Cribs was chosen to reflect the young age of the majority of the gang members. The name evolved into "Crips" when gang members began carrying around canes to display their "pimp" status. People in the neighborhood then began calling them cripples, or "Crips" for short.
The Crips were originally the "Cripples" who used an early version of the "pimp cane" as their coat-of-arms, so I've heard. Well, having been resident in Los Angeles during their rise to fame, I know that they were originally the Cripples and carried canes. The rest is hearsay.
It's popularly said the name Bloods is an acronym for “Brotherly Love Overcomes Overrides and Destruction.” However, the Bloods, given their origins as a counter-Crip alliance, likely take their name from 1960s slang, blood, short for blood brother, referring to a “fellow (young) black person.”
The Crips and Bloods are the names used as an umbrella under which many Los Angeles African-American street gangs align themselves. When these gangs began dealing rock cocaine in Los Angeles rock houses, the large sums of money produced gave the gangs more power and influence than they had ever known.
Crip* is reclaimed language used within disabled communities. It has a long history of being used as a slur, but now is used as a marker of pride, insider experience, and camaraderie. Not all choose to use it, similar to the reclaimed word queer.
The casting of Sam Claflin (“Love, Rosie”) in “Me Before You” and Dakota Fanning (“The Alienist”) in “Please Stand By” are just a couple examples of Hollywood using “cripface,” a term that refers to able-bodied actors portraying characters with disabilities.
Crips call themselves “Blood Killas” and cross the letter “b” out or leave it off altogether. Crips do not use the letters “ck” as it denotes “Crip Killer” and substitute it for “cc” (as in “kicc” for “kick”). While traditionally African-American, today's Crip membership are multi-ethnic.
The Bloods gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the Crips in Los Angeles. The rivalry originated in the late 1960s when Raymond Washington and other Crips attacked Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, two students at Centennial High School in Compton, California.
Crips, street gang based in Los Angeles that is involved in various illegal activities, notably drug dealing, theft, extortion, and murder. The group, which is largely African American, is traditionally associated with the color blue. The Crips gained national attention for their bitter rivalry with the Bloods.
“The males are called the Bloods; the females are called Bloodettes,” testified FBI agent Kevin Conroy at the Matthew Perry U.S. Courthouse in Columbia.
A common greeting among Bloods members is “SuWoop!” (representing a police siren) and members will often say “Blaat!” (representing the sound of automatic gunfire) to announce their presence. The numbers 0, 3, and 1 are very significant to East Coast affiliated Bloods and will appear in their graffiti and tattoos.
: membership in a noble or socially prominent family. -ˌbləd. : a member of a noble or socially prominent family. blue-blooded.
This dance involves the movement of one's feet, classically to the spelling of C-R-I-P (refer C Walk). It was used by Crips at parties to display affiliation, particularly vis-a-vis rival gang the Bloods. It was also used after killing someone to give the kill a Crip signature.
Crip-Walking can mark a major event, like a gang initiation. It's not exclusively used by the Crips — in fact, many gangs use it to create their own vocabulary. The Bloods even have their own version, called the B-Walk.
The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States. With an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members in 2008, the gangs' members have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing, among other crimes.
Usually the Crips and the Bloods hang out together at my school, and they don't have problems with each other. This is common in a lot of high schools, according to my friends who are gang members. Even though the gangs are sworn enemies, they're usually about peace in the school building.
Gang Identification
It is extremely important to realize and understand that not everyone who wears a particular color, or who has a tattoo, is a gang member. Bloods wear red, Crips wear blue. There are thousands of gangs in the U.S. and most identify with one or more colors of every description.
Two of these gangs were the Brims and the Pirus. In the 1970s, the Brims and the Pirus formed an alliance of self-preservation that produced the gang now called the Bloods.
Gang Slang
Crips might greet each using the word, “cuzz.” Bloods might use the word, “blood.” A gang member saying that he is “Sureno” indicates that he is from southern California, as opposed to one who says he is “Norteno,” which means that he is from northern California.
LOC commonly used by members of the Crips stands for “Love of Crip.” The six pointed star commonly referred to as the Star of David is used by the Crips. As seen in the above example, Crips use the number six which corre- sponds with the six pointed star.
5-point Star or Crown = People Nation. 6-Point Star = Folk Nation. All Seeing Eye/Pyramid = Sees everything but does not tell. Teardrops = Typically on the “strong side” or the side of their face that falls under the nation they represent (Folk versus People).