More on the ‘Pitiful Plight’ of Those Touched by Gangs

As a former employee of the Los Angeles County Probation Department who dealt with the most violent juveniles in the county, I know that Joe Jones’ story is no different than any other horror of gang behavior (“A Life in the Balance,” by Michael Krikorian, Jan. 4). Carla Simmons, Jones’ outspoken mother, expects the county system to rescue her and her son. But she has never understood the responsibility of parenting, and how genetics has some influence on Jones’ behavior. She can cry for help, but what she doesn’t realize is that the system is not designed to help her or her son’s pitiful plight. There is help for all diseases, including gangbanger behavior, only if the responsible parent recognizes the problem early on.

Robert E. Topp

North Tustin

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I found Krikorian’s article riveting. Desperation, indeed. While the lifestyle depicted is on the fringe of society, it affects us all. Jones has had many factors working against him: a lineage of gang members, a lack of involvement by his father, residence in a high-crime area and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. His mother calls him “baby.” A teen who joins a gang, drinks alcohol, hangs out on the street and gets shot repeatedly is a menace, not a baby. The situation cried out for an intervention: removal from the environment. If this is the story of just one youth, it is frightening to think of the thousands like him in our community who are a threat to themselves as well as law-abiding citizens.

Cheryl Kohr

Redondo Beach

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Krikorian’s article was dramatic and tragic. However, left unreported were the tens of thousands of South Central youngsters who exhibit the daily courage of not joining gangs, who study hard in the hope of succeeding and who take their own lives in their hands by walking to the corner store.

Larry Weisenberg

Sherman Oaks