Mexican Mafia Is Only Filling a Void : Gangs: Society hasn’t been able to force shooters to look at the the killing of innocent bystanders as murder.

The recent revelation that the “Mexican Mafia” has been holding mass meetings to call a halt to drive-by shootings by Latino gangs has sent shock waves throughout the community. Before we condemn this effort to stop the shooting of innocent bystanders, we ought to look at what it says about our society.

Skeptics have quickly moved to dismiss this radical move by the reputed prison-spawned organization, also known as “La EME,” Spanish phonetic for the letter M. They point out possible ulterior motives, including easing conditions to conduct its own criminal business. Paradoxically, the move has struck a positive chord among many community people, clergy, gang-prevention activists and even some police officers, who see the intervention as a ray of light in a seemingly endless tunnel of fear and violence.

That our community may see the development with favor, notwithstanding its source, should surprise no one. The move, with all its limitations, addresses the most immediate fear of those who live in terror in our community: the fear of the reckless killing of innocent bystanders, children and the elderly by wanton, reckless gangsters who make our communities their battleground.

The skeptics, including some law-enforcement spokespersons, point to the potential negative long-range effects of La EME’s entrance into the public scene as a peacemaker and warn that we may be witnessing the creation of organized crime in our barrios. They may be right. However, we should not be surprised at the emergence of La EME as an anti-gang violence force. It, unfortunately, is simply filling a void in leadership that has been unable to halt the rapidly rising spiral of gang shootings. Any calls to reject La EME’s call, or its benefits, places our community in a Catch-22.

La EME’s efforts appear to be affecting a significant portion of the Latino gangs in Los Angeles and other counties. There is evidence that because of La EME’s efforts, gang members are safely crossing through other gangs’ turfs without fear of retaliation and some are venturing into neighborhoods to see relatives they have not visited for years.

Of course, La EME’s effort is limited. It does not address the evils of gang membership or crimes associated with it. It addresses the fighting. Not to halt it, but to limit the manner in which it is conducted. It calls for a halt to drive-bys and calls for fights to be conducted face-to-face between the participants. That is not a call to end the killings.

But interestingly, the key to the success of La EME’s efforts may lie in its limited call. By not attacking the character or desirability of gangs from a moral standpoint, it does not alienate the youth who are attracted to them. However, it does call for an inward look at the consequences of their actions to the community at large. This is something we, collectively, have failed to do. We have been unable to force shooters to look at the fact that the killing of innocent bystanders constitutes murder. In the nihilistic way gangbangers look at life, the killing of bystanders is a necessary risk, an accident that cannot be avoided.

But there is a message--an appeal to nationalistic pride, unity and respect for “La Raza.” That message--coupled with a strong condemnation of drive-bys as the most cowardly acts that gang members can commit--appears to have some impact. There is apparent awareness that La EME, with its control of prisons, has the capacity to carry out the order.

It may be that this drive for peace will self-destruct because of its own limitations. In that case, we just go back to business as usual. If it does, it will not only be because the move was wrong or ill-conceived or came from the wrong elements. It will also be because we, society, failed. Let us not forget the experience of the recent African-American gangs’ truce. Despite the media hoopla, it received mostly lip service and often outright condemnation from law-enforcement elements who were nervous at the implications of a truce between Crips and Bloods.

In the end, La EME’s effort and others like it will fail unless we begin to address the root causes of crime, gang-banging and drive-bys: poverty, racism and injustice. After all, we all know that gang proliferation and drive-bys have been concurrent with job flight.

Do we have an alternative?