“They’ve been damaged, and they can hurt people, but on the flip side, they’re resilient. They see a glimpse of hope.”
That’s how one person close to the group describes Check It, a gay and trans gang in Washington D.C.
Comprised of around 200 members, the group banded together out of necessity, and makes their money committing crimes like petty theft, robbery, and carjacking.
“They’re not the Bloods or the Crips by any stretch of the imagination, but law enforcement calls them a gang,” Dana Flor, who co-directed a new documentary about the group with filmmaker Toby Oppenheimer, says. “They call themselves a family.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Watch the preview below and find out how you can help. Oh, and Steve Buscemi shows up for some reason, too:
Giancarlo85
Society has let too many people down and many are falling through the cracks. People are kept down by the elitists in the republican party and Wall Street. Some live in their mansions ignorant to the world around them. I am not condoning crime in any sense, but more must be done to reach out to the disadvantaged. And it is at that moment can we really see change in this country.
Giancarlo85
@Giancarlo85: Btw I must add the Republican party and their white collar criminals steals more than this group ever will in a thousand years. If a guy is in a suit and he steals millions, that is a slap on the wrist.
BJ McFrisky
So gay criminals are okay?
Er, no. No, they’re not.
@Giancarlo85: White collar criminals are Republican? Hm, you might want to tell that to convicted criminal Democrats Gordon Fox, Patrick Cannon, Jim Black, Leland Yee, Jimmy Green, Kathleen Cane, Jesse Jackson Jr, William Jefferson, Jim Traficant, Frank Ballance, everyone involved in the House Banking Scandal of ’92, etc., etc., etc. . . . not to mention that 7 out of 10 felons who register to vote do so as . . . you got it: Democrats.
Did you have a point—other than the one on the top of your head?
Jacob23
Based on the preview, I think it is more accurate to say that it is a trans gang, with maybe one or 2 gay members. I don’t begrudge them the right to come together for self-defense, but the idea that they need to rob innocent people and perpetrate carjackings, as Dan Tracer says above, is insane. There’s a brief image at 2:25 where it looks like they are causing mayhem at a grocery store. I know people who work in grocery stores. They work 7 days a week. No vacations. Hour after hour after hour they are at that store. They have to put up with a lot of stress. They don’t need a bunch of violent, entitled hooligans to use their store as a target for crime, nor do the customers, who just want to buy food the money they earned by working. If this film is justifying or excusing this behavior, it isn’t doing the gang members any favors.
blessingyou
Giancarlo85: I totally agree with what you said.
It goes without saying that no one should be robbed. But the truth remains that there are a lot of people who are disenfranchised. When a culture marginalizes a group of people, they are essentially isolated and, ultimately, put in a defensive stance. Overall, the culture is not designed to accept them for who they are, let alone reflect their inherent value.
MarionPaige
Who’s idea was it to label these kids A GANG? How does that designation help them?
Groups of people have banded together for their collective welfare in many ways without them being called a gang. They are called housing cooperatives, credit unions and “social clubs”, among other things. In fact,
I have long argued that the real social revolution is (not f-king marriage) but groups of people coming together in legally recognized / organized groups. The problem is that people who can most benefit from say a housing cooperative (for example) probably don”t know what a housing cooperative is (or they think it is something for the rich).
Really, it’s kinda embarrassing I think that all of these over educated White twenty-somethings who fleed Manhattan for Brooklyn never thought of banding together to create housing cooperatives.
MarionPaige
BTW, there was a situation in New York City of this group of Black kids hanging out in The Village for some reason. Those kids were labeled a gang because that made it easy for the cops to round them all up.
First, the Check It kids are labeled a gang and shown allegedly engaged in some “disruptive” activities. THEN, it is disclosed that they are organized into some kid of business structure which makes it pretty easy for the cops of find out all of their names.
Saint Law
@BJ McFrisky: In the US peops can be criminalized for an unpaid parking ticket, for smoking pot, for jay-walking; although, of course, the demographics that are subject to this are overwhelmingly minority: Black and Hispanic. True they tend to vote Democrat, but then an actual fascist party isn’t going to have much traction among the poor.
Which I guess is why the Republican party and it’s wretched sympathizers have been leading drives to deny said ‘criminals’ the vote.
So, basically, Mr Excrement, you’re acting as an apologist for Jim Crow twenty first century style.
It would be great if you were mugged.
Bob LaBlah
@MarionPaige: Those kids were swept up (and THANKFULLY gotten rid of for the most part) because the people who live across the street of the Westside Hwy, whom paid MILLIONS of dollars for their condo’s, got tired of hearing yelling and screaming (at the top of their lungs) along with fighting at 1 or 2 in the morning. They decided that since Hudson Park was a private, YES PRIVATE park, and not part of the public park system as we may think, it would be best to simply put a curfew on it.
Huge tickets and arrest can come if caught on the other side of that barrier at night that is put up at 12:01am sharp. All due to a bunch of lowly saggers too stupid to look across the street and start putting two and two together as to why they are unwanted down there. Ever wonder why you see practically NO white people walking in the area at night? Well, there’s your reason.
Don’t dispair folks. These queens are the remnants of what used to troll the area of Washington, DC and have yet to be run over into P.G. County. Be patient. They too will be run out of there. The mentality of D.C. “power”, the black church, will do the same for them as they did for them back during the HIV introduction of the 1980’s. That will be absolutely NOTHING. Be patient and stay tuned.
Giancarlo85
@BJ McFrisky: Massive liar. You have no clue what you’re talking about.
“Democrats … blah blah blah blah….”
That’s a fucking drop in the hat compared to republicans.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/17/157477/-List-of-Reagan-administration-convictions
http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/+Reasonable/Reagan.html
Under the Reagan administration, there were 138 indictments alone. That’s correct, 138 people were convicted for criminal activity during the Reagan administration, including for bribery, graft, selling arms to terrorists… the list goes on and fucking on.
You’re a hideous idiot who isn’t even capable of coherent thought. Then you cite Bill Clinton? What are you on? What about Newt Gingrich?
I can’t list all the indictments and convictions here from the Reagan administration because I would be reported for flooding.
Giancarlo85
You can’t talk any sense to this Bj McIdiot and his support of the criminal republicans. Democrats are far from clean (I even brought up Leeland Yee who fucked up), but the republicans are on a whole different level of corrupt and dirty. I’ll take democrats over republicans any time.
Giancarlo85
@Giancarlo85: *138 indictments and/or investigations into criminal misconduct.
And they say Reagan didn’t know what was going on. Perhaps he didn’t because his mind was mush by 1984. Reagan should have been impeached himself and removed from office for gross misconduct and incompetence.
Under him Americans died all over… American CITIZENS died in this country because of the gross neglect by the Reagan administration. Who am I talking about? Countless gay Americans while Reagan administration officials sat on their hands and were busy selling weapons to terrorists.
And don’t even let me bring up Bush… that’s another administration that had countless indictments as well.
Here are all the indictments and resignations because of official misconduct within the Bush administration:
https://suzieqq.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/criminals-in-the-bush-administration/
Anyone remember Scooter Libby? Because this dumb idiot McFrisky certainly doesn’t.
Giancarlo85
@BJ McFrisky: Most criminals in this nation are repubilcans. Not democrats.
You want another whipping? I didn’t know you were into S&M.
For every democrat you name, I can name 10 republicans indicted/conviction of crimes. And I can name some that should be serving life sentences… like a former REPUBLICAN President and Vice President…
You make me sick on so many levels. You self serving self hating piece of shit.
MarionPaige
@Giancarlo85: “Those kids were swept up (and THANKFULLY gotten rid of for the most part) because the people who live across the street of the Westside Hwy, whom paid MILLIONS of dollars for their condo’s, got tired of hearing yelling and screaming (at the top of their lungs) along with fighting at 1 or 2 in the morning. ”
I got “help” from a NYC GOv agency with a little legal situation and, some months later, I realized that I had seen the actual people responsible for “these co-ordinated attacks” on certain people (like those Black Kids in the Village, those 50+ year old gay men arrested for prostitution, the closing of a gay bar in The Village that attracted a lot of Blacks etc.). When you have the cops and city agencies and prosecutors all coming at you in a co-ordinated assault, it usually means that some real estate developer wants the land you’re on i.e., it’s usually about real estate.
I recently read that DC is no longer majority Black.
nickvanallen
I’VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHEN AN ALL GAY GANG WOULD FORM…#WISHCOMETRUE LOL
Andrew Yang
@Giancarlo85: Wow, thanks for the information my friend. I just love it when facts are thrown out there in the face of those who offer opinions as if they are indeed facts. Well done!!
@ BJ McFrisky – Why did you stop? I love a nice debate.
Kangol
@Giancarlo85:
Thank you!
Giancarlo85
You’re welcome.
The Reagan and Bush administrations were the most corrupt in history. Hey they carry on the tradition of Warren Harding and Herbert Hoover. Corrupt, ra*cist dou*chebaggery. The token gay Republican on here can deflect facts all he wants, but that is the reality.
jwtraveler
@BJ McFrisky: Felons can’t vote.
Roan
Frankly, I’m surprised they use ice picks and brass knuckles. I would have thought they would hold you down and do your hair.
BJ McFrisky
@Giancarlo85: Your logic is flawed, Cam—-er, I mean Jeannie-Carla. But I must say, your tantrum-throwing is epic.
@jwtraveler: Er, wrong. Only 11 states permanently ban felons from future voting, 37 allow felons to vote after their prison sentence and parole are served, and Maine & Vermont have 0 restrictions on felony voting. Look it up. Next time, think facts before you speak feelings, and your statement won’t be so blatantly false.
Giancarlo85
@BJ McFrisky: You got slammed with facts. For every democrat you can name, I can name 10 corrupt republicans who have been indicted or convicted of crimes.
You’re a total liar.
Are you in one of those states that bans felons from future voting? So you can’t vote?
dave lopes
@nickvanallen: That is not a Gay gang. That is a Trans Gang.
chaddyboy6
I do not care who you are. It is never okay to rob or harass innocent people….even if you are “disenfranchised” whatever that may be….These people are young adults and made the decision to steal. They are thugs. No justification for what they do.
enlightenone
@BJ McFrisky: “…Did you have a point—other than the one on the top of your head?”
As least his pencil has a point, therefore, he has value to himself and society! You? Let me answer for you, Fox “news” is looking to hire someone to scrub toilets! I’m certain you will NOT be overqualified.