Left-Wing Gangs

[Red_Banner]

Ok, alot of people here belong to a left-wing party or union, but has anyone here ever been part of or still is of a left-wing or atleast left leaning gang?

Normally I would think of gangs as being lumpenproletariat and/or racist, but I was a bit surprised there leftist groups classified as "gangs".

[Crabbensmasher]

My roommate is Jamaican and apparently back in the 80s there were gangs affiliated with specific political parties. This means that yes, I suppose there would be a 'left leaning' gang. Nothing revolutionary though, probably social democrats.

[Sasha]

Black guerilla family grew out of the BPP but I wouldn't say they are still really revolutionary. Some would say that the straight edge group Freinds stand united is a (leftwing) gang. And of course many leftwing skinhead groups could easily be classified as gangs and often are.

[Tim Cornelis]

Representin' Da Lenin Boyz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin_Boys) over here.

[#FF0000]

The Young Lords were political at one point, iirc. Then there were the Young Patriots, which was basically a gang for appalachian white kids, that entered into some alliance with the Young Lords and BPP.

[Creative Destruction]

The Crips had a pretty left-ish tone starting out, but that was probably because a lot of their beginning members were members of the Black Panthers and other black revolutionary organizations. Once the American government killed those organizations, the street gangs started forming and fighting each other.

Other than that, The Young Lords were (and still are, iirc) leftist. The Young Patriots. Basically, the BPP Rainbow Coalition was made up of a lot of politicized street gangs and brokered truces between all the gangs to lead a unified front. Of course, the Chiciago political machine couldn't have that and destroyed it all, and all the street gangs went back to their usual ways and fighting.

Oh! The BGF -- Black Guerrilla Family. I don't know what their deal is right now, but they started out with a Marxist point of view.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Mod Notes:

1. If people don't want to talk about the current relevance of "gang" praxis, I'm going to move this to history. Chime in with something practice related if you think it should stay here.

2. A REMINDER: DO NOT DISCUSS ILLEGAL ACTIVITY OR INVOLVEMENT IN CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS ON RevLeft!!!!!

[brigadista]

My roommate is Jamaican and apparently back in the 80s there were gangs affiliated with specific political parties. This means that yes, I suppose there would be a 'left leaning' gang. Nothing revolutionary though, probably social democrats.

still are - garrison areas in kingston

[creamsicle]

Black guerilla family grew out of the BPP but I wouldn't say they are still really revolutionary. Some would say that the straight edge group Freinds stand united is a (leftwing) gang. And of course many leftwing skinhead groups could easily be classified as gangs and often are.FSU does not really do anything politically. And I don't think that they are straightedge anymore.

[Art Vandelay]

No one mention RAAN yet? The hella sick communist street gang.

[Blake's Baby]

Representin' Da Lenin Boyz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin_Boys) over here.

That wiki article doesn't chime very well with what I've heard from other sources - of course I wasn't there and I don't speak Hungarian anyway.

For what it's worth, my understanding is that 'Lenin's Boys' were a) Anarchists, and b) mostly miners.

And not so much 'gangsters' as a workers' militia.

[tachosomoza]

May 19 Communist Organization and Black Liberation Army were a couple groups from the US. Symbionese Liberation Army (comrades that snatched Patty Hearst) was another.

[Hrafn]

May 19 Communist Organization and Black Liberation Army were a couple groups from the US. Symbionese Liberation Army (comrades that snatched Patty Hearst) was another.

So now the Red Army Faction, etc. are also street gangs? If we're going to start including insurrectionary groups, that is.

[tachosomoza]

So now the Red Army Faction, etc. are also street gangs? If we're going to start including insurrectionary groups, that is.

They were more than two or three people and were involved in extralegal activities. Prison breaks, bank and armored car robberies, kidnappings. That's what most would consider a gang. They weren't large or long standing or involved in such as drugs, no.