Road Blocked

The Hospital, a channel 4 documentary which focused on knife crime in North London left me a tearful speechless wreck. Like the participants I struggled to understand why this was happening and how it all began and so I racked my brains until my head hurt.

“We are all destined to die, if it happens it happens” these are the words of Daniel a 16 year old boy who was knifed in the heart and survived. He had multiple organ failure and within 6 weeks had received 9 operations. His words shocked me but he echoes the mentality of the majority of young boys today, which is disturbing as it cheapens the gift of life.

Whilst death is inevitable no one deserves to die with fear in their eyes and heart. A life cut short in this way is murder. The growing numbers of people who have died since the wave of knife crimes were not destined to die in this way, many hadn’t even lived. Life is precious and on the streets of London it is being taken away in a blink of an eye with the glint of a blade. For what? What are they fighting for?

Respect is a word banded about so much that it has now lost its meaning, they are doing everything but respecting people, others and themselves. Plus this talk of post code turf war is absolutely absurd. These boys, young men, in gangs are killing each other because others have dared to enter into a place where they reside, which they must fight for and protect. Erm... what are they protecting exactly? London is so small you could be on a road that is one postcode one minute, turn left and be in another area the next.

It’s like something out of a wild life documentary by David Attenborough who observes that the un-expecting prey is pounced upon by a pack of lions, as it dared to enter their domain. But this is people we are talking about. Are we not meant to be more intelligent as we have a conscious, a higher sense of reasoning and a life that extends beyond day to day survival? For some evidently not made clear by Taurean, a 22 year old stabbed in a fight who gave a personal insight into what is happening in his area, the result being “Hackney is the centre of my universe.”

At this point I was incensed with anger, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks, to name a few fought so hard to allow us to have greater freedom and right now, black boys feel trapped by numbers, letters, concrete and fear. We have gone backwards and I feel while they are turning in their graves, the BNP and Klu Clux Clan have their feet up with smiles on their faces.

Asked to shed light on why this is happening Taurean is just as baffled. If those directly involved or affected by this nonsense can’t explain why they are doing it, or why it is occurring then how can we as adults, provide help and guidance? So many bleat about how hard done by in life they are, yet they are the ones who have created these rules which have now become both their mental and physical prisons. Or have they? To understand this postcode restriction and random attacks, which is gang related, looking back to southern Los Angeles street gangs, the Crips and Bloods seems naively obvious.

These two violent street gangs began in 1969 between predominately African-Americans and Hispanics, both active and highly successful in the drug trade. New members were recruited by their environment, which were predominately poor African-American communities often of school age. Gang membership offered a sense of belonging, protection and immediate gratification to the economically disadvantaged youth, who equated gang life to gold Jewellery, cash, nice cars and expensive sports clothes.

The Crips adopted the colour blue for their clothing and Bloods red to identify and differentiate themselves. "Cuzz," short for cousin was the greeting term adopted by the Crips in greeting each other, whilst the Bloods used “Blood” as a symbol for their gang family. All gang members were identified by a nickname, AKA or street name, which usually gave an insight into their psychological perspective of themselves.

There are evidently clear similarities with gangs in the UK! Fascinated by American culture perhaps this is where all this stems from. From as early as I can remember it was said that Britain was 10 years behind America. Well it is now on our doorstep in all its self-fulfilling prophecy glory. As gangs in America are supposedly dying out, it is rapidly growing here. Apparently there are 36 gangs operating in the borough of Lambeth alone!

The senseless killings are about gaining “stripes” projecting a “bad man” exterior coupled with “I’ll get you before you get me” This is not a spaghetti film or a music video. There is no director that will shout “cut” signalling them to wake up from their collapsed position and wipe away the fake blood. Unfortunately the reality may come too late for some. A young decision, an action or reaction can have lifetime consequences.

Whilst emulation has occurred due to the glorification of gang life in films and music, I am still left contemplating as to whether there are more reasons. What is it that makes an experience elsewhere, resonate so much here? Is it identification with wanting more? The socio-political unbalance? Or the immediate identification with people who are of the same colour? I came across a trailer called Crips and Blood: Made in America, a documentary narrated by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, revealing the modern-day gang life: the turf wars and territorialism, the inter-gang hierarchy, rules of behaviour, the culture of guns, death and dishonour. Within the 2 minutes 46 seconds, a respondent revealed that the Crips formed as a result of frustration and anger as a result of racism, discrimination and injustice: 

I thought further and remembered a quote by Alice Walker who said “Men make war to get attention. All killing is an expression of self-hate”. This notion of self hate coupled with the knowledge of racism and Internalized Oppression, a term coined by Black Psychologist Frantz Fanon which highlights the ongoing impact slavery; imperialism and colonisation have on the psychical levels, should be considered together for further exploration (I will attempt this in a future article). For now I ponder whether this is the frustrated powerless exercising what they deem to be power and control?

As Daniel looked at his family around him he broke down. Although he didn’t say much, the pain and fear in his eyes spoke volumes; he looked like a scared lost deer which was a horrible sight that triggered my tears to flow. The reality of what he had been through, the love and worry of his family surrounding him and the new and very real struggle back to recovery seemed to hit home in that one moment. Daniel upon facing death was glad and grateful to be alive and the hard words expressed earlier revealed themselves to be fake bravado, empty, selfish and valueless.

As well as the physical injuries Daniel and so many other survivors of knife crime and crime in general, must now also strive to overcome the psychological damage which is just as crippling. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common amongst anyone who has been in a life threatening situation. PSTD is likely if the person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:

“The person experienced, witnessed or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others. The person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror” (Scott et al., 1995, p.78).

Direct related signs of PTSD will include heart palpitations, anxiousness, distressing dreams; unpleasant and intrusive thoughts, disruptions of behaviour, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and a return of fear. PTSD was first documented amongst war veterans but is now also associated with experiences such as child sexual abuse, rape, terrorist bombings, vehicle accidents, physical or emotional abuse and natural disasters such as earthquakes. The meaning and order of the world for survivors crumbles beneath them. Their sense of self worth, safety, stability and sense of control is compromised and shattered. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is considered to be the appropriate intervention for PTSD.

At this point my mind crossed over to the perpetrator. Yes, he plunged the knife in cold blood with no conscience or respect for life and ran off, not sticking around to hear the sirens and the chaos thereafter. So why should I, we care? The perpetrator would have smelt the fear, his own and his victims. Seen the blood, his own and/or his victims and as their eyes met in this surreal but very real situation of aggression, fake bravado and survival, will too have seen the mirrored truth, which he knows and feels in the reflected eyes of the other, FEAR!

As the perpetrator, the cause, but also the witness, PSTD is likely and I wonder how he deals with the memories at night and in the day? The psychological distress must be high as the potentiality of a mental health disorder. Two birds are killed with one stone. The perpetrator and victim are both scarred. There are no winners here!

The Hospital series is an eye opener as it directly voices the opinions of the issues that affect young people, giving an insight into their world view. Whilst my emotions and frustrations dipped and dived throughout, I acknowledge that this is what they are going through. This is what they know, all they know. This is what they are dealing with and they cannot see bigger or beyond the end of their road due to fear, attack and tunnel vision. So what do we do about it? What happens next? After all, we are the adults who can see that Hackney is not the centre of the universe.

Gangs and post code wars were perhaps structures built on top of the foundations of fear, pain, frustration and powerlessness, however these structures only serve to be visual, mental and physical road blocks to potential, self development and a future.

The reality of the situation needs to hit home to these youngsters and fast. Prisoners and reformed gang members need to directly show the way, as whilst this series is absolutely brilliant, I am convinced that those who needed to watch it for a wake up call, were out on the street...defending their area!

©2010 Lisa Bent