Can't Stop Won't Stop: Blood, Fire, with Occassional Music

This Chapter is another reason why I wrote in my blog on Compton & N.W.A's "Fuck the Police" that I think COPS are only out to start trouble. After the Bronx Boy's Club meeting, in which all the gangs signed & agreed on the a 5 points Peace Treaty, the police started the Bronx Youth task Force to harass the supposedly now peaceful gangs (p. 61-62). Afrika Bambaataa describes the ex-Marine Purple Mothers on page 62, saying, " It was like a fake, secret type gang that was going around attacking people and assassinating them." And Mercado said, "Police was fucking with us a lot. They see more than three of us walking, they would arrest us for unlawful assembly."

It angers me that even after the gangs showed some effort by holding this meeting and signing the Peace Treaty, the fucking COPS had to ruin it all by spoiling their hard work and turning them against each other. I mean it must be hard to keep the trust & faith in each other and in the treaty when you got the COPS starting fights and making you think it's your biggest rival gang.. Just because the gangs weren't doing things the way the police wanted things done, the police had to mess it all up. It's like they had a grudge and had to get retaliation. They couldn't handle having "crews" that would be "the people's army" and hold clothing drives and rid the communnity of drug dealers. They didn't want any gangs AT ALL. It was like the police were saying "This city ain't big enough for the both of us."

It freaks me out that not only would a little kid go through a gauntlet of "swinging fists and boots and chains and baseball bats" (p 43) but also go through a round of Russian Roulette! (p 44). I just can't imagine what their parents would have thought or done if they died during the game. I understand that it is a test of their bravery, but it sounds stupid to risk killing someone who could potentially be the strongest member of the gang.