I used to work in South London with baby pretend ganstas. They were in reality, sweet young Black men, living in a really rough area. They were polite, affectionate, kind and respectful. Most of the staff were older Black women and they treated them (and by extension younger, white me) as mothers and grandmothers. They helped out, they had never been gang-involved (I have worked with gang-involved young people so I know the difference) but…
When they left the home, their hand went down their pants, they limpy-walked, they used language and actions and tried very hard to look as if they were gang-involved. It protected them. They were minnows trying to look like sharks to protect themselves. Old ladies would cross the road. :( But they weren’t gang members.
That is why you need due process. Yes, people may look and sound like gang members. They may have tattoos, gang signs, whatever. But unless you have evidence, you don’t lock them up. I see MAGAs thinking, ‘tattooed Latino?, who cares if he’s guilty?’ And that makes me very worried for America.
They came for the Latinos, I was not a Latino so I did not speak out…