For years I discredited their movement because IMO, gangbanging Red and Blue just wasn’t something East Coast cats did, especially not New York City cats.
I never got put on a set, but I ran with some Bloods during my travels in Cali back in the 90s/early 00s, I was magnetized to their culture like most out of towners are when they spend time on them LA/SD blocks, and as a result, when I came home in ‘04, and saw nikkas on the coast claiming they was Blood, I looked down on them and any nikka from the East claiming a set, unless they actually went to Cali and was indoctrinated into that culture first hand.
But....
Since some of the OG NYC Bloods started coming home and speaking on the true origins of the movement, I have no choice but to salute them for creating an organization that fought for the protection of black folks in the most fukked up of circumstances.
I read the Vietnam war book on black soldiers titled Bloods when I was in high school...
and never did the knowledge as to that being the ultimate influence behind the banner the NYC Bloods was flying under, not copying the Bloods from Cali.
And now that I find out that they was never on some Crip vs Blood shyt, and actually had love for Crips because they had nothing to do with their origins, and only saw them as fellow blacks in the struggle, I have no choice but to swallow my pride and humbly salute them.
