Tag: gangs
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Chapter 11: Sandals
I had to check in periodically with my probation officer downtown. His name was Officer Hewitt. Sometimes he was cool and sometimes he was an ass. This day he was an ass. “Do you like pets?” asked Hewitt. “Nah.” I answered. “Are you allergic to them?” he asked. “No, why?” I replied. “Ok, good. I’m…
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Chapter 9: Locked Up
On my second day in Juvenile hall I watched a Mexican cholo get his head smashed into a table by a big black kid. The poor guy was caught unaware from the back and was being pummeled into the ground while the black kid kept screaming, “Don’t ever talk bout my momma! Don’t ever talk…
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A Church for the Rejects
We are always talking about reaching the unchurched, unreached and unengaged. That’s a good thing. The problem is we have no plan to reach the rejects of society because we aren’t willing to become rejects ourselves. We are always separating “us” and “them”. We put them in a different category as if we have something…
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Our Gospel Aim: Decisions or Disciples?
Last week some friends and I were gathered around a frail woman who was possessed by evil spirits. The woman and her family had come from a rural village several hours away. They were desperate for help and wanted to turn from spirit worship. They decided to put their faith in Jesus. The moment we…
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Chapter 6: Routine
Southwest Michigan. Some small crappy town. 6:40 am. Snowing and pitch black except for the orange glow of street lights. The air was cold enough to freeze the snot running down my nose. My greatest motivation to wake up and walk to school in this shitstorm was the thought of packaged blueberry muffins, cafeteria sausages…
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Jungle Asian – This Is Who We Are
Let’s admit it folks, Americans can be some of the most myopic and culturally inept people on the planet. We live in one of the most diverse countries in the world yet many know nothing about the rich cultures of the people on our doorsteps. Take the famous Texan, Hank Hill, for example. He’s known…
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Money and Asians
We’ve come a long way from stashing all our valuables under the mattress or in a safe hidden somewhere in Mom and Dad’s bedroom. That’s how our folks and their folks before them did it for centuries. They keep all the gold, charms, cash and jewelry close by – and then gossiped about how much…
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Chapter 4: Respect
Sixty seconds can seem like a long time, especially when you are getting pummeled from every side by gang members. I was getting jumped into an Asian gang called Local Oriental Killers (LOK). It was an organized beat down. The only rules were no shots to the groin and face but everything else was a…
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Chapter 1: Gangsta
This story begins in a very different part of the world – a place that is far from what we would consider to be normal. A world where you and I, no matter how Asian or culturally aware we think are will never fully be able to relate to. For our parents growing up in Southeast…
The Asian Rough Rider 