In Harold Henderson’s “The City File” column (March 11) Dwight Conquergood, speaking at a Northwestern conference on race and the media, is quoted as saying that “Labeling someone a gang member licenses the most rabid racism and class bias.” I don’t know who Conquergood is, but he sounds like a PR spin doctor hired by the gangs themselves as an apologist.
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First of all, gangs come in all colors. In a Chicago State University survey of police chiefs in Illinois towns, quoted in the March 11 Tribune, 49 percent of police chiefs report that gangs in their towns are primarily white, 31 percent said primarily black, and 19 percent said primarily Latin.
Let’s be honest here about the nature of the threat. The FBI estimates that nationwide there are at least 400,000 hard-core gangbangers. If an army that big invaded America, there would be no debate about what to do; everyone would understand that we are at war and must act accordingly. But, since as a nation we have yet to overcome our West Side Story images, we still act as if they are just misunderstood kids who need our love and understanding.
