Search quotes

Link	Quote	Tags	Author
4dc7e73	When I was reaching out to those young men through Strachan's Corner, nobody told me what to do, I was doing it from my heart. I did what I thought was best rather than giving those youngsters a police record, I tried to prevent it by letting them know if you commit crime you are going to get yourself in trouble. Then you will be confined to the Bahamas for the rest of your life, and will not see that great big world out there. Supt. Allerd..	caring-police-officers committing-crime community-policing crime-prevention criminal-record from-the-heart gang-intervention law-enforcement police-intervention police-outreach police-programs police-record rebellion-raiders the-bahamas youth-outreach	Drexel Deal
11be815	Through all of those different wars, we came to understand each other. The Mason's fellas just wanted to chill in their area and be left alone. The Border Boys basically wanted the same thing. Stinky and Robert just wanted to be able to sell their drugs and make their money. But us, we were on a mission to take over the whole town. Scrooge, former leader of the Rebellion Raiders street gang that once boasted of having some ten thousand memb..	aggression ambitious conflict-resolution conflicts drugs fighting gang-addiction gang-communities gang-intervention gang-life gang-members gang-wars mission money on-a-mission rebellion-raiders street-fights street-life take-over thug-life turf-wars understand understanding-each-other violence-addiction war	Drexel Deal
8fd5a26	The year was 1996, and the date was July 5. It was a Friday night and I had just turned 21 two days prior, which, by the way, was a miracle unto itself. Due to the violent life I was living, this was a milestone and something worth celebrating. But on this beautiful summer evening, I was not in a celebratory mood. Rather, I was in a predatory mood and that was what I was doing: lying and waiting for my prey to arrive.	career-criminals casing-out gang-life out-laws predator prey stocking street-robberies violent-life watching	Drexel Deal
9926c7f	There is another dangerous component to armed robberies, one that I could never understand. I noticed some time ago that with each robbery I committed there was an intense out of control anger that gripped me. It was as if I was there to get something that was inherently mine, and I came to take it by force. I've heard many stories directly from individuals about how they just burst into stores with their guns drawn. They would be shouting ..	arm-robbers arm-robbery be-aware brutality cold-blooded dangerous inherently out-of-control provocation shouting staying-calm violent-crimes	Drexel Deal
2e7bfaa	I could understand why some fella's take drugs just before their crimes: because they need something to help them quiet their minds. However, I don't do drugs nor do I drink alcohol, but the thing that gets me high like a kite is a crime well done. Then there's the scent of freshly fired gunpowder, or the sounds of the empty bullet casings hitting the ground as they are ejected each time I pull the trigger. These two things never fail to ge..	arm-robbery bullet-casings drive-by gang-life gangbanging gangsters hardcore-gangsters harden-criminals high-like-a-kite senseless-violence street-life thug-life violence-addiction	Drexel Deal
057f219	Giving these lil' fellas a gun was important to keep the name of the Rebellions strong, because whenever the name drops, it's only a matter of time before someone kicks your door in. Scrooge, former leader of the Rebellion Raiders street gang that once boasted of having some ten thousand members	brand-name carrying-weapons community-policing forward-thinking gang-addiction gang-intervention gang-leaders gang-members gang-pride position-to-win protecting-your-name protection ready ready-for-action rebellion-raiders reliable reputation school-gangs strategy strong support trust turf-wars violence-addiction	Drexel Deal
51c1110	When I first went to prison, I made the best out of it. From the streets, I was hearing reports of Rebellions going to prison and getting do in [beat up]. Our fellas had no say, couldn't even open up their mouths. When I went up there for the first time, I turned that prison into a place that everyone could say that the Rebellions were running it after that. I wouldn't say I did it alone, but I help set the groundwork to give the Rebellions..	gang-life gangsters influence jail prison rebellion-raiders street-fame	Drexel Deal
547d243	When a guy goes out there and kills somebody, he might look at himself as the winner. But in truth he's also a loser, because now he would be lost in the system. If you were listening to the news recently, some people you know well are doing 45, and 64 years for murder. They might have won their fight, but they lost their lives to the system. Franco 'Co' Bethel, former gang leader and right hand man to Scrooge.	convicted-for-murder fighting gang-fights gang-killings killings loser lost-in-the-system lost-to-the-system murder prison prison-life street-fights the-system thug-life	Drexel Deal
456bb5f	The good part about these areas that we were taking over, was that all of them had parks where a lot of guys were just hanging out playing basketball. So I used those parks to make a good first impression with my gun, then I followed up with a speech presentation. At the end of the day, we were able to win over the entire park, and eventually their community..... It was as if these fellas from different areas were just waiting for this, be..	community-parks community-policing crime-prevention feeling-needed feeling-wanted first-impression gang-intervention gang-recruitment hand-gun hanging-out increase massive-growth play-ground police-outreach reaching-the-youth reaching-young-people rebellion-raiders speech-presentation taking-over-the-world youth-clubs youth-crusade youth-involvement youth-ministry youth-outreach	Drexel Deal
35566b9	One of the things we haven't taught our people as a nation, that this is their country. We haven't told them that this Bahamas belongs to them. Whether it succeeds or fails it is entirely up to them. WE haven't told our people that they are valuable. I sometimes pass little boys playing in the road and I would stop my car and say to them: 'Excuse me baby, do you realize how valuable you are? Do not play in the road, if anything happen to yo..	feeling-needed feeling-wanted love-of-country my-countrymen nation patriotism prime-minister self-esteem sense-of-pride the-bahamas valuable	Drexel Deal
062ff0e	Joining a gang is like sky diving without a parachute. Oh, at first it's all fun, as you take on gravity in a thrilling and exhilarating free fall towards earth. The truth is, anything that is risky and dangerous always starts out as fun. But the odds are always stacked in gravity's favor, for you will eventually come face to face with the earth, and mother earth always wins those battles. The same thing can be said about being in a gang.	at-risk-communities at-risk-youth church-youth-group community-policing consequence crime-prevention dangerous early-death end-result excitement exhilarating free-fall fun gang-intervention gang-involvement gang-members joining-a-gang joy-ride mother-earth parachute risk-taking risky-behaviors sky-diving street-life thrilling thug-life youngsters youth-clubs youth-programs	Drexel Deal
c8d55b6	The day you shot Scrooge, we had a nine stashed nearby. We knew that tension was building between us and you, and so we started to keep the nine nearby instead of the .380 pistol. So when you came up the road, after we finished beating that fella nobody bothered going for the nine, because it was only you one to all of us. But after you snatched that gun out of Geo's hand and fired those shots at us, I ran back to get the nine. We had it st..	gang-fights gang-involve-shootings gang-members hand-guns internal-conflicts internal-war rebellion-raiders senseless-shootings street-life tension thug-life war-within	Drexel Deal
c86119b	When my son Lowell was eight years old, one day he and I had just finished playing. Tired and exhausted, we were lying on the bed talking. He sat up in the bed and started to trace his finger over the scar behind my neck. He asked me with concern in his voice, 'Daddy, how you got this cut behind your neck?' I hesitated for a while, wondering how much I should tell him, or if I should even tell him at all. I decided to tell him some of it, ..	friends-fighting gang-life internal-fighting internal-warfare rebellion-raiders senseless-fights senseless-shootings street-life war-within	Drexel Deal
2d4c032	When I snatched the gun out of his hand, it fired because the hammer was already pulled back. It made the thunderous sound that the .357 magnum is known for. Even though the sound itself was deafening, it was like beautiful music to my ears. Just a few short seconds ago, the odds were greatly stacked against me. Now the tides had turned. The odds were now stacked against them, and they knew it. When I turned around to face my pursuers, they..	fight-for-life gang-life gang-members gun-shot internal-fighting internal-war retreat senseless-fights senseless-shootings street-life thug-life war-within	Drexel Deal
ec8250b	This book consists not only of my stories of mistakes, rather it's all our stories of mistakes and heart aches. It's the plight of all of us who were rebelling, and kicking against the social messes we found ourselves in. Yet there are so many others who are not alive today, and I feel obligated in not allowing the lessons of their mistakes to lie in the grave with them. It was the United States Senator, Al Franken, who stated, "Mistakes a..	anti-social-behaviors at-risk-youth bloodshed choices cold-blooded crime-prevention darkness deserted die-hard-gangsters fatherhood friendships generation-x harden-criminals inner-city life-lessons menacing mistakes monsters rebelling remorseless senseless-murders social-ills social-science under-ground-world	Drexel Deal
7132078	Story telling or teachable moments, provides us with a vast reference base of real life antidotes for possible future problems. They not only entertain and give us a resource of proven solutions, but they also help shape and mold our character. Therefore, when we don't take our time to communicate with our kids, then we rob them of critical life lessons that we and our forefathers learn the hard way - lessons that they would needlessly have..	family-conversations guidance life-antidotes life-lessons parenting pep-talk proven-solutions real-life real-talk storytelling talking-with-children teachable-moments trial-and-error warnings	Drexel Deal
41729e3	Parents need to see that every situation that their kids find themselves in is a teaching situation, and they need to take the time to explore cost and effect. So talking to your children, explaining things to children as to why things happen in the world. Getting them to see cost and relationships between events is the best way to increase comprehension skills. Daynette Gardiner, the best School Psychologist in The Bahamas.	cost-and-effects cost-and-relationships learning-opportunities parenthood teachable-moments teaching-situation time	Drexel Deal
b594783	You have to talk to your children about things, a lot of our parents don't do that. You have to explain things to children as to why certain things happen. I think that a good way of improving comprehension is to read the newspaper with your child. A lot of times certain sensational things happen and children want to find out why it happened. And sometimes you would hear them talking to each other passing on erroneous information. Daynette ..	erroneous-information helping-children improving-comprehension newspaper parenting reading-to-children right-information sensational-news talking talking-with-children	Drexel Deal
5c72f89	As parents one of the biggest jobs we have, is teaching our children how to resolve problems effectively. We live in an era where everyone is quick to act the fool over simple issues. As we used to say when I was on the streets, 'everybody wants to cut a movie'.	conflict-resolution conflicts cut-a-movie letting-go parenthood parenting parents peace-maker resolving-problems simple-issues street-violence walking-away youth-violence	Drexel Deal
db1de94	School in itself is a microcosm of society. These kids bring a lot of baggage with them, and as teachers with 30 plus kids in your classroom you have to take the time to get to know them, and not just see them as people you have to teach. And if they want to learn they will learn, and if they don't want too then too bad. But you have to see them as your surrogate children. Charles Chuck Mackey, former vice principal and coach of R. M. Baile..	children classroom education homeroom-teachers learning microcosm-of-society relationships school-principals schools students surrogate-children teachers	Drexel Deal
b755b91	One day I was through Strachan's Corner just hanging out, and they must have picked up Scrooge earlier for a pep talk, so they were now dropping him back home in one of their police vehicle. Supt. Strachan was in the back seat talking with him, while a male officer was driving. So I asked her, what were some of the things you used to say to Scrooge? I used to tell him it is not worth it, You are hurting people. You are only going to end up..	caring-cops change community-policing crime-prevention encouragement gang-intervention gang-members gangsters going-to-die good-cops law-enforcement not-worth-it police-outreach reaching-gang-members rebellion-raiders the-grave toughness turn-around woman-police	Drexel Deal
68bd543	How many close encounters with death can one person survive? At the age of 21, I had surpassed more than 10 such close encounters with death, which began when I was but 5 years of age. This enemy who has been hotly pursuing me for more than 16 years has no shame to his game at all. At least with me there were certain things I would've never done, and knowingly hurt a child was just one of them.	death enemy hot-pursuit near-misses principles street-code survival	Drexel Deal
0490de0	A person who takes a gun holds it to somebody's head, and intimidates them for money or take their property from them. The person who gets into an argument and his only resort is to take a gun or some offensive weapon and eliminate the other person. I understand that many of these persons do not have reasoning skills. They do not have the basic conflict management skills, to resolve basic issues between themselves and others. So they resort..	anti-social-behavior arm-robbery at-risk-youth conflict-resolution criminal-behavior juvenile-delinquents law-enforcement police-officers reasoning-skills senseless-violence street-crimes	Drexel Deal
e08966d	According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the definition of the word 'rebellion' is 'an act or a show of defiance toward an authority or established convention. Extensions of the expression include to fly in the face of danger and to fly in the face of providence, both of which carry a sense of reckless or impetuous disregard for safety.' Because we did not grow up with our fathers, we became reckless with our l..	broken-homes disregard eradicate family fatherless-homes gang-prevention marriage rebellion rebellion-raiders reckless right-conditions root-causes single-mothers single-parent-homes strong-communities symptoms two-parent-homes	Drexel Deal
0d32ea3	We had a genuine love for each other, and we loved being around each other, and in the gang was where I felt love. Troit Lynes, former death row inmate of Her Majesty Prison	gangs love loyalty unity	Drexel Deal
bdbf494	When I look at it carefully, by examining the interviews and the various social scientists' studies, it becomes easy for me to see that we all were just rebelling. Regardless of the area we grew up in or the gang we were affiliated with, or which part of the Western world we found ourselves in, we all were rebelling. We were rebelling and crying out for our fathers. We were rebelling against the home conditions that existed in our communiti..	at-risk-communities black-community broken-homes fatherless-homes gang-intervention gangs interviews love rebelling rebellion-raiders root-causes single-mothers social-ills strong-communities	Drexel Deal
9ae6993	The older guys in the neighborhood were our father figures. Even though they were doing foolishness we looked up to them, and they looked out for us. When we would be out playing and it was getting dark, they would tell us now don't be out here too late, because you know that freaks does come out at night. Anthony 'Ada' Allen, one of the former leaders and founders of the Rebellion Raiders	at-risk-communities at-risk-youth bad-boys father-figures fatherless-homes gang-intervention gang-leaders gang-members look-out rebellion-raiders rough-neighborhoods single-mothers social-ills	Drexel Deal
265fd9a	How do you defend against a person who is ready to die? How do you defend against a person who don't fear being sent to prison for life? How do you defend against a person who has nothing to lose? It's like trying to defend against a suicide bomber, who has no problem going out in a glorified bang.		Drexel Deal
006cb1b	The majority of us were from single parent family homes. You could have counted the fellas on your fingers that had a mummy and a daddy at home. Anthony 'Ada' Allen, one of the former leaders and founders of the Rebellion Raiders	at-risk-communities at-risk-youth dead-beat-dads fatherless-homes gang-intervention gang-members gang-prevention gangsters law-enforcement rebellion-raiders single-mothers single-parents social-ills youth-outreach youth-programs	Drexel Deal
c9f6087	I will always respect Mr. Charles chuck Mackey for the way he dealt with me. His approach was not hostile, rather his approach was one, "Look here, I'm working with you, so I need you to work with me." He showed me first that he had my back, and it was easy for me to do the same for him. Mr. Mackey was well known in the entire school as a no-nonsense but fair person. There are some school administrators that aren't intimidating at all, but..	coaching influence reaching-students resolving-conflicts respect school-administrators school-rules school-uniform trouble-youth youth-leaders youth-ministries	Drexel Deal
89b373a	Everyone who I called my friends, persons who I used to hang out with, these were the individuals who formed and made up the gang known as the Rebellion Raiders. So when the gang was formed I was automatically a part of it, because it was formed by my friends. I didn't have to go out and join the gang. Troit Lynes, former death row inmate of Her Majesty Prison in the Bahamas	death-row-inmates friends gang-members hanging-out joining-a-gang misguided-youth rebellion-raiders wanting-to-be-apart wanting-to-belong	Drexel Deal
bc42f5c	However, if he really wanted to bust me, all he had to do was ask to see my schoolbooks. The front and back covers are the first place graffiti artists start to draw.	busted crime-detection drawing-books graffiti graffiti-artists graffiti-in-schools police-work school-books school-teachers small-beginnings solving-crime solving-matters turf-war wall-markings writing-on-walls	Drexel Deal
dfe88dc	I would hear them say on the radio, that we need to hang them once they have been convicted for murder. I don't think that some of them should have ever reached that stage. If we had prevented them from going on death row, it would not be a discussion about hanging them. Supt. Allerdyce Strachan, the first female officer to rise to the rank of superintendent on the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Hanging, death-row-inmates, crime prevention, ga..	at-risk-youth community-outreach community-policing convicted-for-murder convicted-murderers crime-prevention death-row-inmates gang-intervention gang-prevention hanging law-enforcement police-officers rebellion-raiders talk-shows trouble-youth youth-outreach youth-programs	Drexel Deal
f3245dc	Everything started to move in slow motion. A vehicle was coming up the hill in the opposite direction, facing us but in its own lane. With vehicles parked on both sides of the road, this meant that there was just a narrow passage area for both vehicles to pass through. However, he had yet to reduce his speed, and now I knew which car he was going to hit. I was frozen stiff with fear in the front passenger seat, as I helplessly watched him s..	car-accident car-crash drunk-driving fear reckless-driving seat-belts sensing-danger slow-motion unconscious	Drexel Deal
6d1c907	I would hear them say on the radio, that we need to hang them once they have been convicted for murder. I don't think that some of them should have ever reached that stage. If we had prevented them from going on death row, it would not be a discussion about hanging them. Supt. Allerdyce Strachan, the first female officer to rise to the rank of superintendent on the Royal Bahamas Police Force.	at-risk-youth community-outreach community-policing convicted-for-murder convicted-murderers crime-prevention death-row-inmates gang-intervention gang-prevention hanging law-enforcement police-officers rebellion-raiders talk-shows youth-outreach youth-programs	Drexel Deal
b056571	My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone got slapped. By the sound alone, one could tell that it was a hard one. I figured whoever got slapped had to be close by, so I spun around in search of this person who had just gotten the daylights slapped out of them, only to discover that the person was me.	disbelief fight in-shock insulted interrupted mistaking slapped surprised thoughts	Drexel Deal
185b04b	My volcano of compress anger was about to erupt in school, and it would take more than five years for my molten lava to be brought under control, which was through the loss of my sight. However, shouldn't there be a way of detecting and reaching out to kids like me before there is a massive problem? Why wait until there is a devastating eruption before we intervene?	at-risk-students blindness compress-anger detecting devastating eruption intervention massive-problems molten-lava school-fights volcano	Drexel Deal
7c63227	There were times in meeting I was called a baby sitter, a social worker by my colleagues. Now that we have a different leader, he looks at it the way I look at it, and he supported me in what I was doing. There were times he saw me crying, and he would comfort me and say that's okay. Commissioner Paul Farquharson was one of my biggest supporters. It used to hurt me, because I was trying to help somebody and they say I was babysitting. Don't..	at-risk-communities at-risk-youth baby-sitting big-offenses biggest-supporters broken-window-theory caring-cops caring-police-officers colleagues commissioner-of-police community-policing crime-detection crime-prevention criminal-investigation crying end-result finish gang-intervention gang-members good-cops good-police-officers help-somebody helping-people hurt law-enforcement my-job other-people-s-property police-community police-intervention police-outreach police-superintendent reach-someone rebellion-raiders social-worker working-with-children	Drexel Deal
b1dafa9	From the age of nine, I was on the streets. This came about because I was being rude with my parents and I was moving things without their permission, like money. So my stepfather didn't like what I was doing and he didn't like me, so he eventually put me out on the streets. My mother was always sick, and my father--I never met him. While I was on the streets, I used to sleep in old abandoned vehicles. Galen 'Ninja' Nordelus former leader o..	at-risk-child being-put-out dead-beat-dads dysfunctional-families fast-hands home-condition light-hands on-the-streets stealing step-father sticky-fingers the-making-of-gangsters	Drexel Deal
ae84e72	The gang that I'm a part of was best known for its unity. But right now, it was quickly disintegrating, not from forces without, but from within. We were turning our guns on each other. I had already survived two such encounters that could've been fatal. Instead, both times I just limped away with a shot to my left leg. I wonder how unlucky can one leg be, to be hit twice with a .357 magnum. But who's complaining? My left leg is as good as ..	being-shot close-call close-encounters fire-arms friend-enemies gang-life gang-members gang-wars gangs gunshot hand-guns internal-fighting unlucky war-within	Drexel Deal
9c3f746	It was not the money that was my main motive; it was the challenge and the thrill where I got my kicks. Armed robbery to me was like a sport. To take on an armored vehicle with two armed security guards--it was like an athlete attending the Olympic Games.	athlete cheap-thrills harden-criminals motive olympic-games repeat-offenders street-crimes violence-addiction	Drexel Deal
c64da67	I asked, "When the Rebellions were at its peak doing nonsense, everyone was trying to keep away from the area, yet you were going in, why were you going into that area? Supt. Strachan answered quite frankly, Because I was not afraid. I felt like they are my people, they are my color. I don't know of anyone born after me that I should be afraid of, that was how I felt. I knew I could've walk through Strachan's Corner, sit down and felt at ..	at-risk-communities at-risk-youth attention caring-cops caring-person clubs community-policing crime-prevention doing-good feeling-at-home feeling-wanted gang-intervention gang-members good-cops helping-people law-enforcement love-in-action love-of-country my-color my-kind my-people no-child-left-behind nonsense not-afraid not-giving-up parents-acceptance police-intervention police-outreach police-programs police-relations police-superintendent reaching-gang-members rebellion-raiders sense-of-belonging showing-love touching-lives wanting-to-belong woman-police youth youth-programs	Drexel Deal
4b09a45	I knew a lot of fellas who live in Lizzy and never got involved in some of the stuff that we were getting into. This was because they had a strong father figure at home, so they couldn't have gotten involved. The few of those who did end up in the gang even though their father was in the home, their father was just there as a provider, but he was not directly involved in their lives. Shelton 'Apples' Burrows reform gang leader	father-figure fatherhood fatherless-homes fathers gang-members gang-prevention home-but-absent involved-fathers rebellion-raiders	Drexel Deal
98e49ea	The leaders at that time believed so much in protecting the name and the reputation of the gang, that I along with one or two other individuals who were still in school who were trusted, responsible, and ready were given weapons to take to school to make sure that if anything arises, the matter would be dealt with properly. They made sure that even if their presence were not there during a fight, we were in a position to properly defend our..	brand-name carrying-weapons community-policing forward-thinking gang-addiction gang-intervention gang-leaders gang-members gang-pride position-to-win protecting-your-name protection ready ready-for-action rebellion-raiders reliable reputation school-gangs strategy strong support trust turf-wars violence-addiction	Drexel Deal

4dc7e73

When I was reaching out to those young men through Strachan's Corner, nobody told me what to do, I was doing it from my heart. I did what I thought was best rather than giving those youngsters a police record, I tried to prevent it by letting them know if you commit crime you are going to get yourself in trouble. Then you will be confined to the Bahamas for the rest of your life, and will not see that great big world out there. Supt. Allerd..

caring-police-officers committing-crime community-policing crime-prevention criminal-record from-the-heart gang-intervention law-enforcement police-intervention police-outreach police-programs police-record rebellion-raiders the-bahamas youth-outreach

Drexel Deal

11be815

Through all of those different wars, we came to understand each other. The Mason's fellas just wanted to chill in their area and be left alone. The Border Boys basically wanted the same thing. Stinky and Robert just wanted to be able to sell their drugs and make their money. But us, we were on a mission to take over the whole town. Scrooge, former leader of the Rebellion Raiders street gang that once boasted of having some ten thousand memb..

aggression ambitious conflict-resolution conflicts drugs fighting gang-addiction gang-communities gang-intervention gang-life gang-members gang-wars mission money on-a-mission rebellion-raiders street-fights street-life take-over thug-life turf-wars understand understanding-each-other violence-addiction war

Drexel Deal

8fd5a26

The year was 1996, and the date was July 5. It was a Friday night and I had just turned 21 two days prior, which, by the way, was a miracle unto itself. Due to the violent life I was living, this was a milestone and something worth celebrating. But on this beautiful summer evening, I was not in a celebratory mood. Rather, I was in a predatory mood and that was what I was doing: lying and waiting for my prey to arrive.

career-criminals casing-out gang-life out-laws predator prey stocking street-robberies violent-life watching

Drexel Deal

9926c7f

There is another dangerous component to armed robberies, one that I could never understand. I noticed some time ago that with each robbery I committed there was an intense out of control anger that gripped me. It was as if I was there to get something that was inherently mine, and I came to take it by force. I've heard many stories directly from individuals about how they just burst into stores with their guns drawn. They would be shouting ..

arm-robbers arm-robbery be-aware brutality cold-blooded dangerous inherently out-of-control provocation shouting staying-calm violent-crimes

Drexel Deal

2e7bfaa

I could understand why some fella's take drugs just before their crimes: because they need something to help them quiet their minds. However, I don't do drugs nor do I drink alcohol, but the thing that gets me high like a kite is a crime well done. Then there's the scent of freshly fired gunpowder, or the sounds of the empty bullet casings hitting the ground as they are ejected each time I pull the trigger. These two things never fail to ge..

arm-robbery bullet-casings drive-by gang-life gangbanging gangsters hardcore-gangsters harden-criminals high-like-a-kite senseless-violence street-life thug-life violence-addiction

Drexel Deal

057f219

Giving these lil' fellas a gun was important to keep the name of the Rebellions strong, because whenever the name drops, it's only a matter of time before someone kicks your door in. Scrooge, former leader of the Rebellion Raiders street gang that once boasted of having some ten thousand members

brand-name carrying-weapons community-policing forward-thinking gang-addiction gang-intervention gang-leaders gang-members gang-pride position-to-win protecting-your-name protection ready ready-for-action rebellion-raiders reliable reputation school-gangs strategy strong support trust turf-wars violence-addiction

Drexel Deal

51c1110

When I first went to prison, I made the best out of it. From the streets, I was hearing reports of Rebellions going to prison and getting do in [beat up]. Our fellas had no say, couldn't even open up their mouths. When I went up there for the first time, I turned that prison into a place that everyone could say that the Rebellions were running it after that. I wouldn't say I did it alone, but I help set the groundwork to give the Rebellions..

gang-life gangsters influence jail prison rebellion-raiders street-fame

Drexel Deal

547d243

When a guy goes out there and kills somebody, he might look at himself as the winner. But in truth he's also a loser, because now he would be lost in the system. If you were listening to the news recently, some people you know well are doing 45, and 64 years for murder. They might have won their fight, but they lost their lives to the system. Franco 'Co' Bethel, former gang leader and right hand man to Scrooge.

convicted-for-murder fighting gang-fights gang-killings killings loser lost-in-the-system lost-to-the-system murder prison prison-life street-fights the-system thug-life

Drexel Deal

456bb5f

The good part about these areas that we were taking over, was that all of them had parks where a lot of guys were just hanging out playing basketball. So I used those parks to make a good first impression with my gun, then I followed up with a speech presentation. At the end of the day, we were able to win over the entire park, and eventually their community..... It was as if these fellas from different areas were just waiting for this, be..

community-parks community-policing crime-prevention feeling-needed feeling-wanted first-impression gang-intervention gang-recruitment hand-gun hanging-out increase massive-growth play-ground police-outreach reaching-the-youth reaching-young-people rebellion-raiders speech-presentation taking-over-the-world youth-clubs youth-crusade youth-involvement youth-ministry youth-outreach

Drexel Deal

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One of the things we haven't taught our people as a nation, that this is their country. We haven't told them that this Bahamas belongs to them. Whether it succeeds or fails it is entirely up to them. WE haven't told our people that they are valuable. I sometimes pass little boys playing in the road and I would stop my car and say to them: 'Excuse me baby, do you realize how valuable you are? Do not play in the road, if anything happen to yo..

feeling-needed feeling-wanted love-of-country my-countrymen nation patriotism prime-minister self-esteem sense-of-pride the-bahamas valuable

Drexel Deal

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Joining a gang is like sky diving without a parachute. Oh, at first it's all fun, as you take on gravity in a thrilling and exhilarating free fall towards earth. The truth is, anything that is risky and dangerous always starts out as fun. But the odds are always stacked in gravity's favor, for you will eventually come face to face with the earth, and mother earth always wins those battles. The same thing can be said about being in a gang.

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Drexel Deal

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The day you shot Scrooge, we had a nine stashed nearby. We knew that tension was building between us and you, and so we started to keep the nine nearby instead of the .380 pistol. So when you came up the road, after we finished beating that fella nobody bothered going for the nine, because it was only you one to all of us. But after you snatched that gun out of Geo's hand and fired those shots at us, I ran back to get the nine. We had it st..

gang-fights gang-involve-shootings gang-members hand-guns internal-conflicts internal-war rebellion-raiders senseless-shootings street-life tension thug-life war-within

Drexel Deal

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When my son Lowell was eight years old, one day he and I had just finished playing. Tired and exhausted, we were lying on the bed talking. He sat up in the bed and started to trace his finger over the scar behind my neck. He asked me with concern in his voice, 'Daddy, how you got this cut behind your neck?' I hesitated for a while, wondering how much I should tell him, or if I should even tell him at all. I decided to tell him some of it, ..

friends-fighting gang-life internal-fighting internal-warfare rebellion-raiders senseless-fights senseless-shootings street-life war-within

Drexel Deal

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When I snatched the gun out of his hand, it fired because the hammer was already pulled back. It made the thunderous sound that the .357 magnum is known for. Even though the sound itself was deafening, it was like beautiful music to my ears. Just a few short seconds ago, the odds were greatly stacked against me. Now the tides had turned. The odds were now stacked against them, and they knew it. When I turned around to face my pursuers, they..

fight-for-life gang-life gang-members gun-shot internal-fighting internal-war retreat senseless-fights senseless-shootings street-life thug-life war-within

Drexel Deal

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This book consists not only of my stories of mistakes, rather it's all our stories of mistakes and heart aches. It's the plight of all of us who were rebelling, and kicking against the social messes we found ourselves in. Yet there are so many others who are not alive today, and I feel obligated in not allowing the lessons of their mistakes to lie in the grave with them. It was the United States Senator, Al Franken, who stated, "Mistakes a..

anti-social-behaviors at-risk-youth bloodshed choices cold-blooded crime-prevention darkness deserted die-hard-gangsters fatherhood friendships generation-x harden-criminals inner-city life-lessons menacing mistakes monsters rebelling remorseless senseless-murders social-ills social-science under-ground-world

Drexel Deal

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Story telling or teachable moments, provides us with a vast reference base of real life antidotes for possible future problems. They not only entertain and give us a resource of proven solutions, but they also help shape and mold our character. Therefore, when we don't take our time to communicate with our kids, then we rob them of critical life lessons that we and our forefathers learn the hard way - lessons that they would needlessly have..

family-conversations guidance life-antidotes life-lessons parenting pep-talk proven-solutions real-life real-talk storytelling talking-with-children teachable-moments trial-and-error warnings

Drexel Deal

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Parents need to see that every situation that their kids find themselves in is a teaching situation, and they need to take the time to explore cost and effect. So talking to your children, explaining things to children as to why things happen in the world. Getting them to see cost and relationships between events is the best way to increase comprehension skills. Daynette Gardiner, the best School Psychologist in The Bahamas.

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Drexel Deal

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You have to talk to your children about things, a lot of our parents don't do that. You have to explain things to children as to why certain things happen. I think that a good way of improving comprehension is to read the newspaper with your child. A lot of times certain sensational things happen and children want to find out why it happened. And sometimes you would hear them talking to each other passing on erroneous information. Daynette ..

erroneous-information helping-children improving-comprehension newspaper parenting reading-to-children right-information sensational-news talking talking-with-children

Drexel Deal

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As parents one of the biggest jobs we have, is teaching our children how to resolve problems effectively. We live in an era where everyone is quick to act the fool over simple issues. As we used to say when I was on the streets, 'everybody wants to cut a movie'.

conflict-resolution conflicts cut-a-movie letting-go parenthood parenting parents peace-maker resolving-problems simple-issues street-violence walking-away youth-violence

Drexel Deal

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School in itself is a microcosm of society. These kids bring a lot of baggage with them, and as teachers with 30 plus kids in your classroom you have to take the time to get to know them, and not just see them as people you have to teach. And if they want to learn they will learn, and if they don't want too then too bad. But you have to see them as your surrogate children. Charles Chuck Mackey, former vice principal and coach of R. M. Baile..

children classroom education homeroom-teachers learning microcosm-of-society relationships school-principals schools students surrogate-children teachers

Drexel Deal

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One day I was through Strachan's Corner just hanging out, and they must have picked up Scrooge earlier for a pep talk, so they were now dropping him back home in one of their police vehicle. Supt. Strachan was in the back seat talking with him, while a male officer was driving. So I asked her, what were some of the things you used to say to Scrooge? I used to tell him it is not worth it, You are hurting people. You are only going to end up..

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Drexel Deal

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How many close encounters with death can one person survive? At the age of 21, I had surpassed more than 10 such close encounters with death, which began when I was but 5 years of age. This enemy who has been hotly pursuing me for more than 16 years has no shame to his game at all. At least with me there were certain things I would've never done, and knowingly hurt a child was just one of them.

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Drexel Deal

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A person who takes a gun holds it to somebody's head, and intimidates them for money or take their property from them. The person who gets into an argument and his only resort is to take a gun or some offensive weapon and eliminate the other person. I understand that many of these persons do not have reasoning skills. They do not have the basic conflict management skills, to resolve basic issues between themselves and others. So they resort..

anti-social-behavior arm-robbery at-risk-youth conflict-resolution criminal-behavior juvenile-delinquents law-enforcement police-officers reasoning-skills senseless-violence street-crimes

Drexel Deal

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According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the definition of the word 'rebellion' is 'an act or a show of defiance toward an authority or established convention. Extensions of the expression include to fly in the face of danger and to fly in the face of providence, both of which carry a sense of reckless or impetuous disregard for safety.' Because we did not grow up with our fathers, we became reckless with our l..

broken-homes disregard eradicate family fatherless-homes gang-prevention marriage rebellion rebellion-raiders reckless right-conditions root-causes single-mothers single-parent-homes strong-communities symptoms two-parent-homes

Drexel Deal

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We had a genuine love for each other, and we loved being around each other, and in the gang was where I felt love. Troit Lynes, former death row inmate of Her Majesty Prison

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When I look at it carefully, by examining the interviews and the various social scientists' studies, it becomes easy for me to see that we all were just rebelling. Regardless of the area we grew up in or the gang we were affiliated with, or which part of the Western world we found ourselves in, we all were rebelling. We were rebelling and crying out for our fathers. We were rebelling against the home conditions that existed in our communiti..

at-risk-communities black-community broken-homes fatherless-homes gang-intervention gangs interviews love rebelling rebellion-raiders root-causes single-mothers social-ills strong-communities

Drexel Deal

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The older guys in the neighborhood were our father figures. Even though they were doing foolishness we looked up to them, and they looked out for us. When we would be out playing and it was getting dark, they would tell us now don't be out here too late, because you know that freaks does come out at night. Anthony 'Ada' Allen, one of the former leaders and founders of the Rebellion Raiders

at-risk-communities at-risk-youth bad-boys father-figures fatherless-homes gang-intervention gang-leaders gang-members look-out rebellion-raiders rough-neighborhoods single-mothers social-ills

Drexel Deal

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How do you defend against a person who is ready to die? How do you defend against a person who don't fear being sent to prison for life? How do you defend against a person who has nothing to lose? It's like trying to defend against a suicide bomber, who has no problem going out in a glorified bang.

Drexel Deal

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The majority of us were from single parent family homes. You could have counted the fellas on your fingers that had a mummy and a daddy at home. Anthony 'Ada' Allen, one of the former leaders and founders of the Rebellion Raiders

at-risk-communities at-risk-youth dead-beat-dads fatherless-homes gang-intervention gang-members gang-prevention gangsters law-enforcement rebellion-raiders single-mothers single-parents social-ills youth-outreach youth-programs

Drexel Deal

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I will always respect Mr. Charles chuck Mackey for the way he dealt with me. His approach was not hostile, rather his approach was one, "Look here, I'm working with you, so I need you to work with me." He showed me first that he had my back, and it was easy for me to do the same for him. Mr. Mackey was well known in the entire school as a no-nonsense but fair person. There are some school administrators that aren't intimidating at all, but..

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Drexel Deal

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Everyone who I called my friends, persons who I used to hang out with, these were the individuals who formed and made up the gang known as the Rebellion Raiders. So when the gang was formed I was automatically a part of it, because it was formed by my friends. I didn't have to go out and join the gang. Troit Lynes, former death row inmate of Her Majesty Prison in the Bahamas

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Drexel Deal

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However, if he really wanted to bust me, all he had to do was ask to see my schoolbooks. The front and back covers are the first place graffiti artists start to draw.

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Drexel Deal

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I would hear them say on the radio, that we need to hang them once they have been convicted for murder. I don't think that some of them should have ever reached that stage. If we had prevented them from going on death row, it would not be a discussion about hanging them. Supt. Allerdyce Strachan, the first female officer to rise to the rank of superintendent on the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Hanging, death-row-inmates, crime prevention, ga..

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Drexel Deal

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Everything started to move in slow motion. A vehicle was coming up the hill in the opposite direction, facing us but in its own lane. With vehicles parked on both sides of the road, this meant that there was just a narrow passage area for both vehicles to pass through. However, he had yet to reduce his speed, and now I knew which car he was going to hit. I was frozen stiff with fear in the front passenger seat, as I helplessly watched him s..

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Drexel Deal

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I would hear them say on the radio, that we need to hang them once they have been convicted for murder. I don't think that some of them should have ever reached that stage. If we had prevented them from going on death row, it would not be a discussion about hanging them. Supt. Allerdyce Strachan, the first female officer to rise to the rank of superintendent on the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

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Drexel Deal

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My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone got slapped. By the sound alone, one could tell that it was a hard one. I figured whoever got slapped had to be close by, so I spun around in search of this person who had just gotten the daylights slapped out of them, only to discover that the person was me.

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Drexel Deal

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My volcano of compress anger was about to erupt in school, and it would take more than five years for my molten lava to be brought under control, which was through the loss of my sight. However, shouldn't there be a way of detecting and reaching out to kids like me before there is a massive problem? Why wait until there is a devastating eruption before we intervene?

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Drexel Deal

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There were times in meeting I was called a baby sitter, a social worker by my colleagues. Now that we have a different leader, he looks at it the way I look at it, and he supported me in what I was doing. There were times he saw me crying, and he would comfort me and say that's okay. Commissioner Paul Farquharson was one of my biggest supporters. It used to hurt me, because I was trying to help somebody and they say I was babysitting. Don't..

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Drexel Deal

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From the age of nine, I was on the streets. This came about because I was being rude with my parents and I was moving things without their permission, like money. So my stepfather didn't like what I was doing and he didn't like me, so he eventually put me out on the streets. My mother was always sick, and my father--I never met him. While I was on the streets, I used to sleep in old abandoned vehicles. Galen 'Ninja' Nordelus former leader o..

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Drexel Deal

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The gang that I'm a part of was best known for its unity. But right now, it was quickly disintegrating, not from forces without, but from within. We were turning our guns on each other. I had already survived two such encounters that could've been fatal. Instead, both times I just limped away with a shot to my left leg. I wonder how unlucky can one leg be, to be hit twice with a .357 magnum. But who's complaining? My left leg is as good as ..

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Drexel Deal

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It was not the money that was my main motive; it was the challenge and the thrill where I got my kicks. Armed robbery to me was like a sport. To take on an armored vehicle with two armed security guards--it was like an athlete attending the Olympic Games.

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Drexel Deal

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I asked, "When the Rebellions were at its peak doing nonsense, everyone was trying to keep away from the area, yet you were going in, why were you going into that area? Supt. Strachan answered quite frankly, Because I was not afraid. I felt like they are my people, they are my color. I don't know of anyone born after me that I should be afraid of, that was how I felt. I knew I could've walk through Strachan's Corner, sit down and felt at ..

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Drexel Deal

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I knew a lot of fellas who live in Lizzy and never got involved in some of the stuff that we were getting into. This was because they had a strong father figure at home, so they couldn't have gotten involved. The few of those who did end up in the gang even though their father was in the home, their father was just there as a provider, but he was not directly involved in their lives. Shelton 'Apples' Burrows reform gang leader

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Drexel Deal

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The leaders at that time believed so much in protecting the name and the reputation of the gang, that I along with one or two other individuals who were still in school who were trusted, responsible, and ready were given weapons to take to school to make sure that if anything arises, the matter would be dealt with properly. They made sure that even if their presence were not there during a fight, we were in a position to properly defend our..

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Drexel Deal