This morning our neighbor cautioned us that tonight the Bloods gang will be conducting initiation rites, and are singling out women for attack. Her concern was nice, but immediately I started thinking, this sounds familiar …

A quick Google later, and we find that this rumor has been around since at least 1993, and before that it was attributed to the Hell's Angels. The Web is alive with chatter, mostly school kids fanning the flames of paranoia, as post after post confirms the validity of the warning. Their claims are 'backed up' by mentions of girls already killed in Newark (with no further citation needed apparently). One girl mentioned that she has friends in the NYPD and they've confirmed the validity of female targeting by Bloods' pledges, although her claim seems a bit suspect when she mentions that each person must kill 31 women each. Hmmm.

This sucks, if only because it makes people worry needlessly. Worse, there is the outside possibility that some dickhead kid will see the rumor and take it upon himself to make his bones. But I guess there's no point in blaming the urban legend. We're all spooked by everything these days, and ready to believe the absolute worst. Think about it, I know gangs are scum, but what would it prove to anyone to specifically attack women? I know standards have dropped a lot over the years, but the whole thing smacks of fabrication designed to elicit the greatest hysterical reaction.

Meanwhile, parents will be searching their kids' candy for nonexistent razor blades, and cat adopters will be refraining from adopting out any black cats. Frankly people, if you were gonna adopt out "Midnight" to the kind of person who's going to crucify him, you probably shouldn't be adopting out anything to anybody; you're a lousy judge of character.

A friend of mine got mugged last night, but his attackers made no mention of gangs or initiations. They took his iPod and his phone, then returned his phone "because it was so shitty." Now that's something to worry about.