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..	committing-crime criminal-record from-the-heart police-record the-bahamas youth-outreach caring-police-officers police-intervention police-outreach police-programs crime-prevention gang-intervention rebellion-raiders community-policing law-enforcement	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..	money war aggression ambitious gang-communities on-a-mission take-over understanding-each-other street-fights thug-life conflicts gang-life gang-wars gang-addiction turf-wars violence-addiction gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders street-life conflict-resolution mission understand fighting drugs	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 out-laws stocking street-robberies violent-life gang-life watching predator prey	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 be-aware inherently out-of-control staying-calm violent-crimes cold-blooded arm-robbery provocation brutality shouting dangerous	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..	bullet-casings drive-by gangbanging hardcore-gangsters high-like-a-kite thug-life arm-robbery senseless-violence gangsters gang-life harden-criminals violence-addiction street-life	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	trust brand-name carrying-weapons forward-thinking gang-addiction gang-leaders gang-pride position-to-win protecting-your-name ready-for-action reliable school-gangs turf-wars violence-addiction gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders community-policing ready reputation support strong strategy protection	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..	influence street-fame gangsters gang-life rebellion-raiders jail prison	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.	murder gang-killings killings lost-in-the-system lost-to-the-system prison-life street-fights gang-fights thug-life convicted-for-murder loser the-system fighting prison	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 gang-recruitment hand-gun increase massive-growth play-ground reaching-the-youth reaching-young-people speech-presentation taking-over-the-world youth-crusade youth-involvement youth-ministry feeling-needed hanging-out youth-outreach feeling-wanted police-outreach crime-prevention gang-intervention rebellion-raiders community-policing youth-clubs first-impression	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 my-countrymen sense-of-pride the-bahamas feeling-wanted love-of-country prime-minister valuable patriotism nation self-esteem	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.	fun church-youth-group early-death exhilarating free-fall gang-involvement joy-ride parachute risky-behaviors sky-diving thrilling youngsters thug-life joining-a-gang end-result at-risk-communities at-risk-youth crime-prevention gang-intervention gang-members community-policing youth-clubs youth-programs mother-earth consequence street-life risk-taking excitement dangerous	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 internal-conflicts internal-war senseless-shootings thug-life hand-guns war-within gang-members rebellion-raiders street-life tension	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 internal-warfare senseless-fights senseless-shootings gang-life internal-fighting war-within rebellion-raiders street-life	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 gun-shot internal-war senseless-fights senseless-shootings thug-life gang-life internal-fighting war-within gang-members street-life retreat	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..	darkness life-lessons anti-social-behaviors bloodshed cold-blooded deserted die-hard-gangsters generation-x inner-city menacing remorseless senseless-murders under-ground-world rebelling social-ills harden-criminals at-risk-youth crime-prevention social-science fatherhood friendships mistakes choices monsters	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..	life-lessons family-conversations life-antidotes pep-talk proven-solutions teachable-moments talking-with-children trial-and-error real-talk guidance real-life warnings storytelling parenting	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.	time cost-and-effects cost-and-relationships learning-opportunities teachable-moments teaching-situation parenthood	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 reading-to-children right-information sensational-news talking-with-children newspaper talking parenting	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'.	letting-go conflicts cut-a-movie peace-maker resolving-problems simple-issues street-violence walking-away youth-violence conflict-resolution parenting parents parenthood	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..	relationships learning education classroom homeroom-teachers microcosm-of-society school-principals surrogate-children schools teachers children students	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..	change going-to-die not-worth-it the-grave gangsters caring-cops good-cops police-outreach reaching-gang-members woman-police crime-prevention gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders community-policing turn-around toughness law-enforcement encouragement	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 hot-pursuit street-code near-misses enemy survival principles	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 criminal-behavior juvenile-delinquents reasoning-skills senseless-violence police-officers street-crimes at-risk-youth conflict-resolution law-enforcement	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..	rebellion marriage family eradicate right-conditions single-parent-homes symptoms two-parent-homes strong-communities gang-prevention rebellion-raiders fatherless-homes single-mothers broken-homes root-causes disregard reckless	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	unity love gangs loyalty	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..	love black-community rebelling strong-communities social-ills at-risk-communities gang-intervention rebellion-raiders fatherless-homes single-mothers interviews broken-homes root-causes gangs	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	bad-boys father-figures look-out rough-neighborhoods social-ills gang-leaders at-risk-communities at-risk-youth gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders fatherless-homes single-mothers	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	gangsters social-ills youth-outreach gang-prevention at-risk-communities at-risk-youth gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders single-parents dead-beat-dads fatherless-homes single-mothers youth-programs law-enforcement	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..	influence coaching reaching-students resolving-conflicts school-administrators school-rules school-uniform youth-leaders youth-ministries trouble-youth respect	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	friends hanging-out joining-a-gang misguided-youth wanting-to-be-apart death-row-inmates wanting-to-belong gang-members rebellion-raiders	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 drawing-books graffiti-artists graffiti-in-schools police-work school-books school-teachers small-beginnings solving-crime solving-matters turf-war wall-markings writing-on-walls crime-detection graffiti	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..	trouble-youth community-outreach convicted-for-murder convicted-murderers death-row-inmates police-officers talk-shows youth-outreach gang-prevention at-risk-youth crime-prevention gang-intervention rebellion-raiders community-policing youth-programs hanging law-enforcement	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..	fear car-accident seat-belts sensing-danger slow-motion car-crash drunk-driving reckless-driving 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.	community-outreach convicted-for-murder convicted-murderers death-row-inmates police-officers talk-shows youth-outreach gang-prevention at-risk-youth crime-prevention gang-intervention rebellion-raiders community-policing youth-programs hanging law-enforcement	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.	thoughts in-shock insulted interrupted mistaking slapped disbelief surprised fight	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 compress-anger detecting devastating eruption massive-problems molten-lava school-fights volcano blindness intervention	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..	baby-sitting big-offenses biggest-supporters broken-window-theory caring-police-officers colleagues commissioner-of-police crime-detection criminal-investigation end-result good-police-officers help-somebody my-job other-people-s-property police-community reach-someone social-worker working-with-children caring-cops good-cops helping-people police-intervention police-outreach police-superintendent at-risk-communities at-risk-youth crime-prevention gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders community-policing law-enforcement finish hurt crying	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 dysfunctional-families fast-hands home-condition light-hands on-the-streets step-father sticky-fingers the-making-of-gangsters dead-beat-dads stealing	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-wars gunshot hand-guns internal-fighting war-within gang-members unlucky gangs	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.	motive athlete cheap-thrills harden-criminals 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 ..	youth caring-cops caring-person clubs doing-good feeling-wanted good-cops helping-people love-of-country my-color my-kind my-people no-child-left-behind not-afraid not-giving-up parents-acceptance police-intervention police-outreach police-programs police-relations police-superintendent reaching-gang-members sense-of-belonging showing-love touching-lives wanting-to-belong woman-police at-risk-communities at-risk-youth crime-prevention gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders community-policing youth-programs attention love-in-action law-enforcement nonsense feeling-at-home	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	fathers gang-prevention home-but-absent involved-fathers father-figure gang-members rebellion-raiders fatherless-homes fatherhood	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..	trust brand-name carrying-weapons forward-thinking gang-addiction gang-leaders gang-pride position-to-win protecting-your-name ready-for-action reliable school-gangs turf-wars violence-addiction gang-intervention gang-members rebellion-raiders community-policing ready reputation support strong strategy protection	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..

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

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..

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

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

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

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..

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

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

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

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..

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

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.

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

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..

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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..

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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..

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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, ..

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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..

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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..

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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..

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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 reading-to-children right-information sensational-news talking-with-children newspaper talking parenting

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'.

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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..

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

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..

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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..

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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

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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

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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