“They have different ideas on how the baby should be raised”
Parents Fight Over Which Gang Toddler Should Join
Police: Mother A Crip, Father A Westside Baller
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — A couple fighting about which gang their 4-year-old toddler should join caused a public disturbance that resulted in the father’s arrest, Commerce City police said Thursday.On Saturday, Joseph Manzanares stormed into the Hollywood Video store where his girlfriend worked, threatened to kill her and knocked over several video displays and even a computer, Commerce City police Sgt. Joe Sandoval said.After he ran out of the store, police were called and the 19-year-old was arrested at his home.His girlfriend told police that they had been arguing about the upbringing of their son and which gang he should belong to. The teen mother, who is black, is a member of the Crips. Manzanares is Hispanic and belongs to the Westside Ballers gang, the woman said.”They have different ideas on how the baby should be raised. Basically, she said they cannot agree on which gang the baby would ‘claim,’” Sandoval said.Manzanares was charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, and domestic violence. He was transported to the Adams County Detention Facility.On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a year of probation. The misdemeanor harassment charge was dropped.
April 20th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I’m REALLY scared for the future of this country that Isaac and Benjamin will inherit. I weep for it, actually…
April 21st, 2008 at 9:31 am
Hmmm… it used to be mixed-race relationships were an issue, and then we got past that. Then mixed-religion relationships were an issue, and folks usually found a way to co-exist - or if they didn’t, amicably went their separate ways. I can honestly admit I didn’t realize mixed-gang relationship would be the next frontier. Would mixed-species relationships be more or less upsetting: “I want my child to be raised human - and ewe want it raised bovine!”… next on “The Maury Povich Show”! Stay tuned!!
April 21st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
On the merits, I have to think the kid would be better off pursuing admission to the Crips. I’m admittedly no expert, but I’ve never heard of the Westside Ballers and their name implies they’re more of a local organization, whereas the Crips clearly have nationwide stature. But maybe the Ballers are a dynamic, growing organization with lots of new opportunities opening up for young talent. In that case suppose there is a decision to be made wrt whether the young man wants to be a big fish in a small pond with the Ballers, or the small fish in the big pond of the Crips’ more mature (and likely more bureaucratic) organization. Hopefully for the youngster’s sake, he can learn more about each respective organization before making a decision, possibly from Gonzo’s counterpart in Banger Resources.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:20 pm
One of the neat things about the English language is its flexibility, owing to such varied word origins - Latin, Germanic, Greek, one could go on. And so it is that th language has already evolved a word to describe families beset by just the sort of dilemma described above: bigangual.
From Urban Dictionary:
Bigangual: The state of being a member of two street gangs at the same time
Usage: My wife and I couldn’t agree on which street gang our 4 year old son should join, the Crips or the Westside Ballers, so I trashed her place of employment and got arrested. We settled on raising our son to be bigangual.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:23 pm
What a country.