Jared Grigsby, San Francisco Chronicle, August 28, 2009
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People have been gathering throughout Salinas in recent weeks for 24-hour prayer vigils and anti-violence rallies amid a spike in gang violence that has turned the birthplace of author John Steinbeck into one of the most violent places in California.
The shootings have left parents fearing that their children will become innocent victims of gang warfare, said Pastor Frank Gomez of the United Methodist Church East Salinas Family Center, one of seven churches that invited community members to come pray in shifts.
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Gang activity has escalated in the state’s farm belt in recent years, especially in this agriculture-driven city in the heart of the nation’s Salad Bowl.
Last year, Salinas recorded the state’s fourth-highest homicide rate among large cities—behind Compton (Los Angeles County), Oakland and Richmond.
In 2007, the number of gang-related homicides increased from four to nine. Last year, 23 of the city’s record 25 slayings were gang-related. Now, eight months into this year, all 21 killings have been connected to gangs, according to police.
{snip}
The main rivalry in town is the Norteños (Northerners) versus the Sureños (Southerners), although there are 22 known gangs in Salinas. Out of more than 145,000 residents, police say about 3,500 are gang members.
The problem has left many residents on edge and looking for answers, spiritual and otherwise.
{snip}
Police and city leaders cite many reasons for the rise of gang activity, including the economic downturn, the city’s proximity to state prisons and the culture of gangs in Salinas that goes back for generations.
The recent spike began July 27 with the fatal shooting of a man in the driveway of an apartment complex, followed two days later by the killing of a 21-year-old man. Police say the shootings were connected. On Aug. 2, a man and woman were slain when gunmen opened fire into a home during a get-together among friends. The next morning, Arturo Navarro-Marquez, who police believe was not affiliated with a gang, was gunned down while he was walking home from a friend’s house.
The last two killings claimed the lives of teenagers: Andres Chavarin, 17, who was fatally shot outside his house on Aug. 4, and Jose Perez, 15, described as an innocent bystander, who was gunned down Aug. 6 while walking to football practice at Salinas High School.
Police have made arrests in two of the attacks, which also left several others wounded. Witnesses, they say, are often reluctant to step forward in gang-related cases for fear of retaliation.
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Original article
(Posted on August 31, 2009)
Comments
A little frontier justice is in order. Every law-abiding citizen of every gang-ridden town should arm themselves and shoot to kill anyone flashing gang signs, wearing “colors”, etc., on sight. The problem would be over in days, if not hours.
Heck, as a compromise, I’d just let the police do the killing. They know who’s in gangs and who’s not.
Of course, I know this is not going to happen, but one can only hope.
Salinas has already been conquered by Mexicans, and has begin to revert back to a Mexican town. Mexicans now make up the majority of this formerly White, middle-class agricultural town. It is not surprising that Salinas now has exactly the same “culture” as Mexico, i.e., lots of drugs, high school dropouts, crime, unmarried teenagers with children, and gang wars.
As Hispanics rapidly replace White Americans, we can expect more-and-more of this type of changes. Was this the “change” promised by Obama?
What’s interesting is that these Hispanics are probably dumped in the statistics as “Whites” giving a very false impression of White crime. The real stats of course are that Whites perpetrate virtually no crime these days. This is to conceal that fact from the American people - namely Whites themselves.
“Arturo Navarro-Marquez, Jose Perez, Andres Chavarin”
But please do not commit the ultimate sin of RACIAL PROFILING. Better to lose a life than hurt La Raza’s feelings.
I remember the Salinas of the 1960s and 70s as a quiet and beautiful region. But the author is right, in the 1950s the Pachuko gangs were pretty active there. Which is why I have always wonder how California kept opening the door to more immigration or accomodating more illegals. They knew what to expect.
“In 2007, the number of gang-related homicides increased from four to nine. Last year, 23 of the city’s record 25 slayings were gang-related. Now, eight months into this year, all 21 killings have been connected to gangs, according to police.”
The reporter didn’t mention that there are approximately one million gang members in the US, 60% Hispanic and 40% black, who are engaged in out of control crime and violence to the point they constitute a national security threat, yet we hear not one word from the ADL or the SPLC about this very real threat to the country.
Instead they poison the minds of mentally challenged politicians with ideas that the ones we should give greatest priority to, so far as domestic threats are concetned, are Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, the militias, the tea party groups, the town hall protestors, anybody who believes in the second amendment, the Minutemen, people who want an orderly immigration system, etc., etc.
Well, I’ve got news for the ADL and the SPLC and Janet Napolitano and the other leftist radicals in this present administration, it is they who will feel the brunt of out-of-control conflict when these gang elements strike the first time numerous civil upheavals finally emerge, just the same as everybody else.
Somebody please inform these naive wimps that there’s no way their combined military, police and national guards will be more than a pitiful wimper once the citizenry clash in all their overwhelming numbers and might, so they will be no safer than anyone else.
I am sure the action taken by these Churches has completly eradicated all gang activity in the region. What recourse does a violent gang member or leader have except to drop his Uzi and run for less religious territory. The poor youth probably had no idea what powerful action might be brought to bare by these Bible toting,conservative brutes.
Salinas is a nucleus for reconquista Mexicans and illegal immigrants. They sent a bunch of Mexsupremacist counter demonstrators up to Fremont when the Council of Conservative Citizens had a demonstration against illegal immigrants.I read in the newspaoer this morning about a housing complex in Fremont that is being shut down,and one of the reasons is all of the illegal alien squatters that have moved into all of the vacant units, and they broke down a lot of walls so they can more easily evade the police.
OK, I’m not a sociologist, but when the reporter talks about economic downturn, proximity to prisons (rich, as CA has 33 prisons, including in places such as Susanville and Pelican Bay, which are white and have no gang problems that I’m aware of), and a culture of gangs, didn’t he leave out what may also be a small factor, which is Salinas is stuffed full of Mexicans?
This is the future of this once beautiful state, and I’m bitter about having to pay for it, in every conceivable way, from failed schools to stuffed prisons to enormous HHS payments…Read Heather MacDonald on the central valley of CA or CA mexicans in general and it’s an ugly picture.
I hope those leftist San Franciscans are enjoying their diversity. But could somebody please explain to me why the Northern Mexicans and Southern Mexicans hate each other so much? Are we going to have North Aztlan and South Aztlan?
Salina is a peek at what this country is headed for in the very near future.
This is what you get with “open borders”!
Too bad they can’t force some of those San Francisco liberals to live next door to the sort of Mexicans inhabiting Salinas. Maybe that would open their eyes to see the real beauty of multiculturalism.
Somebody please inform these naive wimps that there’s no way their combined military, police and national guards will be more than a pitiful wimper once the citizenry clash in all their overwhelming numbers and might, so they will be no safer than anyone else.
Right, because some of us who rightly blame those ensconsed in their white towers and they will be singled out first for bringing us to this precipice and then expecting us to jump!
Salina is a peek at what this country is headed for in the very near future.
Between Salinas and Detroit, we Whites can see exactly what the country is coming to. Weapons are our friends, get them while we can.
How sickning to read that another of America’s cities has become a battleground. This could be stopped immediately. Get the National Guard or better still, armed military and send them to Salinas. Why not? This is war! If the administration still closes its eyes to this tragedy, it will become a civil war with citizens being armed to protect their families. I propose that the phrase “to protect and defend” be removed from the presidential oath since it is clearly ignored by this and several previous administrations. Why? When Obama and Calderon meet, I’m sure this type of behavior is not even mentioned. The amigos have to play nice and we don’t want to upset that corrupt and violent nation - they might stop sending us their people!
I’m in favor of a wall but the present one is not in the right place; the correct wall placement should be around the areas where Mexicans are in the majority. Don’t try keeping them out, just keep them cooped up where they are now. Although they annoy and leech off the white population they seem to want to kill off themselves.
10 — jewamongyou wrote at 9:33 PM on August 31:
It’s almost like Black Americans foolishly thinking all blacks around the world will join them and “get whitey” or when all Muslims think all “muslims will unite” without realizing both sects of that religion are at war with eachother.
“Last year, Salinas recorded the state’s fourth-highest homicide rate among large cities—behind Compton (Los Angeles County), Oakland and Richmond.”
Hmm Oakland, black, Richmond, black Compton black and hispanic, Salinas hispanic Seems to be a correlation here.
There have been a couple of posts about how leftist the San francisco board of Stuporvisors is. What is needed in this city is for us to go back to citywide elections, not the 11 district elections that we have now.And the brain dead electorate is just as much to blame.
I met a woman who worked at the Target in Hollister, who lived in Salinas. She said that you had to be careful because you might get shot it you looked at someone the wrong way! She was white/mex. Those washed mixed salad greens at all the grocery stores come from Salinas.
How sickning to read that another of America’s cities has become a battleground. This could be stopped immediately. Get the National Guard or better still, armed military
June! I’m gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that it has been a long time since you took a look at the “ETHNIC” composition of our U.S. military or any of the Guard units.
