrankNFurter]

Unknown wrote:

Only people in fatherless homes lose children? This woman lost her stepdaughter. Look up that word. That makes her a stepmother. That's a legal word defined by marriage.
Newport News is crime ridden. Do you live there?
<quoted text>

"Only people in fatherless homes lose children?"

Of course not!

It's called a correlation. Go look up correlation so you will learn and know what the word means.

The father doesn't seem to appear in this article until paragraph 37.

Perhaps the father was actively involved in the lives of his children in a violence-prone neighborhood, and the reporter does an inexcusably poor job of reflecting this fact.

The father doesn't appear in the photograph.

The mother doesn't talk about herself as being a part of a collaborative couple, nor does the reporter speak of her as being a part of a collaborative couple (e.g., "she" "I").

You can recognize these facts and not be anywhere near racism.

[Tired of Ghettos]

Done with you wrote:

Tired of Ghettos, You don't even know what a Ghetto is , much less how the spell it.

You don't know me so don't assume you know what I know. I grew up in Detroit. What a great job the Africans have done with Detroit. Look at any black urban area. Take your lazy butt to the East End of NN you will get a good taste of GHETTO. Have some ribs and a malt beverage when you are there so you will fit in. It has to do with social and economics skills. Seems you spelled ghetto the same as I did. Do we both have the same spelling skills you try so weakly to make fun of? Go back to the Cartoon Network your childishness is not needed here.

[Tired of Ghettos]

Say What wrote:

To those who use this thread for their own political agenda, you have no class. This story is about how a woman who had suffered losses bettered herself. Stop the blacks are on welfare, or blacks are oppressed garbage. There are plenty more threads where you can push your agendas and it would be appropriate. It is not here.

Who put you in charge? If you do not like it close the window and move on.

[Tired of Ghettos]

Unknown wrote:

I'll try to set this straight one more time. I work with delinquents. If you're looking for only black thugs, you are sadly mistaken. White middle class kids comprise the fastest growing segment of gang members in this country. If you choose to ignore that, it's on you.
<quoted text>

There have always been white gangs. It is now because of black violence that more gang laws are on the books and that one can catagorize gang related activities. While the Mafia was called a mob it is a gang. Motorcycle gangs have been around for years. So stop the proaganda about whites being the problem and being an increasing problem. When was the last time you feared a group of white kids walking down the street? Just because a white kid comes in your office and says he is a gang member doesn't make him one. While they want to be one that are not one. Weak self esteem and the availability of the African culture and lack of their own culture leads them down the wrong road.

[Jack Oozy]

Tired of Ghettos wrote:

<quoted text>
There have always been white gangs. It is now because of black violence that more gang laws are on the books and that one can catagorize gang related activities. While the Mafia was called a mob it is a gang. Motorcycle gangs have been around for years. So stop the proaganda about whites being the problem and being an increasing problem. When was the last time you feared a group of white kids walking down the street? Just because a white kid comes in your office and says he is a gang member doesn't make him one. While they want to be one that are not one. Weak self esteem and the availability of the African culture and lack of their own culture leads them down the wrong road.

Wouldn't it suck for you if you were to hit Judgement Day and discover that God was a black man? My biggest fear is discovering that God might be a housefly, and he'd pass a judgement of eternity in flames for the mass slaughter of his kind.

[SydneyPaul]

Say What wrote:

To those who use this thread for their own political agenda, you have no class. This story is about how a woman who had suffered losses bettered herself. Stop the blacks are on welfare, or blacks are oppressed garbage. There are plenty more threads where you can push your agendas and it would be appropriate. It is not here.

Actually, it is about tragic death in crime-prone neighborhoods and the conspicuous absence (or near-absence if you want to split hairs) of father figures.

Do you want to feel morally superior to other posters, or do you want to roll your sleeves up and do some heavy lifting?

[NIKI in NN]

Jack Oozy wrote:

<quoted text>Wouldn't it suck for you if you were to hit Judgement Day and discover that God was a black man? My biggest fear is discovering that God might be a housefly, and he'd pass a judgement of eternity in flames for the mass slaughter of his kind.

LMAO

[ParkerT]

Unknown wrote:

I'll try to set this straight one more time. I work with delinquents. If you're looking for only black thugs, you are sadly mistaken. White middle class kids comprise the fastest growing segment of gang members in this country. If you choose to ignore that, it's on you.
<quoted text>

If you want to present yourself as a professional, why not cite your sources?

[TommyChong]

Jack Oozy wrote:

<quoted text>Wouldn't it suck for you if you were to hit Judgement Day and discover that God was a black man? My biggest fear is discovering that God might be a housefly, and he'd pass a judgement of eternity in flames for the mass slaughter of his kind.

Far out, man!! You got any brownies?

[Luuccy]

TommyChong wrote:

<quoted text>
Far out, man!! You got any brownies?

DUDE..........LMAO

[Unknown]

The gangs in Newport News are not racially exclusive. Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics are in the Bloods, Crips, Gangster Diciples etc. I'm not arguing any one point. I'm just trying to pass on some information. If parents don't know this, they will erroneously think their children are not in danger of being lured into a gang. Hispanic and Asian gangs are usually racially exclusive.

Tired of Ghettos wrote:

<quoted text>
There have always been white gangs. It is now because of black violence that more gang laws are on the books and that one can catagorize gang related activities. While the Mafia was called a mob it is a gang. Motorcycle gangs have been around for years. So stop the proaganda about whites being the problem and being an increasing problem. When was the last time you feared a group of white kids walking down the street? Just because a white kid comes in your office and says he is a gang member doesn't make him one. While they want to be one that are not one. Weak self esteem and the availability of the African culture and lack of their own culture leads them down the wrong road.

[Unknown]

I'm not writing a paper on it so I'll direct you to a few sources and you can do your own research. Also, your local police department's gang unit will usually provide training if requested.

http://www.iir.com/nygc/

From the above:

Race/Ethnicity of Gang Members by Area Type
The race/ethnicity of youth gang members is compared across area types.

Across all area types, the majority of law enforcement agencies report that African American/black and/or Hispanic/Latino youth predominate among documented gang members.
However, additional analysis reveals an important underlying relationship between gang membership size, gang-problem onset, and race/ethnicity characteristics—agencies reporting smaller numbers of gang members or a relatively new emergence of gang problems are significantly more likely to report a greater percentage of Caucasian/white gang members. For example, larger cities with newer gang problems are over twice as likely to report greater variation in racial/ethnic composition of gang members (that is, proportionally fewer African American/black and/or Hispanic/Latino gang members) than larger cities with long-standing gang problems.

http://www.nagia.org/

From above:

Gangs in the United States are becoming increasingly diverse, and they affect urban, suburban, and rural communities. The need for comprehensive gang information for use by adult professionals in the fields of law enforcement, courts and corrections, education, social services, and government is greater than ever.

These sites will give you plenty of links.

ParkerT wrote:

<quoted text>
If you want to present yourself as a professional, why not cite your sources?

[Unknown]

Parker T here is some more information:

11. What is the racial and ethnic composition of youth gangs?
According to the 2001 NYGS respondents, nearly half (49 percent) of all gang members are Hispanic/Latino, 34 percent are African American/black, 10 percent are Caucasian/white, 6 percent are Asian, and the remainder are of some other race/ethnicity (Egley et al., 2006). However, the racial composition of gangs varies considerably by locality. The newest gang-problem areas (i.e., emergence within the past decade) report, on average, a larger proportion of Caucasian/white gang members than any other racial/ethnic group (Howell, Egley, and Gleason, 2002). In short, the demographic composition of gangs is an extension of the characteristics of the larger community.

Taken from:

http://www.iir.com/nygc/faq.htm#q3

[James Matthews]

I love you!

[James Matthews]

I love You!

[its as simple as this]

Tired of Ghettos wrote:

<quoted text>
There have always been white gangs. It is now because of black violence that more gang laws are on the books and that one can catagorize gang related activities. While the Mafia was called a mob it is a gang. Motorcycle gangs have been around for years. So stop the proaganda
about whites being the problem and being an increasing problem. When was the last time you feared a group of white kids walking down the street? Just because a white kid comes in your office and says he is a gang member doesn't make him one. While they want to be one that are not one. Weak self esteem and the availability of the African culture and lack of their own culture leads them down the wrong road.

What exactly is African culture and how is it that white kids lack their own culture?

[FredandEthel]

its as simple as this wrote:

<quoted text>
What exactly is African culture and how is it that white kids lack their own culture?

You mean Ozzie and Harriet?
7-Up?
Grilled cheese sandwiches?(yummy!)
Dick Clark?

What are you talking about?