Volume 18, Number 9 · May 18, 1972
II Machismo in Washington
By I.F. Stone
I see by the New York papers that the Bronx, like Vietnam, is plagued by civil war. I feel for Congressman Biaggi, who has been trying to bring its rival gangs together. There was something more than faintly familiar in the New York Times account on April 22 of his peace efforts. One gang leader, Ted Gonzalez of the Seven Immortals, avowed that his gang's intentions were utterly peaceful, unlike its rival the Black Spades. 'The Spades just want to fight while we want to make peace,' he told Biaggi. 'But I tell you, if fight we must, then we're prepared for a rumble too. No one's going to tread on our turf.' This manly readiness to stand up against aggression, to face up to the test of will at whatever cost—this sounds like those who rallied to support Nixon's bombing of Haiphong in the Senate a few days earlier.
Feature, 1664 words
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