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Differences often exert pressures over our perceptions and decisions. An old ethnic conflict - perhaps it indeed happened - growing up in a poor, urban area in Chicago is tough. With gangs around, there is always the pressure from drugs, sex, and violence influencing the frustrated young minorities with nothing better to do. Sometimes teens just fall victim to the dark life not because they want, but because they are forced into using that as the only route out of poverty, and a misleading course to what appears to be a demonstration to social injustices, or sour personal experiences. The story of the Unknowns gang became part of the story of Junior, known to his friends as Jibaro, a troubled teen who carelessly takes on the role of a worker for Pete, the infamous gang leader who dreamed of rebuilding his little piece of territory around Leavitt and North, by getting rid of the Jousters, a Caucasian group primarily of Polish roots, and the Vice Lords, of African American descent.
Jibaro was just an average teen before he met Pete. He wasn't really into using heavy drugs or dealing them although he smoked marijuana every once in a while with his friend, Fingers. He wasn't a Chicago native, but came to learn the brutal gang violence in a short time, and he even received his nickname because of the way he spoke English and represented the Puerto Ricans from the island. Jibaro was just the tough latino he needed to be in order to survive in the ruthless Spanish Harlem spanning from east Lake Shore to west Pulaski, and from Armitage to Augusta, in a north-south context.
One night, Fingers who had ties to the Unknowns introduced Jibaro to Pete. The gang leader told the story of his trials and tribulations in the Marine Corps and Vietnam and what he was trying to accomplish, and Jibaro believed him due to his own personal convictions, but which he took to the grave without ever revealing to anyone else, outside of the Unknowns circle. Finger knew that Pete was promising Jibaro anything he wanted in exchange for his drive by shootings and violent armed incursions into the territories held by the Jousters and Vice Lords, and Jibaro was up to the challenge. So, Jibaro opted to protect his younger brother's right of not being forced into the gang. He was fully aware of Pete's open requests that Little Hick join the gang. After many discussions, Pete left Jibaro with the option of Little Hick not being forced to join the Unknowns, but he could hang around them, especially when they conducted their pre-battle plans. This seem to be a working strategy orchestrated by Pete from his previous indoctrination in the military. The gang had frequent reunions in the Pool House on Leavitt and Hirsch, but Little Hick kept away from there because he had seen and heard about certain vulnerabilities of the defensive perimeter, right in the heart of the Unknowns territory. The option to join the gang was kept open, in case Lil Hick decided to change his mind.
One cool afternoon Pete approaches the pool house coughing out his lumping chew of tobacco. He had started chewing about 12 years old.
"Viejo, did Raco fix the pool table yet?" Papo leans over the store counter hesitating briefly.
"You know I don't care for that old crust in green rags. Besides, you guys get drunk inhere and instead of playing use it to make your girlfriends happy."
Pete looks to the school yard on Bell and Hirsch. Notices Illai plays street hockey with Wilson Maldonado and Frankie, Jibaro's brother.
"Has Jibaro come around? He asks Papo.
"I haven't seen 'em since last night. I told 'em you were in a meeting at the Asociation House. He said Reyes shot his mother's dining table with your lugger. Mercedes was highly pissed off and doesn't want more guns in her house. All these parents come to me for answers. Gaspar called me last week complaining the Spanish Lords have been talking with Illai about you trying to recruit him."
"Who said that?" Pete seems to get upset. Reaches to his pocket, pulls a dime and walks out to the pay phone at the corner.
"Leave Illai alone, Tito. You hear me?" Screams Papo.
Pete makes a phone call that lasts about four minutes. Meanwhile, Papo calls Amalia who is cleaning the house adjacent to the store.
"Negra, tell Gaspar that dinner is off. He must meet me at Barretto Boy's Club tonight. If we had enough already, I think this time will not be just a fist fight."
Pete comes in the store in a hurry. "I have a meeting at the Victor Hotel. Later we have a basketball game at the Field House. If Fingers comes around tell him I need him to find Jibaro for me.
A short period went by where Pete was satisfied with what his leadership had accomplished. But that wasn't the correct way to recruit new members for the club. When Jibaro's family moved from Bell Street, away from the Unknowns reach, and into the Latin Kings area at Augusta and Kedzie, Pete warned Jibaro that the Unknowns had no control about his safety. He realized the need to establish good relationships with the Latin Kings, thus making drastic changes to his gang's policies. This way, he was able to maintain Jibaro's support as he stored a large variety of weaponry in his home. There was just one little problem; Jibaro had to move across Latin King turf, and he loved to wear the Unknown sweater.
Pete thought Jibaro could just participate in minimal amount of urban fighting operations and sparingly used Jibaro until he was fully stabilized in his new neighborhood. Nonetheless, like many of the youth who are driven into the gang life, Jibaro was unaware of the ever-difficult role he now played. He was no longer his own person. He now belonged to an individual with leadership qualities and proven experience to fight, forged by one of the toughest war-making organizations, and tangled towards a certain path; defeat.
Little over a decade, Jibaro took part in a series of skirmishes that changed his life and eventually led to most of his buddies' death. While he was doing his job, Fingers also realized the error he had committed but it was too late.
Lil Hick had moved to Puerto Rico to attend college. He returned to Chicago in 1985, and heard about the fate of the Unknowns. Pete had stepped onto the wrong toes, especially those from which his gang had evolved; the Latin Kings. Fingers had put a few good patches into his scars, but still realized his mistakes but all too late and was left with the life he did not want. Though he was no longer attached to Pete, he no longer had Jibaro, a true friend in his life. Perhaps, Pete stumped on too many feet, and over three-fourths of the 40-plus gang membership was exterminated, but not only by the Jousters and Vice Lords, but by his own neighbors of Puerto Rican lineage.
Discussion
1. What are the impacts of peer pressure in making important decisions?
2. Do you think the fear factor had something to do with the youngster joining the gang?
3. Do you see any contributing factors to group decision-making in gang behavior?
4. How would you describe the character of Pete, and his reasons for this behavior?
5. How did Jibaro manage his conflicts? Was he successful at it?
6. What elements in the outcome you expected came through? Where you expecting a different outcome?
7. How can we analyze the concept of freedom in the story?
8. What misconceptions about ethnic movements we can pick out from the story?
9. Did the characters move to any type of conformity?
10. What lessons about leadership are present?
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Open to the UNIVERSE in 2005 and beyond
Cuidese...que de los buenos quedamos pocos...
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Torpedero de Batey Boricua
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