Gangs in South Orange County

* Re “A Wake-Up Call for a Suburban Refuge,” April 18:

The article was very interesting and covered well the question of south Orange County gangs and violence.

Throughout the feature it was mentioned that there was alcohol involved.

The law clearly states that any person who furnishes any alcoholic beverage to any person under the age of 21 is guilty of a misdemeanor. This is not to mention the devastating consequences from drinking and driving.

A photo shows the mother of Steve Crader offering her son a beer.

If adults serve or permit alcohol or other drugs to be served to minors at a party, the parents or adults responsible can be charged with a misdemeanor for contributing to the delinquency of a minor whether the children are their own or friends of their children.

Being a parent is the hardest job there is, and parents try their best under all circumstances. We believe it is important for parents to understand alcohol as it relates to teens.

Besides the physical effects of alcohol on the body, what is relevant to this story are the mental and emotional effects.

Some of these include loss of judgment, growing irritability, loss of the ability to cope with the demands of life, uncontrolled behavior and the fact that teens may use alcohol for “courage” to commit violent or dishonest acts that they normally would not if they were sober.

Teens need to learn from their parents ways to enjoy life and cope with problems besides using alcohol or drugs.

SHEILA KATZ

Irvine

* It is amazing that there should be any question that these youths should not be treated as gang members.

Should I be naive enough to think that because they “defy the stereotype” they should be treated any differently from those who do?

And by the way, what exactly is the “stereotype?” Violence is the “stereotype.”

I know a lot of minority single moms who are struggling to raise their kids in a positive manner in the inner city and elsewhere. Are these the “stereotypes”?

Gated communities and suburban life unfortunately do not keep the influence of gangs away from our children, nor does a gated community in the inner city.

Look at the recent tragedy in Colorado, the drug overdoses and suicides in Plano, Texas. Even the exclusive community of Coto de Caza has had problems with gangs of youths creating havoc; these were not your average “stereotypical” communities.

Whether they’re called Slick 50’s, Rolling Crips or Compton Bloods, if it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, well then you know the rest.

We need to quit making excuses for our youth. You do the crime, you do the time, whether your gated community is in Orange County or in South Los Angeles.

ROBERT JOSEPH GONZALES

Capistrano Beach

* I am especially concerned about what is happening in Aliso Viejo regarding “gang” problems.

I have been walking my dog twice a day in Aliso Viejo’s Grand Park for more than a year. I have watched the overall vandalism increase despite the efforts of the sheriff’s office and the park district.

Both groups have had to consider more patrols because of the amount of damage being done. The private security officers for the stores in that vicinity have had continual problems, saying the students “mouth off” to them rather than doing what they are asked to do.

Now we can say, “Oh, they’re just being boys,” laugh it off and shake our heads in wonder when “innocent” boys stab people or shoot them out of pleasure.

Or we can become involved in the community to stop these types of problems before a real tragedy happens here. Slick 50’s is just the beginning of these problems.

My heart goes out to single mothers who have to raise their kids alone, but that does not mean they can use that as an excuse for the damage done by their family members.

Instead we need to help those single mothers and encourage them to find community and church groups to help with mentoring their kids.

ESTHER I. COULOMBE

Aliso Viejo

* To the lady who thinks she is being a friend to her son and the rest of his Slick 50’s buddies by giving them cigarettes and beer, and to those who think there aren’t gang problems in affluent southern Orange County, three words:

“Trench Coat Mafia”!

PAUL R. KING

Huntington Beach

* My heart filled with sadness when I read “A Wake-Up Call for a Suburban Refuge.”

One Slick 50’s member, Josh Riaza, played on a basketball team at my school, Dana Hills High School. He seemed pretty mellow, minded his own business and just hung out with his friends. He was a good basketball player.

I have three Slick 50’s members in my English class. They are basically just kids like me. We talk about cars, music, stuff like that. Never would I think they were violent. They have never threatened me. I would never think of them as a gang.

I see the Slick 50’s group as something that started out innocently enough, just a few kids who thought the 1950s must have been a pretty cool decade.

Then one night things took a detour in the wrong direction. Now everybody is in trouble. This is sad for the kids, their parents and the kids who got hurt.

BLAKE SKIRVIN

Dana Point