Thank you for writing the letter. The Newspaper is going to have to come to grips with how new media effects reporting.

For a long time, the Tribune operated from a safe distance from its readership (even their physical location is a bit hidden).
When they report on the death of gang members (who are, as your letter points out, also family members and community members) they do so assuming their supposed objective and invisible posture (they just 'report' the news).

But in this day and age, when the family and friends of the 'gang members' can easily read and REPLY to your news story, you best take a second look at your so called objectivity. You'll find the stories often written for the benefit of institutions like law enforcement.

I also wonder if your blog is going to keep a running tally of murders in the area: "#2 was bloody, but not as bad as #3!" Seems a bit morbid and sensationalistic...and can you really stomach the letters of protest from family members in your community asking not to sensationalize the murder #'s?

Why do families pretend that not being a member of a gang is not an option? He selfishly chose to join a gang and be a part of that lifestyle, despite having a family that obviously cared about him. That's his fault. Not the media's, not society's, not anyone else's. He should be drawing the anger of family and friends for the choice he made. Sorry, but joining a gang is a decision people make and as such, should not expect any kind of sympathy.

Gang members know the lifestyle isn't conducive to a long or positive life. Every second you are a member of a gang, you're life is exponentially at greater risk than someone who chooses not to. That is a choice they make, yet everyone wants people to start lighting candles and holding vigils for them when they get killed. The fact that the love everyone else tried to give them wasn't enough to keep them out of gangs should be chastised, not open to understanding or sympathy. I save my sympathy for the innocent who are taken out by the pointless gang violence.

I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for gang members who selfishly live their lives the way they choose (emphasis on choose) to. So quit blaming everyone else but the guy who decided to join a gang.

Yawn....another gang killing? Hey, what's new with Britney?

As a father, son, brother, uncle and friend, it was very "insensitive" of him to lead a gang lifestyle. He got what he deserved...period.

He and you have no one to blame but yourselves...not the media.

Wake up!!!!

What's more insenstive? Your jerk relative who's gang-banging probably got some other kid killed, or hooked on dope, or kicked out of school? Or is it the Tribune writing about the last leaching of life from this cockroach.

Lots of kids from Bassett, PR, East LA, South Central and Watts make it out of the hood without once throwing a sign, picking up a heater or shaving their noggin. Your idiot relative is circling the drain because of his choices - choices he inflicted on his family and society.

My only regret is that I can't flush the toilet behind him.

And I thought I was pretty hard core on the issue. Nice post MM.

Local Boy

He was a human being it does not matter what he did in his life he still had a soul and heart like everyone else. He has a family and parents like everyone else who has feelings. It is real sad to read the insensitive comments, if you feel that way you are better off not posting anything IF U HAVE A HEART! For you people who are judging, there is only one judge that is God. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2 All of you have had close family member die also, if you haven't you will one day. You will remember the negative comments you left here hurting the family that just lost him. The name calling is uncalled for. You really need to think about what you say before you post something about a loved one who is deceased.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Matthew 7:3-5

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone.."
John 8:7

All you criminals who have no real response to why you commit crimes and why you do not follow the law like everyone else ALWAYS pull the RELIGION card. If you were so RELIGIOUS, you would not be in gangs, you would behave like a law-abiding citizen. I am tired of all you law brakers who cry foul when one of you low lifes gets shot by another low lifer. If you low life gsangsters really cared about life and religion, you would not be in a gang, you would not be doing criminal activities, you would not be hurting others and destroying property with your graffitti.

If you really were good people, you would have a regular job, you would spend time with your family instead of other thugs like yourself and you would not have a criminal record.

All of you start your criminal activities very young, refuse to go to school to better yourselfs and only do what is easy, which is be in a gang and hang out all day collecting welfare.

So dont come crying now to us law abiding citizens. You SHOULD BE EVER SO EMBARRASED about being in a gang and doing criminal activities that get you killd that you should vow never to go back to any gang and to get all your relatives out of gangs.

Let us know when all of you criminals will get out of the gangs and begin to go to school to get a job and stop being a burden to society.

If all of you had any shame, you would thankful the newpaper for pointing out the obvious, that all of you need to be out of gangs, respect society and go to school and get a job and stop running aroudn doing your cirminal activityes.

Shame on ALL you gangsters for ruining out streets with your graffitti and for harassing people and for doing all the bad things you all do which the bible says not to do... now go read the bible again and repent for all your gang sins and never do it again. lovu2 1:1

(this is MY GOSPEL SUCKA!)

I'm not at all surprised by the simplistic moralizing and laxed reasoning of those (e.g., common sense, monrovia man, et al) wishing to demonize gang members. It seems to me people want easy answer so badly they are willing to rush to simplistic conclusions that dont take into account the complexities of REAL LIFE.

Most real people are neither wholly good nor wholly bad. Now, your cartoonish notions of right and wrong are best suited for fairy tales and movies where good characters only do good and bad guys only do bad. That's simply naive and foolish.

Comments here also demonsrate a painful ignorance of gang sociology and practice. Gang initiates are not adopted into a dark side of unredeemable evil and committed to actions of murder and rape as if some perverse video game. To think every gang member is wholly devoted to evil is naive. They go to work, feed their kids, pay their taxes and sometimes commit crime.

When you look at this case in particular, this person was killed as he walked home and simply bc he dressed in a particular way and identified himself with a partiular group, some idiots here think his human rights are forfeited. The real evil is in those comments.

crime doesnt pay. US comment about criminals being family, tax payers, etc. is hogwash. Sometime you comit a crime, where does it say that comminting crimes is allowed in our contitution you bimbos? if you have the guts to comit a crime, then have the guts to pay the time or consecuences like death - so all u gasngsters better buy your little plot at rosehills and put away a little bit of that drug money for your cofin because i9m tired of all you dope heads doing carwashes "in loving memory of dead ganster".. Enuf already and grow up behave like normal law abiding people and then maybe we can begin to have some sympathy fo ryou and maybe not because everyone makes their bed and lies in it so stop crying and bitching about how hurt you are your gangster died and instead grow up and behave like a regular adult does, work, take care of family AND STAY OUT OF TROUBLE... dopeheads...

crimedoesntpay,

I never suggested that people have a constitutional right to commit crime. I simply listed a number of things that 'gangmembers' do, amongst them: coach little league, work union construction jobs, attent PTA meetings, smoke weed and occassionally get in a fist fight.

I wouldnt be surprised if crimedoesntpay isnt speaking out of a long seeded fear of gangsters in his neighborhood. He's scared of the monster and makes up miserable stories to go along with it so as to account for his emasculation during his adolescence. Hey, it happens.

I wonder if there any stats on the types of crime committed by gang members? How many of those crimes would be classified as non-violent offenses? I wonder if the general assumption about gang behavior is misguided.

Hey Usagain- If all gangsters did was get in fist fights with each other not too many people would care. Problem is they use knives, guns, arson and any other thing they can get their hands on to take someone down. That includes many gangsters on one guy, I've seen it.

All you're doing usagain is spouting bs. I can tell you first hand crimes that would make most people cringe, probably not you though, recounting what gangsters have done to innocent people and other gangsters.

No matter how many bake sales they go to, old ladies they help cross the street or church services they attend gangs are a blite on society and supporters like you who soften their actions get little play in the real world.

Local Boy