The Interrupters Page #9

I don't like to fight,

but I'll fight if I have to.

That's how it is,

but... I'll fight.

I'll fight anybody.

Everybody fighting.

Why you so angry?

Why... why you love to fight?

Because it's just the way

I was brought up.

I just always had to fight.

Always had to fight.

Basically.

It's hard out there.

When I grew up, I used to wake

up wanting to bite somebody.

Just bite somebody.

And I understand a hellraiser

liking to fight.

But walking away

from a fight

ain't always meaning

that you punk.

...not to them.

When they look at it,

they gonna think you a punk

and little b*tch and all that.

But...

As I got older and

weighed out my consequences

and saw everybody that I was

raised with that loved to fight

was in the penitentiary

or dead.

Does that mean

you a punk, still?

It's a myth that most

of the violence is gang-related

because a lot of the violence

is interpersonal conflict.

Guys get into it for the most

pettiest reasons out here.

So it's all about respect

and disrespect.

Not being accepted

in the overall society,

a lot of people feel ostracized,

so what they do?

They try to dominate

their surroundings.

I didn't eat this morning.

I'm wearing my niece's clothes.

I just was violated

by my mom's boyfriend.

I go to school and here comes

someone that bumps into me

and don't say excuse me.

You hit zero to rage

within 30 seconds.

And you act out.

Some of these kids,

man, they don't care about tomorrow.

"F*** tomorrow. "

That's what they gonna tell you.

"I'm trying to survive today,

right now.

"I'm trying to live right now.

"I'm trying to make sure

I don't get shot.

"I'm trying to make sure that my

boy next to me doesn't get shot.

"And if he does, guess what?

I'm gonna go over there

and shoot them too. "

So this is what

violence interrupters do.

Focused like a laser on reducing

shootings and killings.

And then the deeper part of the

whole program is changing norms.

In Chicago,

the interrupters

have interrupted

about 1,400 such events.

We average about a 40% to 45%

drop in shootings and killings

in the areas

where we are put in.

Have you had incidents

where the police feel

that you should have given them

information and you didn't,

and that you were

on the side of the offenders?

If we were to do that,

we would not be effective.

We are trying to keep CeaseFire

neutral, uh, politically,

as far as the relationship

with law enforcement

and the community.

I mean, I'm confused

when you say neutral.

How are you seen as being

a neutral force in that area?

Because there's right

and there's wrong.

It's not about right

and wrong on one side.

We don't want law enforcement

thinking

that we are coddling

these criminals

and we're hiding information

so they can continue

doing negative behavior.

And we don't want

the community thinking

that we're stool pigeons

reporting information

that they give us

to law enforcement.

You know, the right and wrong

of these conflicts

is all point of view.

Whether you're going to take it

back one day or five years

or 200 years.

I mean, everyone

has got a grievance,

and so we just have to say that

no matter what,

the additional violence

isn't going to be helpful.

So we're not in the, um,

the good and bad game.

We're not in that drama.

It's just hard, because

these guys are still, uh,

cut from the code

of the streets.

I've seen the faces

of the Interrupters

when we hear that

a seven-year-old girl got shot.

Interrupters say, "Man,

something needs to be done. "

But it's hard for these brothers

to make that quantum leap

into turning somebody in.

The police support CeaseFire,

but when they first started

down here, I got criticized.

You know, from everybody,

police,

people down here

on CeaseFire staff.

You know, when you are hiring

all these, you know,

go for tough guys.

But how the hell you really

gonna stop the violence?

We was

mediating that situation,

a guy recently was released

from prison,

and he thought the man

was talking about him.

And got out the car and punched

the man and his brother...

China Joe was

known as the Gladiator.

All vice lords had to fight

China Joe to become a vice lord.

How do you think that makes

a young guy feel?

"Man, China Joe just told me

to stand down. "

...all good, he

shook his hand, hugged him,

and we left it at that.

Hey, what's up?

Interrupters, you

know, our intentions are noble,

and they're good.

But sometimes we don't always

go at it the right way.

I'm not in the streets anymore.

You can't take the law

into your own hand, you can't.

As an Interrupter, that has been

one of our greatest challenges.

When Violence Interrupters have

to use the threat of violence

to actually mediate a conflict,

this is where the rubber

meets the road at.

Because in reality,

you cannot mediate conflicts

without confrontation.

First saved message.

He left me a voicemail.

What up there.

I got a call

from a guy I met in jail.

He said this guy sent some

police in his house,

"Someone here's doing

illegal things. "

Said the police kicked

his door in, locked up his brother,

they threw handcuffs

on his mother.

And he talking about he knew

who had sent the police

in his house.

He was looking for 'em.

F*** that p*ssy-ass n*gger.

What's up, what's up?

My man Flamo,

he'll make you laugh.

But if you f*** with him,

you better bring it on.

These motherfuckers

came here, man.

Had my motherfucking mama

handcuffed.

My little brother handcuffed

and sh*t, man.

Took my little brother,

the one that got shot.

In a f***ing wheelchair, man.

Took him to jail.

But still though man, you got

to try to leave that sh*t alone.

Man, I ain't leaving sh*t alone

until I get these motherfuckers.

You already know how I get down.

I mean, but that sh*t

ain't gonna make no...

Boy, it's gonna make it

better for me.

I'm sorry to hear

about your brother,

but still though,

that don't make sh*t no right.

Oh damn, I need my phone.

That ain't gonna make sh*t

no better, though.

F*** making it better.

I can't, you know...

Man, you crazy man,

be out here like this.

I'm listening to you, man.

It's love, and everything.

But I ain't feeling that,

none of this sh*t.

And I respect y'all,

you know what I'm saying,

what you doing and everything,

that's cool.

But f*** that.

I'm not with CeaseFire.

Where was y'all at

when these motherfuckers

came kicking my door in?

What I'm saying is, we can't

erase what already happened,

but the whole thing is, you

gotta look at it like, man...

You can't erase what happened.

You right.

And you can't predict

what the f*** I'm finna do.

Sh*t...

You know, we just try

to work sh*t out.

We try to offer you

options and solutions to the problem.

Man, f*** this sh*t.

F*** a problem.

F*** a solution.

These motherfuckers

trying to take my sh*t.

You ain't just crossed me,

you crossed my f***ing mama.

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