Chris Blatchford's The Black Hand

Sonia Nazario tells a personal story in her 2007 novel, Enrique's Journey, and one in which a young Honduran boy places his life at risk in order to reach the United States and be with his mother. The main characters are Enrique, his grandmother, his girlfriend Maria Isabel, his sister Belky and the mother. Enrique’s mother, Lourdes, had to make the painful decision a mother could make, she had to leave her son because of the poverty in Honduras. Her plan was that once she was in America, she would send money for both her children, Enrique and his sister. Her son becomes resentful and turns to drugs, and then, at the age of seventeen, finally resolves to somehow make the journey and be with the mother who so inexplicably vanished.

The main characters are reversals of the negative ways Chicanos had been positioned within the dominant regimes of representation. Baugh (1996: 29) explains Valdez’s own opinion that – ‘the experience of Chicano gangs could easily be explained away by socioeconomic and political interpretations but that kind of explanation robs the gang of its

This novel revolves around a love story between two Latino teenagers, Maribel Rivera and Mayor Toro. The Rivera’s, coming from Mexico, have come to America in search for a better life for their daughter, Maribel, who had previously fallen off a ladder at her father’s construction site back in Mexico causing her to be mentally slow. They wanted Maribel to receive the best special education possible. As time continues Maribel and her parents develop throughout the book. Their experiences impact their behavior and steer them throughout the book.

They are Mexican-American. Their equality rights do not accept in America society. They and their family always spend the life by examining of American government. Henry Reyna, El Pachuco, the Navy during the World War II. He is the young Mexican-American generation. He lives in the South Central Los Angeles, California. They are a mythical figure, a rebellious, street-smart, young Chicano. They make up their hair style. He dresses a long jacket, a baggy trousers, and a lengthy watch chain. He and his people dance with their girlfriends. They wear the zoot suit, the big pride of Mexican-American about the Mexican male, they make the belief to the rebellious generation for the equality rights struggling. Henry and his gang are the antagonist characters to serve the holistic of the world. He kills the murder, help the media, and fed their headline by the police (Scene 1, Act 5, page). Luis Valdez success to create the danger of the character, El Pachuco is in to Henry and the opposite. The riots break out in the streets. the zoot suiters are targeted, the suspects stripped by sailors and marines based on the racism, the discrimination profile. The author is successful to describe the press, the media communication. The laws use the name to disguise discriminate. They create the dangerous situation for their ruse. Their

Gregory Boyle, the author, said, “A spacious and undefended heart finds room for everything you are and carves space for everybody else.” In the novel, actual accounts from gang members evoke heartfelt and sincere feelings. Additionally, their life experiences widen my outlook on the gang members. The harsh circumstances each individual experienced was heartbreaking and miserable. Men and women are unable to escape their past incidents without Gregory Boyle’s help. Gregory Boyle, a courageous and sincere person, was able to transform people’s lives dramatically. The gang member’s realization to change evokes blissful and content feelings. Overall, the factual stories of the gang members were genuine and cordial.

The documentary titled “Code Black” by Ryan McGarry is about his experiences while he was a resident at LA County General. Code Black in the medical world means a patient is in a cardiac arrest and suffering so greatly that it requires many physicians, nurses, and a whole team of providers trying to save a patient. The entire documentary is based on what LA County General hospital is all about or even maybe other Emergency room hospital setting.

Moccio’s introduces a book called El Narco. He starts off by telling us how the book is so detailed it gives “on your edge feel”. The author risked his life and others just to put together this dramatic war on drug story from Mexico. Moccio uses a lot of descriptive words to help get a feel of the story line. He gives direct quotes from the book to make his point on how dangerous the situation is in Mexico. He backlashes at the author for using Spanish vocabulary, stating “it make reading more challenging”. What would a story about Mexico be without using some direct terms they actually do use on a daily bases? The best part of this essay was when he got to the research part. It seemed to flow better than his review of the book itself. He explained

The “Goodfellas” movie is a movie about the life of a gangster growing up in the New York Mafia. A young man name Henry, ever since he was a young boy always wanted to be in the Mafia. Henry grew up on the streets with the Mafia wanting to be like them because no would ever mess with them and they could park wherever they wanted and not get a ticket. The movie itselfs had showed the mafias subculture and shows all their norms, values, and also their deviant lifestyle throughout the movie. The people around and in the Mafia are part of a subculture where there are certain people who are considered criminals and can protect anyone that can’t or is not allowed to go to the cops to snitch.

Notably, the film Goodfellas is a classic film that is recognized as one of the greatest films of all time in regards to the crime genre. Indeed, the film Goodfellas is about American citizens who partake in criminal activity in order to make money. Furthermore, another film was made, shortly after Goodfellas achieved great success in the box office. Additionally, another film titled “The Real Goodfella” is the uncensored documentary explaining the reality behind Goodfellas, and gives a practical insight of the real dangers that could not be shown in Goodfellas. Also there are two articles that explain the explicit truth behind the criminal activity that mobsters justify as work. These sources show that mobsters have a hard time. Mobsters classify as above working class because they constantly have to steal, murder, and deal drugs just to stay alive and have money.

As the only American inmate in the infamous “El Pueblito” Mexican prison which resembles more to a small village of convicts rather than a usual prison, the driver quickly gets the nickname “The Gringo” and finds out first hand how rough it is to be a stranger in the perilous world of Javi, the ruthless crime lord who

James Cone postulated that “to be black is to be a human in a condition of social oppression involving the affirming in which the oppressor regarded as degrading”. In addition to this, cone argued that society has misinterpreted the meaning of black due to the fact that society is a institution ran by ‘white’ people. Blackness is not “criminality” in fact “black is … beautiful; oppressors have made it ugly.” James Cone defines the oppressor to be ‘white’, he argues that the oppressors are homogenous as they impose their beliefs on ‘black’ people. For example attending the opera in James Cones perspective is seen as a ‘white’ agenda. Furthermore, ‘white’ people are those who force ‘black’

America’s obsessions with the mafia and mafia-style films have existed for decades. The ability for an audience to connect on a deep level with a character of shady morals and seedy behavior is a requirement for gangster films to be successful. Hollywood has been able to successfully take real life mobsters and make them larger than life on the big screen. Though not all mafia films created are taken directly from real life, most movies have some essence of reality buried within the plot. To understand this obsession with the mafia, it is necessary to understand the beginning of the Mafia’s presence in America.

Listen. The sound of the blood rusted chainsaw roars over the eerie silence that plagues the yard. Feel. Rough brick massaging the back of a bald middle-aged man. See. A crimson splatter-painted corpse on the fresh, sticky licorice colored pavement. Smell. The fresh blood oozing out of a rogue head that had been rolled across the alleyway. Taste. The irony tar like saliva laced with blood as you wait for the masked man to steal all sense from your body (Beith n. pag.). With the increasing influence of Mexican drug cartels, all impoverished citizens become subject to violent hate crimes against the government. The government 's lack of control over their people, criminal justice system, and economics demonstrates the instability plaguing Mexican borders. The Mexican government must rise together to legalize marijuana in foreign countries, increase safety in underprivileged communities, and better organize the government in order to save thousands of innocent civilians from horrific chainsaw massacres.

This world is filled with many troubles including racism. Society often depicts whites as superior to blacks. However, this is not precise, because every race has both good and bad within it. The world is trying to break away from racism to become a better place for everyone around the world. Racism is not only about the color of one’s skin, it can impact individuals around the world due to their race or religion. The title of this novel is “Black and White” by Paul Volponi. In this coming of age story, two friends, Marcus Brown and Eddie Russo, who are black and white (respectively), are senior basketball stars at their high school. Marcus lives in community housing which is fraught with crime with a single mother. On the other hand, Eddie lives in a private house nearby where Marcus lives. Both Marcus and Eddie are in financial hardships and need to find easy money to cover their school and basketball fees. The two agree to start pulling robberies when they unintentionally shoot a black man. They are left in anxiety trying to avoid getting caught while trying to lead a normal life after the incident. They both end up going through the justice system, and Marcus must serve jail time while Eddie gets to go free. While all of this transpires, Marcus and Eddie manage to keep their friendship strong and overcome any barriers together. Any true friendship can overcome racial stereotypes put in place by society including the racial barrier between Blacks and Whites. The novel

The Mexican Mafia, or “La Eme”, as they refer to themselves, is one of the most powerful and influential organized crime gangs in the United States. The organization has risen through the decades of mass gang wars and violence to become the power it is today. Their control is limitless and they have ventured far beyond the expectations of what was thought that gangs were capable of. They have infiltrated governments and manipulated politics. They have taken over neighborhoods and attempted to ethnically cleanse them. Innocent people have become caught up in the affairs of La Eme throughout its history and many have faced violence and death at their hands. This paper is a continual of the case analysis of the Mexican Mafia and will attempt to provide explanations for some of the crimes committed by this organization. Researching gangs and organized crime is important because of their large influence and control over many aspects of daily life. The significance of attempting to provide causations of their crimes can better provide the criminal justice system a clearer understanding of problems that lead to gang members committing crimes on behalf of the organization. A clearer understanding of problems can help the system to provide solutions to combat situations that inhibit crimes.