Griffith Park, Interrupted

Who says you can’t teach an old dog grey lady new tricks? I’m talking, of course, about the LA Times (which they call the Old Grey Lady.) Liberal bastion. Friend of the homeless. Empathizer of  the poor. Yet they have changed their attitude, at least towards one poor group – our gangs. The Times has stopped giving them tongue-baths, and given them a slap on the backside! Watch.

You all know me as the green, mean, Park activist machine, but did you also know how fond I am of the Avenues gang? I bet not!

avenues gang member arrested

I wrote about the Avenidas, as they say, twice last year, both times in response to the positive press the Times gave them. Apparently this gang is very popular, all over the US, not just in LA. Of course, I identify with my homeboys because they are so nearby. According to a map on the Times site, their “territory” begins at the foot of Forest Lawn in Glendale, which I can see from where I live. Also, they’re part of LA’s culture. Or something.

Now, you have to admit, most gangs don’t have the best education. Perhaps irony, sarcasm, or exaggeration weren’t mentioned in their English classes, but you know what? They’re busy guys. They have guns to clean and tats to sit for. So if my writing isn’t that well understood? Well, my bad. Let’s continue.

My first post on the attractive Avenues, or Drew Street Gang, as the hip kids call it, was in 2008: The LA Times has a secret crush on the Avenues Gang!

I can’t decide if it’s the awesome tats or the baggy duds…still stylish a decade later, apparently!

It’s always First Class to get an article written about you on the front page of the Times, and this time it’s the Avenues gang that hit the jackpot. I imagine gangs all over the city are envious, and wondering how they, too, can get such reportage and press. Don’t hesitate to read it: it’s family-ready, and really very forward-thinking!

From my June 2008 post 2 months later:

When you read about a neighborhood painted as loyalists with deep family ties to its members, doesn’t that sound attractive? Perhaps a suburban enclave of LA, or one of those beach towns, with all those diehard volleyball players. Good people, in other words. And so these gangs are, in their hearts.

Last time, the Times writers defined the gang as resilient, powerful, and defiant: survivors, with loving neighbors. They’re definitely not as positive this time; I’m afraid they’ve gotten bitter, and that’s a sad thing to see in a journalist.

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Tags: gangs, la times, media