Who here can honestly say that they have never seen a gang or had an encounter with a gang in LA?

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by 2Easy

You should be able to tell the difference between gang fashion and normal teenage fashion. And be able to recognize the tattoos from some of the bigger gangs. And also know which gangs wear which colors. If you see people with gang tattoos or groups of people dressed like a gang, they aren't pretending to be in a gang, that's a gang.

Originally Posted by readymade

How on EARTH is a "regular person" supposed to recognize a gang tattoo? Unless I'm pretty close to someone, I usually have no idea of what ANYone's tattoo is. Can you recognize someone's gang tattoo from across the street or something? Your eyesight must be amazing!

LMAO! I'm a senior citizen. You expect me to keep up on gangsta styles? You expect me to keep up on gang tats?

I'm just trying to get beyond the idea that anybody who has tats or piercings is not a gangsta, drug pusher or prostitute.

You really want me to get so informed on this that I can tell diff between Crips and Bloods? I barely understand the difference.

I'm with Readymade.

[TurcoLoco]

I had multiple very dangerous encounters but if I speak even a word of it, I will jeopardize the safety of my loved ones. They made me give them my word at gun point.

Anyhow, I can honestly say I have never seen a gang member nor have I had any such encounters.

No, seriously, lived over 17 years in LA/OC area and I think I am more likely to encounter an E.T. than a gang member.

[nickdahammer]

Sure, I've seen them, albeit rarely. More familiar with the tags (I always report them to 311 and they go away within a couple of days). I've been in NELA for 15 years, get around the neighborhoods quite a bit, but gangs don't enter into it for me. We don't share the same friends, hangouts. Never had a negative encounter but, then again, we don't travel in the same circles.

[415_s2k]

I saw a fair amount of them, actually. The first couple years I lived in LA, I was near Beverly and Edgemont, which was 18th street territory. Then, I lived on Indiana Ave in Venice, which is a negotiated "neutral zone" between V13 and the Shoreline Crips. When I lived in Koreatown by Beverly and Edgemont, I worked for Toyota down in Torrance and figured out quickly that since no one used Crenshaw due to the stigma (at the time, at least - maybe people do now), I could scream down there about 30mph faster than on the freeway and make good time. I saw guys wearing colors nearly every day.

I had a couple encounters while I was there that ranged from infuriating to comical, most of them in the middle at "benign."

[Setsuko]

Are some of you serious that you can't tell what a gangbanger looks like? The bandanna hanging out their back pocket with matching shoe laces gives them away 99% of the time.

[ambermerci]

I used to have a link to all the murder reports commited in the city of los angeles..many are gang related, and for the city to have that many murders, there must be a lot going on.

[LadyKLO]

Some of these posts are really funny..seriously...I'm in a sorority and when my sorority sisters and I have functions out in public, we all dress alike wearing the same colors, same type of outfits, matching scarfs, etc....pins on our shirts...does that mean I am banging and slanging....no....although the thought of some of our older members in their 70's banging sounds pretty funny to me...

Some of the best probably don't look the part. The problem is stereotyping and that will get you mixed up everytime. I guess if I shave off all my hair, get some baggy jeans, put a rag in the back pocket and drive around all day in Mercedez, Lexus, Range Rover or whatever...it 100% means I am banging....

OR...could it simply mean, I am off work....

The key is...you don't really know...what about corporate bangers and slangers....HELLO....

Assuming is such a bad idea and you already know why....

[nighthouse66]

Originally Posted by Setsuko

Are some of you serious that you can't tell what a gangbanger looks like? The bandanna hanging out their back pocket with matching shoe laces gives them away 99% of the time.

seriously. some of these replies are making me LMAO. i mean it. this is absurd. if anyone can at all state with any seriousness that they can tell a gang by clothes then they have been living under a rock for the past twenty years. keep it up tho, this is hilarious!

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by LadyKLO

Some of these posts are really funny..seriously...I'm in a sorority and when my sorority sisters and I have functions out in public, we all dress alike wearing the same colors, same type of outfits, matching scarfs, etc....pins on our shirts...does that mean I am banging and slanging....no....although the thought of some of our older members in their 70's banging sounds pretty funny to me...

Some of the best probably don't look the part. The problem is stereotyping and that will get you mixed up everytime. I guess if I shave off all my hair, get some baggy jeans, put a rag in the back pocket and drive around all day in Mercedez, Lexus, Range Rover or whatever...it 100% means I am banging....

OR...could it simply mean, I am off work....

The key is...you don't really know...what about corporate bangers and slangers....HELLO....

Assuming is such a bad idea and you already know why....

I can tell the difference between a group of dudes from Loyola who all accidentally wore identical board shorts from Hollister and a group of soldiers slinging on a corner a few blocks east of Vermont.

[bigdumbgod]

Seems that NOT knowing what a real banger looks/acts like can get one in L.A. in grave danger. Certainly was the case in recent decades, and has only changed in demographics participating in gang culture, the primary shift moving toward a need to be more aware of Hispanic gangs.

Back in the day, we used to run into gangs and affiliates all the time, thus one had to know what their look is, where they're likely to congregate, what territory they rule, and especially, how agressive they may be to those entering into their space (i.e., somebody inviting you to a party in, say, Carson or Wilmington). Not knowing that your keen new outfit sporting the wrong colors could get you jumped can get you and all of your friends in a world of trouble is a lesson learned hard. That, and showing great defference may save your life. Part of that is recognizing who these people you're talking to represent, and that you don't mistakingly utter a word about how you're buddies with their enemies. And to do that, one must have a basic sense of things like colors, tattoos, signs, 'do's, laces, etc, and proceed accordingly with that information.

Easy: If the big scary angry dude you encounter has a bunch of teardrops tattooed under his eye and numbers about his neck/head, you might want to get yourself out of that situation. Heard of "You might be a redneck?" In this case, we can safely say "You might be a gang banger".
Difference between confronting a random obnoxious baggy twit and a gang member is to get in a fight with one hapless guy vs. a neverending fight with a sea of potentially murderous thugs. Can't afford to make that mistake, especially in L.A.