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A couple decades ago, I had the honor of being the sign and mural painter for the Nation of Islam in Southern California. I even painted a huge Arabic "Allah, God Is Great" inside the mosque.
Being a white man with a Confederate flag tattoo, I was often accosted, once at gunpoint, for being a "traitor." When I did get shot by a gang of Crips near my parent's home while impeding a home invasion robbery, the Nation of Islam and some Hispanic punk rock buddies of mine brokered a peace that got me off the gang's hit list. My parent's neighborhood has been robbery-free ever since.
The most important thing I learned from these hard-working men and women was that everyone is a role model. A young person sees that being a bum, a murderer or a thief is a possible way of life.
So when someone complains that setting up a prostitution sting operation outside a school is unfair to whoremongers, it reminds me of what I learned from Brother Carl and Sister Sharon, Brother Wali and Sister Antoinette, Brother Eddie and Brother Eugene: Everyone is a role model, act like it.
Nick Rusnak
Paia