' I used to claim a barrio. I stopped claiming any alegiance to any organization, and perhaps the only thing I deserve to claim allegiance to, wether I do or not, is my country wich I claim to be the USA. I know find these organizations, or barrios to be pointless, and if any thing anti-raza. I believe barrios are more anti-raza than the klan or LAPD ever will be. If you can point out any organization wich has killed more raza in the USA than the raza youll get a happy face. If you can name an organization that has killed even 1% as many raza than the raza you will get two happy faces. I wont speak for all barrios when I say this, but I will speak for my barrio wich I have first hand knowledge of. I have at least 25 homeboys that I know about that have smoked at least 1 member of the raza, and some that have smoked over 20 by themselves. I used to defend barrios when people called us a bunch of child killers and murderers, now I realize that thats all we are. In my barrio you were given respect for killing another member of the raza. My barrio was unique from most other barrios in the fact that we used to go at it with other razas, but we mainly went at it with our own. A raza killing another raza in LA isnt even news. If one raza kills 20 members of the raza it isnt news. What one raza will do to another is unspeakable. Ill just say that 'Faces of Death' is kindergarten or even pre school for the barrios of the raza. They wouldnt have enough film in all of TDK to film a Faces of Death in modern day East Los. Now East Los has passed from meaning the place where it all started, to the place where it can all end for many people, needless to say West Siders are on the List. If you live on one block of East Los you cant walk to the next without some crazy ass raza smoking you, and thats if you get it easy. Even if the barrios of East Los unite, they would just do it to go to work on other barrios. If you claim you love the raza, you can not claim a barrio. That would be an oxymoron. ' I always thought the barrio was about something until I got a real job. I know a long time ago you had to be a certain age to claim abarrio. Some vets have told me there barrio was 18, others that it was 21. Now adays if you find a vato older than that hes probably the only one in his clique. It makes sense to have an age limit like that because that way the members are more mature, and are really down in all meanings of the word. If my barrio wouldve had an age limit like that I would not have joined. Few people would. It is a well known fact that little kids dont know what they want. If they join a barrio and stay in it past the age of 18 or 21 its mainly because they got so used to the way of life that now they cant give it up. Its like the perfect thing for the klan. Join young and mess up your life as soon as you get it. Kill yourselves and leave a bunch of useless idiots for us to opress. If there wasnt barrios, Latinos in general would have much better futures. I have witnessed personally some of the greatest talent in the world in barrios. If these people had not ruined their lives in barrios they would have owned this country, literaly. The best things members of barrios have done for society is serve in the armed forces. Then they have the nerve to pass propositions like 187 and 209 and a bunch of other ones. I, personaly, did not join the armed forces because I refuse to give up my life for a country that has no love for us. I cant blame them after the way we act in the barrios, but I will get them back. I will get them back through their own game. I wont give them the satisfaction of rotting away behind some barrotes, and I dam sure aint gonna end up in a cementerio like some sucker. I read the message from that vato from Marijuanos Locos, wich said to forget the hood would mean it was all in vain. In my opinion to not forget would mean that it was all in vain. Actually wether you forget it or not, any true gangster will tell you that it is all in vain. Your homies getting smoked. You smoking your enemies. All of those things are in vain. The only thing you can learn from this is that barrios are in vain. Gangsters know barrios have no future, unless their brain dead. They hide it at the very back of their sub concious, and it only comes out through nightmares. I used to hide it deep too. I walked around pretending there was some point. Down inside I always knew that no matter how much of a punk my enemy is, it only takes the strength to pull one index finger and all I had ever done and every thing I ever would do would be resting in peaces. I will always mourn my homies that died in this game, but down inside I know it was in vain. I know alot of people will not here this message, for I too was warned before I joined the barrio. Even if no body had warned me, Its the first thing the homies asked me before they jumped me in.' Tu sabes ese, that once you get into this barrio... There is only one way out.' I just hope that people at least remember it once their in a barrio, and will get out or kickback. For some getting out alive will be imposible. One logic vatos always use and that I myself used was this one:' Every body dies someday, if not in the barrio I could get run over by a bus, or get hit by a stray bullet, or the world could blow up.' Ill admit there is truth to this logic, but the odds of hitting the lottery 20 times in a row are greater. If you dont join the barrio, you might get ran over by a bus, but you will never know what it feels like to take the hard road in life, wether you succede or not. Joining the barrio is quiting on life. If you fantasize about being behind bars and having to ask permission to go to the bathroom, you dont belong in a barrio, you belong in a circus. If you want a bunch of 15 year olds to think your god, you are just a lame. If you feel like carrying a gun makes you a man, then what does that make your hina. If you are a hina, you belong with Ellen Degeneres. The point is, the barrio aint all its cracked up to be. If you are in a barrio and can honestly say you have a future in your barrio, I will have to say you are full of shit. If any body says 'then why did you join a barrio', I will admit it. I was an idiot, I am ashamed of it, I wish it were reversable, If I could join a barrio in the future I wouldnt. I like some people would have been in a bad shape wether I joined the barrio or not. I probably would have been in worst shape if I hadnt. ' I couldnt find the meaning in life, but being put near death youll find the meaning quick. The problem in the raza wich I could see is that there isnt too many organiztions other than barrios. And in my opinion some of the ones that claim to be good for the raza are worst than barrios. Mecha is full of shit. When I went there I wasnt sure if I was in there class or the comedy clubs class. They say one off the wall thing after another. I believe that painting an accurate picture of history is the key when you want to serve the purpose of education. Education is the key to success. If you want to succede in this world you have to know what time it is. ' My strongest argument towards gangs is this. If you are willing to die for nothing, why are you not willing to die for everything. I asked myself that one day and didnt like the answer. When I say die for everything I mean dedicate your life and risk it to get everything you want or everything you need. I know I would like to be the richest man in the world. Yet I was on the streets risking my life for nothing. It is smarter to sit behind a desk and study for 20 years, than it is to get shot dead for something you had nothing to do with. It is smarter to save one dollar a day for 20 years than it is to serve 20 years behind bars for killing someone you dont even know. It is smarter to move to Siberia to get away from the gangs, than it is to have one of your kids even touched by a gangster. Risking everything doesnt mean to go out and rob a bank, becuase believe me, you will never be happy with that money. Our people left their homeland to come here, to give us a better life. To join a gang is to say that you would rather have not existed, and that you hate your people. ' The thing with gangs is that they have short term advantages. You might join a gang one day and be having a ball the very same day. For a short moment you feel like you own this world, a very short moment. What used to mess me up was getting sweated by the juras. They would tell me to my face that I was a piece of shit, that my whole family is shit, that my whole raza is shit. Some of my homies didnt speak English so I would have to translate for them. I would always say something else because I was ashamed to tell the juras what we were really doing, knowing that I was much smarter than them. For me to have to answer one question to somebody like them made me feel like my barrio was a joke. I knew my family was good and that I had no excuse for what we did. One day the juras started messing with me when I was with my mom. That was the worst shame I have ever felt in my life. We come from something wich in my mind is far greater than what these juras will ever know, yet I was giving them an excuse to mess with me. When something happens and I know it is my fault I can not get mad at any body but myself. When the juras would mess with I knew it was my fault. It is my belief that if I wasnt in a gang they would still mess with me. But even if that were so, being in a gang gave them the legal right to mess with me. I know they used to mess with all the raza, but they could just be doing that because we gave them the excuse. ' How can I know wich ones in a gang and wich one isnt, I thought they were all wetbacks.' I do not really feel so bad that they would mess with me, but to see them mess with other raza and knowing that it was in some way my fault, that made me feel bad. If anybody ever saw me and thought I was cool for being in a gang, I regret it. The way I live now a jura couldnt faze me if he handcufed me to a fence and beat the shit out of me. I will just walk away and know that I am better than he will ever be. Gangsters cant say that though. ' Every body that reads this page, please do the smart thing. and remember VIVA LA RAZA.
