the illuminated web family values: the gangster version

[Map]
THE ILLUMINATED WEB
The map above represents the infrastructure of the academic and scientific portion of the Internet within the United
States. The red dots indicate regional nodes that enable universities and other research organizations, represented by the
white dots, to connect with one another; the color of the line connecting two dots represents the volume of traffic between
those sites, rangingfrom white and yellow (heaviest use) to red (medium use) to purple (lightest use). The map was created by Donna Cox and Robert Patterson of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications based on data that the
center gathered in September 1991. By the fall, the architecture shown here will be replaced by a more centralized version; the regional nodes will be replaced by four main hubs, run by for-profit telecommunications companies, through
which all traffic will be conducted. The map appeared in Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture, edited by Mark
Dery, published by Duke University Press.
[Rules]
FAMILY VALUES: THE
GANGSTER VERSION
From the secret rule book for Los Solidos Nation,
a Hartford, Connecticut, street gang that police
allege is involved in drug production and dealing,
prostitution, extortion, and murder. According to
an introductory note, the book is "never to be
touched by hands that are dirty" and should be
"read and studied" by each gang member "at least
twice a week." The gang, which was established in
1991, is Hartford's largest; police estimates of its
membership range from five hundred to two thousand. Eighteen Solidos were indicted last October
. for racketeering and are awaiting trial.
SIGNED CONTRACT
AND PHOTO
Every member of Los Solidos Nation will
have a folder at Headquarters containing his
photo, contract, address, phone number, posi-
18
HARPER'S MAGAZINE / APRIL 1995
tion, age, etc. The photo is for identification
purposes. The contract is required for your
safety as well as the Family's. It gives us your
100 percent pledge to do your duties for the
LS.N. Any violation of this contract will result in termination, beat down, or even death,
depending on the seriousness of the violation.
A signed contract also means that the Family
is obligated to provide money, clothes, backup,
lawyers, bondsmen, and so forth in your times
of need. A contract also means that you say
nothing about the L.S.N. to anyone outside the
Family. Doing so will be a Class A violation.
THE LABS
A van will pick up our scientists and take
them to the main laboratory for the making of
our products.
A. Upon entering the lab you will be required to sign in.
B. Each package will be composed,
weighed, and stamped at the lab. Then the
packages will be dropped off for the clockers
[dealers].
C. Any lab worker can be subjected to a
search at any time. Females will be searched by
a head female and males will be searched by a
head male.
D. Workers will be paid on a weekly scale. If
overtime is necessary, a bonus will be paid.
E. There will be no phone calls and no half
days at the lab. Full time only!
F. Security plays a vital role in our success,
and we will not tolerate anyone speaking
about our business or bragging to anyone outside the Family.
G. Absolutely no lab worker is to use the
product being processed.
are not affiliated with any other Family.
B. We guarantee a safe environment for
everyone who attends. We will provide the
necessary security. No weapons will be tolerated at the gathering.
C. Transportation will be provided for those
who need it.
SOLIDO ACHIEVEMENT
PLAN
As a Nation of Solid Brothers, our plans for
the future are to have a chain of stores, have
Brothers as lawyers, doctors, and politicians,
and have our families be well-off. But we have
to start slowly and climb this ladder of success
and fortune gradually.
Our main objective at this point is to expand our Family into the mainstream of soci-
COLLECTORS
The collector's job consists of picking up all
proceeds from all jobs nightly.
A. There will be a time set nightly for the
collectors' arrival so that the proceeds will be
ready.
B. Collectors will be held responsible for all
money in their possession between pickup and
arrival.
C. After the last pickup is made, the collectors must notify the accountant and wait for
his arrival. He will count all the proceeds before they are locked away.
D. The accountant will notify Headquarters
of the amount from each division and the total
amount taken in.
AFTER HOURS
After Hours is designed as a club-type area
for people looking for a party-type atmosphere.
A. Brothers and Sisters will be working as
bartenders and waitresses. Enforcers will be present to keep peace within After Hours and to
throw out those who can't control themselves.
B. Everyone entering After Hours must
leave all weapons outside. People entering will
be patted down for weapons.
C. Brothers will be posted outside to watch
for the police and to keep the area calm.
D. A few Brothers will also be assigned to
After Hours to sell their product.
GATHERING
Roughly once a month there will be a gathering of all Solidos and their families. The
gathering is held to strengthen Family ties and
to give us a chance to meet Brothers and Sisters from across the state. It shall be a day for
celebrating our love for one another. Cookouts,
sports, games, and music will all be provided.
A. Members of the L.S.N. are entitled to
bring the whole family-mothers,
sisters,
aunts, cousins, and so forth-as long as they
[Bio]
THE MANY FACES OF
SUBCOMMANDER
MARCOS
From a communique issued last year by a spokesman
for the Zapatista rebels in Chiapas, Mexico, in response to a reporter's query as to whether Subcommander Marcos, the Zapatistas' leader, is gay. In
Femuary Marcos was revealed by the Mexican government to be Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vincente, a
former college professor. A portion of the communique appeared in issue number six of City Lights
Review, published in San Francisco.
~Iarcos
is gay in San Francisco, black in
South Africa, an Asian in Europe, a Chicano
in San Ysidro, an anarchist in Spain, a Palestinian in Israel, a Mayan Indian in the streets
of San Crist6bal, a gang member in Neza, a
rocker in the National University, a Jew in.
Germany, an ombudsman in the Defense Ministry, a Communist in the post-Cold War era,
an artist without gallery or portfolio, a pacifist
in Bosnia, a housewife alone on a Saturday
night in any neighborhood in any city in Mexico, a reporter writing filler stories for the back
pages, a single woman on the subway at ten
P.M., a peasant without land, an unemployed
worker, a dissident amid free-market economics, a writer without books or readers, and, of
course, a Zapatista in the mountains of southeast Mexico.
READINGS
19
[Analysis]
IS JUSTICE
COLOR ..BLIND?
From New Techniques for Winning Jury Trials, by Dr. James Rasicot, a Minneapolis trial consultant, published by AB Communications.
The
book shows lawyers how to interpret the clothing,
hairstyles, occupations, educations, and other
characteristics of jurors and potential jurors in order to determine "who will potentially harm your
case the most ... and how .best to gain rapport and
credibility with individual jurors. "
One
technique that I have found very useful in the courtroom is color psychology. There
is a very high correlation between preferences
for red, yellow, blue, or green and certain personality types. Those who prefer red (16 percent of the population) are dominant and unemotional. Yellows (8 percent) are freethinking and emotional. Blues (58 percent) are
traditional and compromising. Greens (12 percent) are analytical and uncompromising. Because of their leadership qualities, reds and
greens are usually chosen to be jury forepersons. It is important to identify potential
forepersons quickly during jury selection, because they will account for 25 percent of the
discussion during deliberation.
Pay attention to jury patterns throughout
the trial. General trends in color preferences
are more telling than what someone wears on a
particular day. Who is wearing the bright colors? Who is wearing the dark? You want to be
able to understand the changes in the jurors'
behavior and to predict what they will do at
the end of the trial.
In criminal cases, blues and greens:
• identify with the victim
• are pro-establishment
• tend to convict
Reds and yellows:
• identify with the defendant
• are anti-establishment
• tend to acquit
In civil cases:
• yellows give the largest awards
• blues give money most often, but in small
amounts
• greens give the least amount of money and
are the most likely not to award anything at all
• reds are the most unpredictable; they give
either all or nothing
20
HARPER'S MAGAZINE/ APRIL 1995
ety. Therefore it would, be good for you to
bring your cousins, uncles, brothers, and
friends into the Family so we can secure the
backbone of our empire. In the process, we
will be cleaning up our communities by making them into one big Family and giving our
children a safer environment to grow up in.
The family and friends you grew up with are
now addicted to drugs. Don't turn your back
on them. Look out for them, put them in rehab, and give them a reason to better themselves. Show them there is someone who cares
for them and a family they can belong to if
they straighten themselves out. The majority
of young males in our communities today don't
have any family. That's why they're out running around and acting all crazy and foolish.
But if you give them an opportunity to be part
of a family, they will always be grateful to you
and look up to you. They will be the kind of
Brothers who will always be loyal to you and
to the Family.
[Legal Bill]
A KING'S RANSOM
From an itemized bill for $1 million submitted
last October to the city of Los Angeles by Steven
Lerman, one qf the lawyers who represented
Rodney King in his lawsuits against the city and
against the police officers who beat him in 1991 .
Because King won his lawsuit against the city,
L.A. taxpayers were liable for his legal fees. In
January, U.S. District Judge John G. Davies
dismissed all fees for services unrelated to "the
purposes of obtaining a favorable result for Mr.
King" and awarded Lerman $221,000. Lerman
later told reporters that "the intensity of the media coverage created the need to work twentyfour hours a day. What 1 billed was just a small
fraction of the time 1 spent."
TUESDAY,
3/5/91
Contacted by Odessa King. Learned that
her son, Rodney G. King, was arrested by
L.A.P.D.; apparently he suffered beating at
hands of officers; beating was videotaped by
GeorgeHolliday. 1 hour, $325
Met with King at San Fernando lockup; advised King of his potential legal action and
proceeded to obtain signature for retainment
purpose. Time then spent taking photographs
of King and advising him not to speak with
anyone unless attorney present. Further interviewing of King. 1.75 hours, $568.75
Checked King into Ramada Inn in Beverly
Hills after arranging for security andregistra-