Gangs in Troubled Times

Ol' Remus at the Woodpile Report discusses gangs:

It's with the Hispanic gangs we find real mobility and staying power. In addition to being a parallel government in large parts of Mexico, or even the actual government, they're said to be the real authority in some US border state counties. The upper reaches of Hispanic gangs exhibit ambition, purpose and effective long range planning. For instance, they identify and support young prospects for education in business administration and law, and send others for officer training and combat experience in the US armed forces. When we hear from the Pentagon about their "gang member" problem, this is what it's really about.

Black gangs will exhibit audacity, unpredictability and recklessness. The survivalist can expect swarm attacks rather than studied tactics, and more exhibitionism than method all around, but beware their adaptability long term. Expect scorched earth exploitation, pointless destruction of assets not immediately or obviously valuable and personalized violence. As it is with black gangs today, the younger members will be the most sadistically homicidal, to gain credibility, or at the behest of the leadership, or just because they can. Take black female gangs as seriously as black male gangs do, they're no mere curiosity.

Hispanic gangs will be no less brutal but more results oriented. Unlike black gangs, terror will be used as a tactic, they'll intend to hold and control territory they take. When Hispanic and black gangs meet, Kosovo-style ethnic cleansing is likely. The outcome seems predetermined but, as in all things, we have to be willing to be surprised. What matters is which one dominates in your area at any given time.

At the outset white and Asian gangs will be a factor in scattered pockets but expect their numbers to grow as the emergency deepens. Some sort of cooperation is likely with these two, there's an underlying affinity that appears genuine. How effective they'll be is an imponderable, the data base is small. At the skinny ends of the present "white neolithic tribalism" bell curve we have civic-minded outfits like Neighborhood Watches to modern day berserkers like the Aryan Brotherhood without much in between beyond some biker outfits.

Over time a somewhat stable territorial arrangement will shake itself out. There will be skirmishes where fiefdoms overlap, predictably enough, but as the necessities of survival assert themselves ever more insistently, conflict would gradually center on controlling intrinsically valuable resources such as water, food producing land and basic manufacturing.

I disagree with the premise that they will attempt to obtain "food producing land and basic manufacturing." They will be so afraid of being attacked by an outside group that they won't dare to attempt to take up any peaceful pursuits.

While we are at it, Ol' Remus also linked to a post by John Derbyshire discussing black on white violence in the United States. We can argue as to the cause of the disparity all day long, but the why is far less important than the what when you wander into the wrong neighborhood.