'You can't walk away . . . they'll find you'
A conversation with three teenagers from the 'different' side of town
Lena Sin The Province
Thursday, September 20, 2007

(From left) Brad, 16, Karl, 15, and Derek, 16, spoke to The Province about their experiences with violence on the streets.

Province reporter Lena Sin sat down recently to talk to three teens who've associated and/or been victims of youth gangs in Vancouver. They give us a glimpse into their world (their names have been changed to protect their identities):

Province: I've talked to some kids who've said they've never gotten into a fight in their lives. They say the media is blowing things out of proportion when it comes to the subject of youth violence. Do you agree?

Brad: I think it depends on who you are. Seriously, what do they dress like?

Derek: We come from a completely different home than they do. We dress different, we live different. Money's probably different. People who've never been in a fight I call spoiled, 'cause they don't know what it's like.

Province: Don't you feel like you have a choice whether or not you get into fights?

Derek: I don't. I come to school 'cause if I drop out of school, my mom's sad. So I go to school, and when I go to school, stuff just happens. It doesn't even matter how I dress.

Province: Why don't you just walk away?

Derek: People will come up from behind you. If you look at them and turn around and walk away, they'll come up from behind you. Or they'll find you another time.

Brad: You can't walk away from anything. They'll find you.

Karl: Or call you a coward and think you're weak-minded and take advantage of that. If you just keep saying, 'Oh no, I'm not gonna fight you,' you'll just get jumped.

Say, like right here, there were some guys who wanted to fight me and I walk away. Look back? They're right behind me ready to [take] me out.

Province: How do you get known as a gang?

Brad: You tag. You throw it up on a wall. You're in places.

Derek: You could go to a party and just do something for no reason and then say whatever your gang name is.

Province: Is there an escape from the gang scene once you're in it?

Karl: Yeah, there's one escape. Not hanging out with anybody at all. Anybody you know. Basically, making new friends who don't know anyone in gangs.

Derek: And I can't do that 'cause they won't accept me. The way I've been raised and the way I am, I just can't. I'm 16 years old and the way you are right now, you can't change it in one day.

Karl: They don't want us. We're just gonna bring problems.

You already know those people. There's no way now I can just turn around and change, because I already know them. They're not gonna forget about me and I'm not gonna forget about them. So the only way is to move out of here, start a new life, make new friends. Or just continue.

Derek: A lot of adults just say, 'What are you kids doing? Why are they doing this? They're doing it for nothing.' But there's nothing you can do about it, that's just how it is.

Brad: All parents say, 'Walk away. You're better than that.' But when it comes down to it, you shouldn't just walk away. It's just gonna get worse and worse and worse. If you tell teachers or the police, you're pretty much gonna get killed. You're gonna get the s--- kicked out of you.

Province: What's behind all the youth violence?

Karl: Nowadays, it's just normal. It happens every day. It shouldn't, we know inside it's wrong, but now it's, like, normal. When it happens, it's, like, whatever . . . Personally, I had a knife on me and I got arrested and the cop told me, 'This is really serious.' But I didn't really think of it as a serious thing.

Brad: If it were my choice, I wouldn't have any of this, like kids buying bear mace, knives or anything. But you can't stop every kid from carrying stuff on them.

lsin@png.canwest.com