but as far as the larger issue, while i think the potential is there to ridicule the semantics, i think there’s also something about the term “gang” that seems a lot more menacing, a lot more threatening, and a lot more imminent than “crew.” and besides, i think we all know that if enough brothers are standing around doing nothing in particular, that would constitute a gang in the eyes of some. don’t let em be wearing outfits that resemble each other in some way. i mean, at my man’s bachelor party a couple weeks ago, we could’ve been described as a gang, since we all had on black t-shirts with red writing. f’real-f’real, it was a legitimate concern as we walked to the restaurant and jokers just stopped and stared. only thing that kept the story happy was that no police rolled up on us like we were up to no good.

Given the tactics to go after crews is the same as in gangs, and given that people in the street treat crews as gangs, and given that the D.C. police know the crew situation is serious, it’s just a local term and not a cover up. Like “Mumbo sauce” really being bbq sauce or “pop” in the mid-west being “soda” on the east coast.