In the 1980s gang life was simple. Each gang was identified by single, solid colors, making them easy to distinguish from one another. Modern day gangs are more complicated according to Carlos Ortiz of the NYPD school safety division. He says they use an assortment of colors, beads, sports teams, clothing brands, neighborhoods, hand signs and dances to distinguish themselves. This mixture can be dangerous because a person may not realize that their outfits could send the wrong message to gang members, says Ortiz.
“You can wear what you want to wear, its just that you have to be aware,” said Ortiz. “You have to be observant and careful and just use common sense.”
Ortiz discussed these issues at the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan on Saturday during the 12th Annual parent Conference Workshop. His workshop, titled “Gangs: What Every Parent Should Know,” drew a crowd of parents and teachers and focused on keeping young people safe from gangs.
Today people are being forced into gangs at younger ages, Ortiz said. They are usually picked because they have a lot of free time, he said. Normally the targets are young students who skip school and regularly hang out on the streets. Ortiz said that these students should “S.H.O.U.T.,” an acronym that means, “stay in school, hang out with positive friends, observe your surroundings, use time productively, and talk to an adult”.
Ortiz showed a video that illustrated gang customs. It explained how gangs have transformed regular forms of clothing into symbols for their own culture. For example, if someone was wearing a Chicago Bulls jacket, it would mean that person was a Blood, or if someone was wearing a Dallas Cowboys jacket, that person would be considered a Crip. The video also discussed the popularity of gang life in the military. Gang members would be recruited into the marines and trained with marine weaponry and war tactics, which they would then bring home to their fellow gang members.
Ortiz also showed off various beads that gang members wear. The beads they wear to show off the diverse colors of the gangs. The Bloods, for instance, will wear beads with the colors red, green, black, tan, brown, white and camouflage, with each color representing different sects of the gang.
