I called the cops. For the next hour or so, we heard sirens all the place.

Yeah, the downtown Silver Spring area isn’t southcentral L.A. In fact, according to Ofcr Brodzinski, most of the gang activity in this immediate area goes down in Takoma/Langley, White Oak and Castle Blvd. Prince George’s county also has a big gang problem.

However, MySpace is crawling with gang bangers, with a few from Montgomery County. Other gangs maintain websites on free servers like Tripod, and YouTube is like a rogues’ gallery of thugs. Players aren’t shy when it comes to throwing a gang sign, especially if it can be broadcast via the worldwide web.

In the state of Maryland (probably any state, I’d guess), gang affiliation is not illegal. One can’t be arrested simply for running with a gang, whether in person or online. Arrests go down only when a recognized crime (theft, assault, extortion, etc) occurs.

Ofcr Brodzinski did mention a few busts in the Takoma/Langley area, mostly for gun possession. (And by “gun”, I mean “cache of assault rifles”.) A string of car break-ins is also being pinned on gangs.

And let’s not forget the scrap outside the Long Branch library as rival gangs waited to surf the net. Maybe it’s not Tupac vs Biggie, but the absurdity — the stupidity — of rumbling outside the library over web time is noteworthy, I believe.

I’m finding it hard to believe that with a headline like “Gangs stake claim along information superhighway”, there was no mention of any significant “gang-related” violence or arrests.

While I sat at the edge of my seat waiting to read some juicy article about a robbery, maybe even a rival gang battle, I instead saw nothing but a “gang-related” arrest that was as petty as a pair of eye glasses (wait a minute–not even sunglasses?) being “swiped”.

Back in my days, one arrest and one fight in three years was considered note-worthy and rather impressive for an area that attracts teens and young adults.