Alleged Chicago Gang Member Hosts Reddit AMA

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 20, 2014 9:30PM

What books does a gang member read? What do gangbangers do for self-improvement when they aren’t pushing weight or pimping? Which teardrop tattoo on a gang member indicates he’s murdered someone and which one tells us he’s mourning a friend who was killed?

At least one of these questions was answered when a Reddit user named “moewisdom” purporting to be a member of the Black P Stone Rangers street gang posted an “ask me anything” open letter on Reddit’s Chicago sub thread. (For this post we’ll be quoting from the thread, unedited.)

i'd like to consider the blackstones among the wiser more righteous gangs in the land but this varies quite much.....you have sets like mine called the mecca.....then you got sets that pride themselves by the name terrortown or slaughtertown so you can use your imagination with that shit. original black p. stone ranger doctrine advises against unneccasary violence, promotes moorish identity and promotes reflection of truth, justice and freedom.

heres where my open letter comes in place: things are different my friends, this is a new era of chicago gangsterism. in the 90's violence occured over pride, money, identity, essentially always had a (often very arguable) purpose......nowadays that doesn't matter

--snip—

now i encourage you to AMAa (ask me almost anything), but bear in mind what i admire about reddit is its open and diverse community, if i, a damn gang member can fly on this site, i imagine 10 off-duty CPD deputies are too, so be realistic with your questions.

Redditors did not disappoint, asking if he had read My Bloody Life and how it compared to Gang Leader for a Day which he called “a fairy tale.” Their main question for “moewisdom,” however was why did he still associate with a street gang when he knew the dangers he faced repping the P Stone set on a daily basis. “moe’s” answers were quite telling.

i could leave....but i've been in this neighborhood since i was 7 years old, it may sound tacky but my peers truly feel like my brothers and i feel like if i abandoned that to go live uptown, i'd abandon them. and i also feel as slightly older member of this organization it's my duty to help promote the original black stone doctrine to these young kids, teach them to be proud of their identity rather then be proud of their sins.

P Stone Ranger doctrine, according to “moewisdom,” “advises against unneccasary [sic] violence, promotes moorish identity and promotes reflection of truth, justice and freedom.”

It’s an interesting read into the mind of an alleged gang member, the inherent contradictions of being in a gang and even some of the lies he may have told during the AMA.