random

[sarahskirt]

I'm in my hotel room in Biloxi and there's a history channel documentary on about MS, Mara Salvatrucha, a Salvadoran gang with a serious (and not unwarranted) reputation. Some gems: they keep referring to the "brutal civil war" in El Salvador, and reason that the gang started being so violent: "they were so used to that level of violence because of the war in their homeland" and, my favorite part, when talking about MS rivalry with other Latino gangs (like the war with the 18th street gang, or the moderation of same by the Mexican mafia): "you might think, Hispanic, Hispanic, they should all just get along . . . but that's not how it works." Right, all Latinos should get along just because they're brown. Makes perfect sense. (Interesting tidbit I think they actually might've gotten right: the number 13 is significant for being for M, the 13th letter of the alphabet, and signifies association with/homage to the Mexican mafia. I've wondered about that myself but figured it was a geographic reference, like 18th street.)

Also, I'm not Salvadoran, but just as an issue of language, I like the word Salvadoran so much better than the word Salvadorean. I don't know how an E ever gets into that word.