KIDS AND TAGGERS
By Victor Marrero
If you have an uncritical, one dimensional mind clogged with
presumptions supplied to you by the general hearsay, then please don't
read this column, because it isn't for you.
Do you ever ask yourself really deeply; Why? Why do kids tag or
gangbang? Why are they failing in school, not applying to college?
Even when they do apply they're often not prepared.
You might be one of those people who listen to the general hearsay
and be prepared to answer that kids "get things too easy, never work
for it, just want to have fun, get a rush from defying authority, or
getting away."
Are you self-critical though, enough to crossexamine yourself? Are
you being a hypocrite by relying on the "easy" cushion of letting
others and the media do your thinking for you instead of critically
analyzing the society you, and taggers live in? Are you an objective
college level thinker and scholor to talk to kids and taggers from all
different neighborhoods, and ethnics to see if they're motivated by
the factors that you think motivate them? Would they be the same
factors as the kids in your area? When and if you get their stories
do you think you could get out of them what they're not saying, or
maybe what they can't articulate?
I've interviewed a few taggers and graffittii artists. I interviewed
them at the high school that I work, and the free chatline that I
found at the back of the Daily Aztec which is supposed to be for
adults, but has become a chat line for teenagers. The kid at work
told me that "It's a hobby." Having a tag somewhere gives him status
like artists get who sign their name on some incomprehensible drawing
and then become rich, and famous for it. At least with the taggers
you can sometimes understand the letters they write.
The kids on the chatline said something similar. "To "be known." I
asked them why it is that they don't find some other way to be known,
something more acceptable, and they answered that it's "the only way
they know how." That says that authorities are not connecting with
these kids on how to better their community. It is not connecting
with them by not giving their communities resources that would make
recreation centers where martial arts, holistic health practices like
massage are taught, camping trips are planned, art talent is channeled
through community wide mural projects, or sculptures.
"Well why don't they get involved in neighborhood cleaning projects
like I see in Mid-City Neighbor(City Heights Newspaper)?" some of you
might ask. Those projects are not the solution because they are lead
by people who are not the community. It is my conviction that city
councilmen, business leaders, and the police are not the community.
They are policy makers, and enforcers in an undemocratic process.
They generally don't live under the same economic conditions as kids
and parents that they might be well meaning to, or that they pass
repressive city ordinances against like the "Threes a Crowd" law that
was talked about.
A community is a people that has experienced the same History,
politics, and economics. The Mexican Community is not one with the
community of Whites or others in San Diego because propositions like
227 is going to affect one community more than the other. As long as
there is conflict of interests communities will never come toghether.
However when there is common interest such as the youth in City
Heights having common experiences, and looking for common outlets than
you can have a youth community who expresses and communicates by
tagging.
Taggers and gangbangers could have their views and energies channeled
into Political forums instead of watching Montell or Jerry Springer.
Creative means should be found to encourage them to read because most
of them don't have the reading and vocabulary level to read and
understand this column even if it's advocating for them. Most of them
could not advocate for themselves because they can't piece toghether a
proper sentence.
My solution to that would be to encourage writing by letting students
write, and rewrite, revise, and rerevise what is that they are
experiencing and feeling, instead of writing about abstract content
and ideals that don't exist for them like "Democracy." If they are to
write about Democracy than let them write honestly about it, and give
them all the facts like the United States is not a democracy. It's a
republic(There's a difference). Talk to them about how lobbying works
to contradict anything close to democracy.
Since none of that happens for them in the schools, or anywhere else
the easiest outlet is to put HGC(Hispanics Gone Crazy) somewhere. You
might respond that it's still vandalism. But why should they care
when the property owners or municipalities whose property they tag
don't care enough about them to give them the resources, education,
and empowerment to do something more collectively meaninful? Why
should taggers care when the first concern of most property owners is
the value of their property, and paying their taxes? In other words
it's about me first. If that's the case why shouldn't they act on the
same philosophy, think about themselves, and not care about anybody
else? One tagger told me that he was standing outside of an
establishment waiting for a bus and somebody from it told him that
he'd "better not tagg." He said to me "That night we went and "bombed
the place."
Besides just wanting to assert a personal identity with a very short
span, and disconnected from a collective history, and culture that
they are not taught too much about by schools or overworked parents,
taggers also tag to communicate. When they go to another town they
let other taggers know that they're there by tagging. Tragically as
one of the kids told me where I work tagging or "crossing out" is a
way to mark someone for violence, even death by crossing out a
tagger's or gangbanger's name and putting a certain number by it.
Sometimes the wrong kid is beaten up, stabbed, or shot because his tag
or nickname was confused with the kid crossed out.
These kids have naturally developed their own norms in a society
that thinks of them as an expense or cheap labor. To fill in the gap
of culture that is not being passed down they form tag crews, party
crews, or gangs.
Whether you as "educated" adults understand taggers and other kids in
the inner city, or not, whether you are going to apply for a job as a
teacher in one of their schools or not, bear in mind these kids have
their own world, that they understand and respect whether you do or
not.
I envy the fraternity that they have because when a tagger tags other
taggers understand and respect it. When I write I don't know if the
majority of my peers read my wriiting, respect it, or understand it. I
think taggers could adapt and absorb your reality. Do you think could
at least acknowledge theirs?
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