Closer look at gang life – in West Seattle and other neighborhoods

We’ve received several notes about a P-I in-depth article today that we agree is a must-read: A closer look at gang life, including prominent mentions of West Seattle and White Center (scroll to the bottom of the article for a map indicating which gangs are active and where). It’s accompanied by a photo gallery, which features a series of pictures of a gang initiation in Lincoln Park, starting with this photo. The P-I promises a follow-up tomorrow about the people searching for solutions.

Todd in Westwood August 13, 2008 (11:43 am)

I knew that club was/is a black hole of gang activity and just because they dont serve alcohol inside , doesnt mean they are not drinking it in every alley, parking lot and doorway of W.C.
That club can serve no good purpose.

changingtimes August 13, 2008 (12:20 pm)

that is depressing!! makes me want to home school my children!

worms Roxanne, I'm afraid of worms. August 13, 2008 (12:21 pm)

I did not know that this was such an issue here. The self professed gang members openly said they deal heavily in stolen electronics. From the pictures of public fighting and the open statements from the members it doesn’t look like the gangs members are hard to find. Isn’t the above reason enough to pull warrants and search their gang houses for stolen goods?
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The gangs should invite the local chapter of the Iron Pigs to the dance party at Evolucion…

S5 August 13, 2008 (12:29 pm)

After looking at the map in the P-I article showing all the known West Seattle gang locations, the recent upswing in criminal activity (shootings, burglaries, etc.) now makes sense to me.

big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. August 13, 2008 (1:11 pm)

Meanwhile back at the Hall of Justice… The Clown Council and McCheese tackle the truly pressing issues of the era…
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(Wack!)Grocery Sacks attack! Not on our watch!
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(Bang!) Blindsided by 5 million dollar toilets. Ebay powers to the rescue!
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(Pow!)Watch out, That stripper might get to close! Quick, send in the troops!

And once again the electorate can sleep soundly knowing they are wrapped in the warm blanket of safety woven by their competent leadership.

beachdrivegirl August 13, 2008 (1:26 pm)

That is really eye opening and a bit scary.

ann August 13, 2008 (1:32 pm)

The pictures of Lincoln Park really disturbed me. I wonder how much it would cost for neighborhoods to hire a full time policeman for just one area.

Peter August 13, 2008 (1:34 pm)

Peckerwoods? What kind of name is that for a gang? I was in the Electros way back in ’84 but all we did was breakdance.

Melissa August 13, 2008 (1:38 pm)

Why blame Nickels for this? He’s city of Seattle & this article details events taking place in White Center. White Center is unincorporated King County. Most of the local and county $$ goes to cities and towns with organized, centralized governments. White Center exists in this no man’s land, which is where so many of the enforcement and funding issues come from.

Although many people maintain that White Center should remain its own entity, I can’t for the life of me figure out why. Its place as part of unincorp. King CO. seems to me to be a recipe for disaster. My understanding is that the thugs who reside there, and who are a small part of the population, play the Seattle police and the King Co Sheriff’s office against each other when jurisdiction isn’t clear, which it so often isn’t.

We can whine and lay blame, but what’s the point? These dudes are scary. It’s a culture of violence that can’t be good for anyonw. Why don’t we try to identify enforcement loopholes and attempt to eliminate them instead? This problem will only become worse as the recession deepens.

lincoln park mom August 13, 2008 (1:50 pm)

Frightening! I am glad the article was published. More information like this should be available. The SPD is not educating anyone in my area about this. Families need to be aware of what is going on in their neighborhoods. Why isn’t the SPD doing more besides setting speed traps along Fauntleroy?

Rick August 13, 2008 (1:57 pm)

A very informative and unsettling story but with all the large color photos I think it might glamorize and promote such activity. I imagine there will be some new gang celebs in the ‘hoods tonight. But at least now I know what some of the members look like!

TeresaP August 13, 2008 (2:02 pm)

I got half way through this article and simply stopped reading it. The fact that the majority of these losers have been in trouble for as long as they have and they are not in jail is a crime in itself. Put them away and put them away for good.

I do not care that they were “brought up” that way, we all have enough common sense to know what is right and what is wrong. Get a flipping job and leave the bad life behind. And if you do have a job and are still in a gang, get another job to keep you busy.

sosad August 13, 2008 (2:08 pm)

This article was very unsettling to me – as I do not live far from White Center and have two young sons – though my children are not being raised as these children are/have been. It is so sad that these young men feel this is a way of life for them – it seems they put so much energy and time into it and if they would just see that they could do that by doing good too.

dinolicious August 13, 2008 (2:13 pm)

Having grown up in East Los Angeles, I could have read that exact same story 30 years ago in the LA Times. At least here they jump each other in a wooded area, in ELA they use to do it in public parking lots at 3 am. On a serious note, police patrols help, aware neighbors and reporting suspicious activity goes a long way in curbing these punks.

RS August 13, 2008 (3:02 pm)

Oh great. Now more people will be convinced that White Center is an evil dangerous place where nothing good ever happens. You all did actually READ the article and saw that there are gangs all over the Puget Sound area, right? And all over Seattle, by the way, Melissa. The article talked about South Seattle, Northgate, the CD, Rainier, West Seattle, etc. I realize that WC has some problems, but those problems are certainly not unique to WC because it is a “no man’s land.”

RS August 13, 2008 (3:10 pm)

Oh, and on Evolucion, I bet some others on this blog could back me up that a lot of people who come to this club don’t actually live in WC. For example, the picture essay that accompanies the PI story clearly states that the guy they followed around at the club lives in South Seattle.

GenHillOne August 13, 2008 (3:50 pm)

I don’t even know where to start on this, but I guess for one, since some were identified, I hope this article at least gets some of these losers off of the street. I have very little empathy for this lifestyle choice. And I agree with Rick above that more ‘legends in their own minds’ were created with the story – photos and boastful text included. We are told to cover tags within 48 hours because part of the tagger’s rush is to see their handywork and get props for it – the more they’re recognized the better, right? While I doubt a lot of gang members subscribe to the P-I, I’m sure word is spreading and a few are pretty pleased with their added celebrity status. I’m not impressed.

big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. August 13, 2008 (4:11 pm)

The Dub C gets a bad rap by people that have never spent any time there.
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The only recipes for disaster is perpetuating this mentality and continuing to marginalize the area and the residents.
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On the other hand, if you want the best recipes for” Papusas, Pho, Lengua Tacos, and Beer then W.C is the place to go.
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It is true that this is not an issue defined by municipal boundaries. It is a regional issue and it needs to be addressed as such. Seattle is the major muni in this region and should take the lead in developing a plan of action that is centered around cooperation between jurisdictions.
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Or they can and sell old toilets on Ebay… and make sure strippers don’t get to close to patrons…

Larry August 13, 2008 (6:44 pm)

I am so glad that the ganstas won’y be getting any trans fat in their fast food.

Scout August 13, 2008 (7:13 pm)

The thing about these gang members is generally they are not a threat to the average citizen as far as violence goes, just to each other, unless you get caught in crossfire. I’m not condoning.. just saying we don’t have to have mass hysteria over their existence.

Debra August 13, 2008 (9:18 pm)

I work in West Seattle, but live in South Park. Unfortunately some of the folks in these pictures are all too familiar to me. I really don’t believe personally that there has been any kind of major upswing. It’s always been here and there, It just seems like the names of the gangs mutate. I’ve heard alot of gangsters from Eastern Wa. have moved over here. I can say that in my neighborhood it seems like a lot of the troublemakers have recently moved here, or come here from other places looking for trouble. I really don’t think this is “big” news. It’s been here for a long time. The article just forces people to acknowledge that it is in their back yard, and that we all really have to look out for each other, which we should be doing anyways..Peace…Debra in the S.P.

Kate McA August 13, 2008 (11:30 pm)

Frightening? A little. Sad? A little. More than anything, though, it just ticked me off. First, Seattle had the gang problem at least partially under control, and then decided to throw up its hands and dissolve the gang unit. Surprise! The problem has returned. Second, that the people who posted on here are too busy pointing the finger at other neighborhoods to sit up and acknowledge that this is going on just outside their door as well. Watch out for yourself and your neighbors if you want to do something about it- these are our neighborhoods too, even if we don’t run around wearing matching outfits.

And for Pete’s sake, not all of Seattle’s problems are linked to plastic bags or public toilets.

Melissa August 14, 2008 (7:36 am)

RS, and anyone else who might have misconstrued my “no man’s land” comment: I meant that WC is one govenmentally, no socially or culturally. I love White Center and live just adjacent to it. Its hot potato status troubles me deeply. Once again, why respond with attacks? I’m baffled.

beachdrivegirl August 14, 2008 (9:09 am)

I think that Kate is absolutley right. you can not pass the blamem onto others the government, family, or anyone else. this is everyones problem. Every single one of us need to think about what we can do to prevent more kids from joining kids and what we can do to keep gangs from growing in our neighborhoods and doing everything we can to make them feel uncomfortable in our neighborhoods.

RS August 14, 2008 (10:14 am)

Melissa, I’m not attacking, just pointing out that the article talks about events which happen all over the city and yet you said “Why blame Nickels for this? Heâ€™s city of Seattle & this article details events taking place in White Center.”

Yes, WC has problems, but there are also really positive things happening here. But the media and people on blogs tend to reinforce the fear mentality, as you did when you talked about the “thugs that live there” when the people they profiled in the PI didn’t live in WC at all.

WSB August 14, 2008 (11:09 am)

I also thought the article did an excellent, eye-opening job of addressing neighborhoods all over the Metro area. For example, we live up the hill from Lincoln Park, and my son and I often walk through the park. I am not naive enough to think gang activity isn’t happening close to our house – the ubiquitous tagging is one indication – but the thought that we could have stumbled onto a gang jumping-in at some point, was unsettling. Absolute proof that we all need to care about this, and the point RS makes takes it further – don’t read a story about gang activity in some “other” part of the metro area and think, well, that’s THEIR problem; this, and other kinds of crime/violence, is everybody’s problem.

Melissa August 14, 2008 (4:20 pm)

Oh, goodness! Except for a few people who have a “let the bad guys do in each other” sort of attitude, I think everyone here recognizes that this is a problem for all of us. Don’t they?

Sorry, comment time is over.