I read most of your article on “Gangs of Zion” in the
Logan Herald Journal and was very disappointed
by the lack of research that went into it. Granted, you did do some
historical research on the history of Polynesians and their
migration to Utah, but you would think you would have taken the
time to investigate why youth, and in particular Polynesian youth,
join gangs. Instead, you went ahead in a cowardly way to blame the
LDS Church for the problems of Polynesian youth.
You
wrote about Miles Kinikini, who first joined a gang when he was in
third grade to protect himself from Hispanic gangs. In his
situation, I would probably have joined a gang, too. I guess
that’s the LDS Church’s fault, or maybe the Catholic
Church is at fault because they did not do enough to stop the
Hispanic kids from joining gangs?
I grew up in Salt Lake
City on the west side, where I attended West High School. I had
many friends who came from different ethnic backgrounds, and some
were in gangs. Never once did I hear that the reason they joined a
gang was because the church they belonged to did not do enough.
Matthew Adams
Logan, Utah
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline You can’t blame the church.
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