/prbuzz/ -- Big Heat and Du Low both ex members of the now notorious Rolling 40' Crips, one of 18 gangs targeted as LA's most violent gangs, and Rocc Head Cecil, believe that they know how best to the end the gang problem that has defined South Central LA for the last 30 years.

We see the Bratton's attempts to handle the Los Angeles gang problem as a mini version of Bush's ill-advised attempt to save face in Iraqi. The problem both face is that they don't know what the hell they are doing. You can't fight a war of ideas with guns. The only way to end the gang problem in Los Angeles is to change the minds and hearts of people who live in gang-ridden areas. And the first step to doing that is by understanding the people that they say they want to help.

The movie, "Why We Bang", was made so that people outside of the hood could get a better understanding of what the hood is dealing with. Everyone knows the violence and intimidation that gangs bring, the aftermath of those actions are far too often splayed across out TV screens, and occupy far too much space in our newspapers. But before a trigger is squeezed, a screams is heard, and a body drops there was a death of character, desire and dreams that took place long before. The makers of Why We Bang believe that it is the deadening of values and hopes that is the real cause of the continued growth of gangs

My first introduction to gangs came at around 5 or so, I had seen the older boys running around and playing, and sometimes fighting but on this day it was different. First four boys jumped one boy and they stomped him again and again as he lay on the ground. Later that day the house where it happened was surrounded by five people I did not recognize, then my mother grabbed me and we rushed into the house, then there was gun fire. The next day everything was back to normal I played the older boys played and it was cool. That was about 1972, by 1974 on that same block I had seen three people shot, on a lady shot in the eye, one lady kidnapped, two stabbings, several beatings and I myself was brought into violence when I broke a beer bottle and stabbed a boy who had been bullying me. As weird as it sounds this all seemed normal to me, this was life. Says Big Heat, also know as Clifford Jordan the Director and Exec Producer of Why We Bang"

This goes in line with the need for policy changes in regards to gang violence reduction efforts. The reality of kid growing up in a violent area of South Los Angeles sees violence as a natural course of life, just like a kid growing up in Beverly Hills might see going to Hawaii for vacation as natural part of life. Says Du Low, aka Orlando Myricks. I did not grow up in a very violent neighborhood; in fact when I was coming up there was no gang activity in my neighborhood. We grew up riding bikes, skateboards, playing basketball and touch football in the streets. Gangs surrounded my neighborhood, but it was going in the 40's back then, this was around 81, 82. For us it was all about hood love it was like family everybody knew ever bodies else family and the mothers got much respect. I remember how this all changed for us, the day it happened some fools from different neighborhood drove through our neighborhood and killed one of the homies, shoot him three times with a shotgun, it wasn’t long after that they the hood begun to change and today, hell everybody is banging. All because they could not just leave us the hell alone.

Given the choice most gang members would love to have had had a different life, one full of family, opportunities, college life and stable incomes. But the cards dealt were different. The choices were not the same. Which brings us back to the problem of waging a war on gangs. How do you do battle with a mindset?

The film, Why We Bang, seeks only to put a human face on the tragedy that is gang life, to give a deeper understanding of the problem in hopes that from there real work towards a solution will start.

I know how to stop gang banging once and for all. Says Rocc Head aka Cecil Holmes. The first thing you do is make the folks in charge of governing these cities, the big wigs that run Hollywood and control all the snaps that make Los Angeles one of the richest cities in the world, send there kids down to Manual Arts High, Gompers, Locke and Jeff. Once their kids are knee deep in the same shit our kids are drowning in you will start seeing real changes.

Clifford Jordan
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