Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

[Pua'i Mana'o]

<holler>

ZAAARRRKWAANNN! I want to link this column from a mainland newspaper, which merits some thoughtful discussion here. BUT! I remember you get ~issues~ about how we link/repost onto HT.

E kokua mai lest I get scoldings for nah-ting!

http://www.slweekly.com/editorial/20...2005-09-08.cfm

an excerpt:

<<Polynesian kids don’t seem to fit the profile of gang members, however. Most Pacific Islander families are the picture of stability. And most Polynesian families in Utah belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the pillar of family values and respectability. Because of the Mormon Church, in fact, Utah is home to the largest Tongan, Samoan and other Pacific Islander communities in the United States outside of Hawaii and California.
Yet while Islanders make up only about 1 percent of the Salt Lake Valley’s population, they constitute 13 percent of the documented gang members. Detectives say Polynesian gangs stand out due to their violence. Because of their intimidating physical size, their members often serve as enforcers for other gangs that traffic in drugs. They’re known for their brutal fistfights, and for shooting at their rivals and at law-enforcement officials.
Polynesian parents find it hard to believe that their churchgoing children are involved in the American scourge of gang violence. Their communities are supposed to embody everything this valley has stood for: family, faith and a new beginning.
But the “happy valley” in the heart of the Mormon Zion has become a crowded battleground. The Polynesian Saints traveled thousands of miles from one group of islands only to find themselves in another. On the west side of Salt Lake city, ethnic communities are islands unto themselves, surrounded by a sea of white suburbia;>>

[GypsyLika]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

Mahalo for posting dat. It was interesting reading. I always thought SLC was real goody two shoes kind of community and its like any other big city.


~Lika

[lurkah]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

Wow, what an eye-opener. I have polynesian friends who live in Salt Lake City and Magna, and was under the impression that their faith-based lifestyle would be a deterrent to the stuff that article talked about.

there are bands of racist skinheads, and even young Straight Edge gangs who punish those who smoke or drink.

And I had no idea that gangs like that even existed.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

It was so sad to read that article and learn of how bad it has gotten there. My own step-son was 9 when he moved to Hawai'i from Fiji with his Mom and I. He was #1 student there, but struggled so much here. We got him extra help but he gave up and dropped out in 11th grade. He got in with some other islander (Tongan) kids, started doing drugs, more than just smoking Da Kine and became obnoxious and mean. Eventually I told him he had 2 months to find a full-time job and got him some good leads or he'd have to leave our house. It was not okay to lay around on the couch, ask for money and just get high. He made the choice to move back to Fiji. He's doing okay now, staying with an aunty and being helpful. I truly believe looking back in retrospect that he would've been better off growing up in Fiji though at the time I felt we were giving him an opportunity. It didn't work for him.

[Rickyrab]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

I once saw Salt Lake City. We (by which I mean "my family") were actually aiming for Yellowstone National Park, and the cheapest way to do that from New Jersey was to fly to Salt Lake City and then drive a couple days overland. Anyway, what we found was a city, without too many buildings of distinction (other than the Mormon Temple and its immediate surroundings), although politically Salt Lake City seemed more liberal than the rest of the state of Utah (which isn't saying very much). The streets are infamously wide, as wide as highways in some parts of the country; however, this fact has made it easy to run a light rail line down some of the streets. The town itself is laid out in a boring grid pattern, with streets numbered for easy navigation. Salt Lake City is surrounded by a vast suburb, a sea of houses with restaurants and businesses sprinkled quite liberally throughout; children, not surprisingly, make up much of the clientele of some of those restaurants. Even vaster than the suburb, however, is the desert and the nearby mountains, as well as the lake, which stinks like heck. I didn't see much in the way of gangs, but - then again - I've even been to the South Bronx multiple times and not seen much in the way of gangs, so that doesn't mean anything.

The road to Yellowstone passes through volcanic territory; indeed, Yellowstone itself is a volcano, although the only eruptions you're likely to see there are of the geyser and hot-springs kind.

[Miulang]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

I once saw Salt Lake City. We (by which I mean "my family") were actually aiming for Yellowstone National Park, and the cheapest way to do that from New Jersey was to fly to Salt Lake City and then drive a couple days overland. Anyway, what we found was a city, without too many buildings of distinction (other than the Mormon Temple and its immediate surroundings), although politically Salt Lake City seemed more liberal than the rest of the state of Utah (which isn't saying very much). .

The Salt Lake City that I lived in for 2 years while attending the University of Utah was very liberal. Non LDS people might not believe this, but there are more practicing Mormons living OUTSIDE Salt Lake City than in SLC. And since the last Winter Olympic Games, the town is much more cosmopolitan. As far as "buildings of distinction" you have to remember that Utah as a state is still fairly young. Much of its older architecture is barely over 100 years old.

I reason I love Salt Lake City is because of the Wasatch Mountains, the awesome canyons and truly breathtaking sights like sunset over Antelope Island (in the Great Salt Lake). I'd take the wide open spaces over any crowded city any day of the week.

Miulang

P.S. The West Valley, which is where most of the Pacific Islanders live, is a sprawling town that has become so large it actually is a city unto itself. I think the reason why there are so many PI gangs is because the kids of immigrants feel alienated from the white culture and the only way they can feel "normal" is to be with a group of people who look like them and talk like them.

[Rickyrab]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

As far as "buildings of distinction" you have to remember that Utah as a state is still fairly young. Much of its older architecture is barely over 100 years old.

More to the point, many of the buildings that HAVE been built amount to run-of-the-mill architecture, much of it in the mid-to-late 20th century (i.e., the lousiest era in mainstream architecture, more or less). Also, having a World's Fair or perhaps a good theme park would probably have helped the architectural situation (buildings don't need to be old to have distinction).

[Rickyrab]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

I reason I love Salt Lake City is because of the Wasatch Mountains, the awesome canyons and truly breathtaking sights like sunset over Antelope Island (in the Great Salt Lake). I'd take the wide open spaces over any crowded city any day of the week.

Yeah, they are very lovely. So is Yellowstone.

[Rickyrab]

Re: Polynesian identity, gangs, Salt Lake

The Salt Lake City that I lived in for 2 years while attending the University of Utah was very liberal. Non LDS people might not believe this, but there are more practicing Mormons living OUTSIDE Salt Lake City than in SLC. And since the last Winter Olympic Games, the town is much more cosmopolitan....The West Valley, which is where most of the Pacific Islanders live, is a sprawling town that has become so large it actually is a city unto itself. I think the reason why there are so many PI gangs is because the kids of immigrants feel alienated from the white culture and the only way they can feel "normal" is to be with a group of people who look like them and talk like them.

When did you attend the University of Utah? As for cosmopolitianism, I am not surprised, especially when the world comes crashing in more. Utah probably winds up more conservative in the parts that shut themselves away from the world, for empathy for others leads to liberalism, while protectionism and traditional religion (if one could call Mormonism traditional) are often conservative.

As for gangs... don't the Pacific Islanders living in West Valley have any ethnic organizations or groups other than the gangs (such as churches, heiau associations, clubs, some kind of kokua-oriented society, etc.)? Just because one is alienated from the white culture is no reason, IMO, to form groups encouraging folks to commit crimes. One can be with someone else who looks and talks like him or her without resorting to whatever gangs resort to (don't ask me, I'm not a gangster).