Welcome To The New Guys On The Block
Well, the w
onderful world of blogging has gotten a lot more interesting recently.
A couple months ago an anonymous person who calls himself "John Smith" launched a blog he calls CM Watchtower. I'm still trying to figure out his focus, but he does have opinions - like most of us who thrash around in the blogosphere.
Then, in the past few days, another anonymous blogger launched CM Truth, after the pen name he, or she, has used to post on this blog and elsewhere. There is no ambiguity about his focus, as you will see when you read his first few submissions. He writes about a person in town who used to be the subject, obliquely, of many posts here - but no longer.
And then, over at the Daily Pilot, Managing Editor Brady Rhoades launched his blog, Rhoades Less Traveled. As I understand it, this will be the first of many such blogs presented by members of the Daily Pilot staff.
It is, indeed, going to be interesting to see how these new blogs go. So far, only Rhoades seems willing to entertain comments on his. CM Watchtower initially had a link for comments, but yanked it when I tried to post one. cmtruth has a link on his but no comments have appeared so far. Maybe he's just teasing us...
In any event, welcome to the newcomers...
onderful world of blogging has gotten a lot more interesting recently.A couple months ago an anonymous person who calls himself "John Smith" launched a blog he calls CM Watchtower. I'm still trying to figure out his focus, but he does have opinions - like most of us who thrash around in the blogosphere.
Then, in the past few days, another anonymous blogger launched CM Truth, after the pen name he, or she, has used to post on this blog and elsewhere. There is no ambiguity about his focus, as you will see when you read his first few submissions. He writes about a person in town who used to be the subject, obliquely, of many posts here - but no longer.
And then, over at the Daily Pilot, Managing Editor Brady Rhoades launched his blog, Rhoades Less Traveled. As I understand it, this will be the first of many such blogs presented by members of the Daily Pilot staff.
It is, indeed, going to be interesting to see how these new blogs go. So far, only Rhoades seems willing to entertain comments on his. CM Watchtower initially had a link for comments, but yanked it when I tried to post one. cmtruth has a link on his but no comments have appeared so far. Maybe he's just teasing us...
In any event, welcome to the newcomers...
Labels: bloggers, cmtruth, cmwatchtower, Rhoades Less Traveled
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 4/16/2008 11:07:00 PM
16 Comments:
It will be interesting to see if CM truth posts my comments. His blinding bias will lead to a pretty scant readership.
While I appreciate his alerting us to the growing presence of white supremacist gangs in CM, his absolute refusal to acknowledge the real and damaging influence of Latino/Hispanic gangs in CM renders him irrelevant.
His posts try to wave off concern over graffitti by claiming that they are just benign little, probably non-Latino, tagger crews. In a city with 300 street gang members in 7 distinct gangs, he claims that people wearing gang attire are merely fashionable youth, as gang attire is the new in-style.
What absolute tripe.
"His posts try to wave off concern over graffitti by claiming that they are just benign little, probably non-Latino, tagger crews. In a city with 300 street gang members in 7 distinct gangs, he claims that people wearing gang attire are merely fashionable youth, as gang attire is the new in-style."
i will post your comments right after this.
the photos i posted were from a TAGGER crew, it was not gang graffiti, the proof is in the photos & yet you still try to say it's gang related, too funny!!!
& while i said SOME of the kids are wearing gang attire due to its fashion is the truth, you going to tell me every kid who wears quiksilver is a surfer?
& again can you name any of the SUPPOSED (7) gangs in costa mesa? because NOONE of what mr millard writes about being GANG graffiti is actual gang graffiti, thanks again for proving you have no idea what your talking about & illkeep waiting patiently for you to name some local gangs.
cmtruth,
Don't put this back on me. Tagger crews are gangs. They are a group of people who engage in organized criminal activity. Tagger crews kill and assault people - a tagger crew executed a grandmother in Pacoima who flashed her headlights at them and told them to stop.
What is your deal? Why are you defending criminals?
As for attire, you are right - lots of people where gang type clothing to be hip, but that doesn't mean that gang members wearing gang clothing are NOT gang members.
The City is the source of the statistic on the number of gangs. A Jan., 2007 City Council Agenda Report stated that Costa Mesa has seven (7) criminal street gangs, with two hundred ACTIVE members.
I really do appreciate the added voice paying attention to Costa Mesa issues, but please be realistic, honest and straightforward.
http://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/council/agenda/2007-01-02/JAN%202%20-%20GANG%20INTERVENTION%20SVCS%20AGREEMENT.pdf
nope tagger crews are not gangs & they actually are targets of real gangs, im not defending anyone, just pointing out how wrong many of you are re: the subject, if you actually knew what the problem was you might be able to actually be pro active, but lumping in (all)tagger crews with gangs to fit your narrow agenda is very very off base.
Boys, boys, boys..... watching you two squabble on my blog and on cmtruth's is like two kids in a shouting match jumping from rock to rock crossing a stream!
Here's my view... we've got gangs in Costa Mesa - some are Latino and some are white supremacists. Graffiti is produced by some folks who may not be gang members, but they still defile the property. That's a big problem that needs to be controlled. Of greater concern to me is the violence that actual gangs perpetrate on the populace. That's got to stop.
The Costa Mesa City Council chose to ignore their top cop's recommendation regarding an intervention element last year. I hope that position will be reconsidered this year at budget time. All credible experts in the field acknowledge that intervention is an essential element in gang suppression.
Both of you have strong views on this issue. I suspect that you could come up with some good ideas for managing the problem if you would just step back a little.
Mr. West i hear you, but it's hard to take a person seriously who obviously does not know the subject at hand.
Posting link about Pacoima & Los Angeles to try to make their claims about Costa Mesa relevant. I have stated both here & my own blog that yes there is both a graffiti problem & a gang problem in CM, but to act as if they are one in the same is not going to do the problem any good, since both need to be dealt with ona different level & thats due to the simple fact both are done for different reasons.
I can also tell you the #1 most visible "graffiti" writer in CM is not Black & is not Latino & is not Asian. I have both met an interviewed said individual & that transcript will be available in an upcoming project i am currently working on.
Geoff,
I applaud cmtruth's advocacy, I just don't understand the need to understate the reality of Costa Mesa's gang problem or his/her clear attempts to state that white supremacist gangs are somehow more dangerous to the average Costa Mesa citizen in the street. He is clearly trying to rebut the perceived anti-Latino bias by being biased in his pro-Latino writing and, as a result, is minimizing and drastically understating the criminal street gang reality in Costa Mesa. Seriously - challenging me to name Latino gangs, as if it isn't well-established that there are at least seven of them!
You're right, though - through reading his blog and these posts, it is obvious that he does seek to tone down the level of animosity towards Latinos in Costa Mesa - at least in the blogosphere.
cmtruth - criminal street gang members are not the best representatives of Latinos in Costa Mesa, and taggers are still criminals who need to be arrested and jailed.
quote: Seriously - challenging me to name Latino gangs, as if it isn't well-established that there are at least seven of them!
----------
At least (7) that are such a problem you can't even name one!!!
That is both amazing & sad, you rant on & on about the problem, if it's so in your face & such a HUGE problem, why is it you can't name one gang from Costa Mesa? am i missing something here?
Most people who claim that problems exist can name the problem.
I'm also not saying white gangs are MORE of a problem, just that they are an equal threat to the city that gets downplayed by everyones fear of the latino community. I'm sorry i just can't take a person serious who can't tell me the names of at least 1 of the 7 gangs rampaging this city...
It would be like telling the US we have a terrorist problem yet i cant tell you who the terrorists are except for the fact they MAY be of arab decent, thats just ignorant.
cmtruth,
Your hide the ball, silly little challenges, such as the name the gang game, do nothing except avoid the issues at hand. Why would I know the name of a single gang? I could care less what they call themselves, and have no use for anyone who engages in criminal activity or vandalizes private property. My police department reports that there are seven criminal street gangs in Costa Mesa, that's all I need.
Additionally, I talk to the police officer who patrols my neighborhood, I have reported graffitti and vandalism and have heard first hand from a gang unit sergeant in Costa Mesa who happens to be a friend of mine what the deal is with criminal street gangs in Costa Mesa. You obviously don't have a clue, as your posts and claim that white supremacist gangs are an equal danger to the average Costa Mesan are simply not supported by fact.
Your claim that my posts about Pacoima and LA are irrelevant because they aren't in Costa Mesa is truly baffling. We are fortunate that no tagger has executed anyone in Costa Mesa, but that doesn't mean that the well-documented PROOF that tagger crews can be just as violenet and dangerous as criminal street gangs is any less real or verifiable.
So there is a prolific tagger that you have interviewed - am I to be impressed? Sounds like you admire this criminal vandal. Your assertion that he/she is the main perpetrator of graffitti in Costa Mesa is simply unbelievable. I have had graffitti on the dumpster of my apartment complex and all over an adjacent block wall - and it wasn't TCS. Start posting some photographs of this alleged tagging. If you know when and where they will be tagging, and you are along to take pictures or interview them, you would be an accessory and I would hope that you get arrested as well.
I know nothing about you, but if you want to be successful at blogging and engage in meaningful debate, start answering questions and pointing out what you believe are facts. Don't engage in this ridiculous nit-picking. You sound like a high-school debate student whose key tactic is not to address the opponent's assertion but dance all around it in a failed attempt to discredit the assertion. That is what people who have no facts or substance do to keep the focus off themselves.
So, let's recap. Do a news search for Costa Mesa and gangs. In the Daily Pilot, the vast majority of coverage deals with Latino street gangs and the shootings, stabbings, beatings, etc. that make up the majority of the violent crime in Costa Mesa. That's not me - that's an independent news organization that has a decidely pro-Latino editorial bent.
Next, tell your tagger buddy to get the heck out of Costa Mesa and go ruin someone else's town.
Next, get in touch with reality. Participate in the Citizens Police Academy. Go on some ride-alongs.
Next, denounce and hold responsible all criminals - call the police and report crimes when you see them.
Finally, when someone states something in a blog that you think is wrong, research it and respond with facts, not childish taunts.
cm resident your a joke!!
i love watching you back peddal.
every thing ive posted is a fact.
impressed due to the fact i interviewed a tagger, i would hope not, just funny the guy is white & NOT my buddy.
& AGIAN IF CM'S GANG PROBLEM IS SO REAL & SUCH A THREAT TO YOUR COMMUNITY, WHY CAN YOU NOT NAME A SINGLE CRIMINAL STREET GANG IN COSTA MESA>>>??? you have stated you see it all over costa mesa, what does it say>? prove me wrong...
im waiting...
as for ride alongs been doing those since the 1970's untill today & am far more educated on the subject than you.
I have "educated" many gang cops in my years & still do so today.
So untill you can back up your claims w/ relevant facts i have no use to debate you, your simply uninformed.
& i guess you missed the story on a young latino male who who was severely beaten by racist gang members in costa mesa as well as the recent round up of a dope house.
but does not even surprise me in the least.
& as for start answering questions, which would like me to answer? it is you who can't answer a simple question.
So worried about gangs in CM & they are such a blight w/ crime yet you don't even know who or what claims turf... it's no wonder CM is viewed as the Joke that it has become.
Ill do it for you im tired of waiting for you to ask your cop "buddy" for the answers.
CM has (2) main gangs, Shalimar Street & VLT (Varrio Little Town)
the other came later one being FM (Family Mob) & one being FK ( Fearless Krowd or Forming Kaos)
There is also PVL(PURRO VATO LOCOS)
who are affiliated w/ Little Town.
Little Town used to be a heavy presence on Wallace street but now not so much, you can find more of them over in PVL on Joann Street.
I'll leave the other (2) to you to find out, im done educating you on the subject.
& again im posting FACTS, dont believe me ask your "buddy"
next your gonna tell me this info is false LOL
i have shown time & time again i know what im talking about when it comes to gangs & am very well versed on the subject.
yet you still think im in LALA land.
Shalimar & VLT both have origins in CM dating back to the 80's the others as i stated came much later.
Knowledge Dropped Yet Again!
remember bikes move better when you pedal forward.
good day!
CMtruth - amazing. Your response to simply re-post the same drivel!
I didn't back pedal one bit, and your whole post backs up my chief criticism of your blogging style from the first time you weighed in - you have no substance and keep repeating the same irrelevant mantra.
I welcome any new blog to examine life in Costa Mesa. But I won't be participating in yours unless you quit with the repetition. You criticize Millard on your blog, but you do the same thing he does - repeat something, even if entirely irrelevant, in the hopes that it will stick.
Ever heard the term "red herring"? Your entirely irrelevant repetition of the fact that I don't know the names of the gangs in Costa Mesa is a red herring. I don't know what the call themselves - I could care less. Why waste my time looking up what they decide to call themselves?
So, if we follow your oft-repeated red herring "logic" - because I don't know what they call themselves, the seven established criminal street gangs in Costa Mesa:
1. Are not truly a problem.
2. Don't actually exist.
3. Are not a threat to my community.
Nice. What next? The bullets fired by a criminal street gang member on Pomona last year were actually fake - because I didn't know the name of his gang.
The 17-year-old Costa Mesa male who was fatally stabbed in a gang fight this January is actually alive and well, since he obviously couldn't have actually been stabbed to death by a gang member, as I didn't know the name of his gang.
I know, I am being ridiculous. But so are you. Stick to the facts.
If gang members are shooting at each other on the streets of Costa Mesa, they are endangering the lives of everyone around them. that is a fact, that is reality.
If you know so much, why don't YOU tell me the names of the gangs?
Wait, don't bother. I don't care what they call themselves - I just want them eradicated in my city.
cmtruth,
I do not intend to be less than civil. I think we want the exact same thing for Costa Mesa - a safer city where everyone gets along and racial bias is unwelcome.
In light of the recent report that hate crimes against Latinos are way up, you efforts are commendable, even if your style has been irritating to me. I'm probably irritating to you, and I can be too quick to criticize.
We are on common ground. I want all gangs and graffitti GONE from Costa Mesa. Starting a flame war with you via blogs is totally unproductive. Sorry for starting this off negatively with my first post and continuing on.
I welcome you and your blog to the scene - sincerely. Hopefully we can focus on the issues and not each other.
OK, Guys,
These last couple crossed like ships in the night. Let's all take a deep breath here before firing off something else. I think you both make excellent points but have permitted the heat of the moment to get the better of you. I'm not going to check for any more comments tonight, which means that none will hit the blog until tomorrow.
I really do appreciate the passion with which you both pursue these issues. Time to stand up and stretch a little.
cmtruth,
Thanks for the gang information. I don't doubt the accuracy at all.
It is obvious that I was wrong about your level of knowledge.
I didn't understand your initial downplying of defensiveness about the Latino criminal street gangs. Going back to other posts you have made - where you showed significant frustration at Latino gangs being blamed for all the problems when meth cookers and white supremacists were busy committing crimes on the Eastside - I get that frustration.
But you must understand that those guys are flying under the public's radar. When there is a shooting or stabbing in Costa Mesa, which are rare, it is often on the Westside and because of gang activity. That is what grabs the general public's attention.
You are also right - we shouldn't lump tagger crews in with street gangs, and that does indicate ignorance on my part, but tagger crews are still totally unacceptable in Costa Mesa.
This brings us back to my earlier point - there ARE, by your count, 5 criminal street gangs in Costa Mesa who claim turf. That is 5 too many. Don't you agree that it should be a high priority for CMPD to combat those gangs as well as the White Supremacist gangs?
For the record, my reply at 5:19pm was in response to your 4:02pm post. I hadn't yet seen your 4:58pm post.
OK, thanks for that one, cm resident. Back to the deep breathing exercises for a little while. All of us want a safe city, free of ANY kind of gang activity. This kind of debate can be helpful.
Post a Comment
<< Home