[dropcap size=big]B[/dropcap]y order of a “down-ass carnal” and this viral video on Instagram posted on the page @thefoocommunity, a “mandatory peace treaty for all barrios” is now in effect.
While crime in Los Angeles has been down in general since the safer-at-home order was called in March and gang violence has been in decline since its heyday in the 90s, there are still occasional acts of gang-related violence happening in our city. However, one veterano has had enough.
In the three-minute-long video posted last Friday that has over 66 thousand views, a tattooed vato loco wearing a sleeveless hoodie addresses gang members “of all status” throughout Sur Califas: “If you are caught doing a drive-by shooting, you will be dealt with. Don’t worry about the police...worry about people in your own neighborhood putting you on check.” His speech seems to indicate that there was already a truce in effect and that the order originated in San Diego.
The individual continues to share more details about this “mandatory peace treaty for all the barrios” that is also being respected by “the brothers on the inside” (alluding to convicted gangbangers who are currently in prisons): “If there is anybody from this point on, wherever you’re from and whatever your status, still playing the gangbang role, you will be dealt with.” That gangbang role includes participating in any kind of conflict with other barrios, spray painting “your shit” in other neighborhood’s walls. He calls the order for peace an act of “barrio politics” and that is serious business.
It is worth pointing out that the video warning was issued less than three weeks from the anniversary of the assassination of Nipsey Hussle, who was famous for peace advocacy among Los Angeles gangs. Gang violence in L.A. dropped after his death in 2019, reversing the short spike in the city’s gang violence at the beginning of that year. Gang interventionists have also been deemed as essential workers by Los Angeles County
Online threats and what some cholos call “netbanging” has been proven to provoke regional gang warfare, with some acts of violence being traceable to posts on social media.
Comment interactions with the video seemed to mostly endorse the message of peace, however, the video’s validity and whether the gangs of Southern California will respect this call to peaceful action is uncertain.
Image at the top of the post by Joseph Rodriguez, taken from the book Eastside Stories: Gang Life in East L.A. The caption is: Evergreen homeboys pay homage to one of their homeboys. East Los Angeles, 1993
