Gangs/Colors Problems? (San Francisco, Montague: vs, bus, housing)

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by dlyoung123

There are indeed fewer murders in Iowa city. But then Iowa city happens to have 67,831 people. (And that's only when collage is in session.) Oakland has 390,724 people.

He was only talking about West Oakland... West Oakland has a population of about 35,000 and had more murders in 2 years than Iowa City did in 25 years.

[rah]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

He was only talking about West Oakland... West Oakland has a population of about 35,000 and had more murders in 2 years than Iowa City did in 25 years.

No, even worse...it had two years in a row where each year had more murders than Iowa City had in 25 years. Iowa City had 22 murders from 1985-2009, and West Oakland saw over 44 in 2007 and 2008 combined (not sure what the total is exactly, because i'm not sure where the West Oakland and North Oakland border is exactly).

[Langes]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

If you're serious, you're gonna stick out like a sore thumb. Nobody dresses in that 90's goth/Matrix gear here anymore. Techies just dress in Gap khakis and fleeces here.

Getting the feeling I will have trouble wearing something so striking anywhere I live. Got a red/blue pill comment passing a couple in Costco the other day. Could switch to brown, though I would likely get something closer to "Yeehaw!" then.

People are boring...

[goldenchild08]

For the most part, thugs dress like, well, thugs in a city like SF. People from the hood wear things like huge black hoodies and matching wool skullies, gigantic sagging baggy Girbaud jeans, tall tees with gold grills in their mouths etc. On the East Coast, they stopped dressing like that in about 2005/2006. Where I live now the big trend in the hood is to wear well-fitting "Whiteboy clothes" like American Eagle, Aeropostale, Polo Ralph Lauren etc. Skinny jeans have also taken over the East Coast ghettos from DC to NYC. It is deceiving in Baltimore to meet a group of teens dressed like typical suburban Whiteboys who claim to be Bloods. Some ghetto people in SF may wear stuff like that with brands like Hollister. But for the most part, the ghetto uniform in SF is still saggy, huge and baggy (but this might be just starting to change). I think if you dress like this you more likely to be mistaken for being someone involved in turfs or gangs. But even then, I think that would be rare. A lot of people in the ghetto in Oakland dress better and up with current trends than in the hood in SF.

[Isebiel]

Originally Posted by goldenchild08

On the East Coast, they stopped dressing like that in about 2005/2006. Where I live now the big trend in the hood is to wear well-fitting "Whiteboy clothes" like American Eagle, Aeropostale, Polo Ralph Lauren etc. Skinny jeans have also taken over the East Coast ghettos from DC to NYC. It is deceiving in Baltimore to meet a group of teens dressed like typical suburban Whiteboys who claim to be Bloods.

Oh good grief, really? That's so ironic. Ha!

[MarcTheCityGuy]

So what if you're an ethnic male who's somewhat racially ambiguous looking (may look like a cross between Middle Eastern, Latin, and Black--Think Moroccan), is 30 but most think 25, who is trendy, and educated... What then?

I've always had a hard time mixing in with the stereotypical black or Hispanic folk that are within my age range in cities like New York and LA, more so in New York. I'm of Latin descent, but not the kind you see in California... I'm of the Caribbean type--think Alex Rodriguez. I have a tan/brown complexion, but my bone structure and features are European (my dad's family is from Spain).
I usually stand out because of my looks and the way I dress. Mostly because people of the opposite sex, and some of the same sex tend to think I'm "handsome," but also because I'm typically a good dresser.

I tend to be trendy, and would typically be found wearing something that perhaps Justin Timberlake would wear, as opposed to Snoop Dogg. Because I'm very metrosexual looking, I often get looks from ghetto folk who can tell by the way I dress that I'm NOT down with that crowd. They don't usually bother me, but they do stop and notice me. Though I always get looks from people because I stand out from the crowd in a very positive way, so that's not the issue. I guess I'm just wondering what the reaction will be. In New York, they would just stand there and "hate."

What happens if a young good looking ethnic male wears nice fitted jeans (as opposed to baggy and sagging below the waist), a cardigan, and a red t-shirt underneath? Or if he were to wear beige slacks/khakis and a nice blue dress shirt along with nice dress shoes?

It's obvious by looking at me that I'm the last thing close to a gang member. I'm very clean cut, well-spoken, carry myself well, and dress like something you would find in GQ magazine. Should there still be concern?

I've visited SF a few times, and never had an issue with clothing. I wore whatever colors I felt like. I honestly wasn't taking colors into consideration, since I naturally don't even think that way. My time there was limited though...

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by MarcTheCityGuy

So what if you're an ethnic male who's somewhat racially ambiguous looking (may look like a cross between Middle Eastern, Latin, and Black--Think Moroccan), is 30 but most think 25, who is trendy, and educated... What then?

I've always had a hard time mixing in with the stereotypical black or Hispanic folk that are within my age range in cities like New York and LA, more so in New York. I'm of Latin descent, but not the kind you see in California... I'm of the Caribbean type--think Alex Rodriguez. I have a tan/brown complexion, but my bone structure and features are European (my dad's family is from Spain).
I usually stand out because of my looks and the way I dress. Mostly because people of the opposite sex, and some of the same sex tend to think I'm "handsome," but also because I'm typically a good dresser.

I tend to be trendy, and would typically be found wearing something that perhaps Justin Timberlake would wear, as opposed to Snoop Dogg. Because I'm very metrosexual looking, I often get looks from ghetto folk who can tell by the way I dress that I'm NOT down with that crowd. They don't usually bother me, but they do stop and notice me. Though I always get looks from people because I stand out from the crowd in a very positive way, so that's not the issue. I guess I'm just wondering what the reaction will be. In New York, they would just stand there and "hate."

What happens if a young good looking ethnic male wears nice fitted jeans (as opposed to baggy and sagging below the waist), a cardigan, and a red t-shirt underneath? Or if he were to wear beige slacks/khakis and a nice blue dress shirt along with nice dress shoes?

It's obvious by looking at me that I'm the last thing close to a gang member. I'm very clean cut, well-spoken, carry myself well, and dress like something you would find in GQ magazine. Should there still be concern?

I've visited SF a few times, and never had an issue with clothing. I wore whatever colors I felt like. I honestly wasn't taking colors into consideration, since I naturally don't even think that way. My time there was limited though...

As long as:


a) You don't look Mexican
b (follow up to A) You don't live in the Mission District, Fruitvale or other heavily Mexican working class neighborhoods in the Bay

You'll be fine. Nobody cares about dress here, let alone in SF. In Oakland, people are wearing both skinny and baggy jeans in the ghetto now so that's not the issue. It's never really about the clothes anyway... people can generally tell by looking at you whether you belong or not regardless of what you're wearing. For your purposes, its better if you do not belong, and especially when it comes to the police.

[Atsuke]

I wear baby blue T-shirts all the time in SF and SJ without trouble.


Nevermind that it has 'UCLA' etched across it.

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

As long as:


a) You don't look Mexican
b (follow up to A) You don't live in the Mission District, Fruitvale or other heavily Mexican working class neighborhoods in the Bay

You'll be fine. Nobody cares about dress here, let alone in SF. In Oakland, people are wearing both skinny and baggy jeans in the ghetto now so that's not the issue. It's never really about the clothes anyway... people can generally tell by looking at you whether you belong or not regardless of what you're wearing. For your purposes, its better if you do not belong, and especially when it comes to the police.

Yup. Nineties Flava just nailed it.

[kinkytoes]

OMG if there weren't violence involved, the thread would be funny. From an outside POV it sounds kind of Romeo and Juliet crazy. I hope you guys support a presidential candidate who is committed to the decriminalization of drugs. Violence sucks.

In Baltimore, after I found out about the murder rate, I was waiting for the entire population of drug dealers etc to just...well all be killed at some point. But the replacement rate seems to have been keeping up.

Anyway the thread made me sad so sorry guys.

[dlyoung123]

I wear my pa's old overalls and flannel shirts. Osh koch begosh is the brand name. Which he wore on the farm back in Iowa during the 1950s. All the time in west Oakland. And have never had any problems.