L.A. gangs, through a lens

IF framing the issue of gang warfare as “civil war” will spotlight the issue, then kudos to Stacy Peralta for taking the plunge in his film “Made in America” [“The ‘Civil War’ in Los Angeles,” by Chris Lee, Jan. 26].

As a member of the Watts Gang Task Force and through the extensive work of our staff at the City Human Relations Commission, I have seen the vital work that ex-gang members bring to the table. Their work as interventionists on the front lines needs to be further highlighted and supported.

While truces and cooperation between factions are continually being brokered, let us not forget that the poverty, helplessness and trauma that continue in portions of our city must be addressed if a long-term solution is to be sought.

Jehan F. Agrama

Los Angeles

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SO Stacy Peralta thinks that external forces can “fix” the brown/black internecine wars that plague parts of Los Angeles. And to further illustrate his naivete, the burden is placed on the U.S. government to act or continue its racist nonintervention.

Billions of dollars have been funneled into the black community since LBJ’s Great Society programs of the ‘60s. What has been the result? In a nutshell, more crime and more poverty. Individual behavior cannot be forcibly modified to achieve utopian ideals. The larger question here is: Why is Hollywood infatuated with the thug life?

Mark Aaron

Santa Monica