Letter Re: Gangs and Escaped Convict Gang Members in TEOTWAWKI

Jim,
First off I don't want to come across as a dooms day advocate or an alarmist, but....last night while channel flipping I came across a program on Court TV. It was about the gangs that are in prisons. Mostly in the south west and western regions of the United States. I should have remembered the title but I don't. Anyway, it was an eye opening session for me. I recalled the different books I have read about post TEOTWAWKI and Mutant Zombie Bikers (MZBs) scenarios. The descriptions in the books are vivid as to their ruthlessness, however, I think they pale in comparison to the real gangs in prisons.
These prison gangs are racially centered re: Hispanics and blacks. There apparently weren't enough of the other races to even consider for the show. The Hispanic gangs are controlled by the Mexican Mafia. [JWR Adds: Actually, there are at least two major gangs that are rivals: the Mexican Mafia (a.k.a.Los Sureños) and La Nuestra Familia ("Our Family", a.k.a. Los Norteños). Each gang has dominance in particular regions.] I don't believe the black gangs were that organized. Both races considered each other heavy rivals for control and dominance of the prisons.
The Hispanics that came into the prison were from "rival" Hispanic gangs, however, once they entered the prison they were part of the new prison gang. If they refused they were beaten, sliced and diced and often times killed. Big motivating factor to tow the line. The Hispanics and blacks are well disciplined as to their own gangs goals. Mostly to stay in shape to be a warrior for the gang and their race. That was the word that one Hispanic gang member said in an interview. He was very proud of it and of his being a member. He would do what ever was asked of him. These men are in the kind of shape most of us can only dream of. They do nothing all day but prepare to fight, to be warriors for what ever cause their handlers deem important. No questions asked.
Of course this concerns me. I think of post TEOTWAWKI times and know that one of the areas of concern when the infrastructure is gone is the release of these individuals into the mix. I suddenly envision the movie The Postman with walled communities. If a post TEOTWAWKI gets to the point of gangs of this caliber roving around the country side we will have a big problem on our collective hands. Imagine them with weapons and leadership. A lot of us are probably over 40 years. Many probably a lot older. We are in a really bad way physically to deal with this. I see a time that will make the dark ages look like a Sunday school picnic. Suddenly I felt I and my loved ones were on the bottom of the food chain.
Again, I know I sound alarmist but it's a fact we can't overlook in our preparedness efforts. Retreat security, training, whether it's shooting, squad tactics, medical, has to be in the forefront for us. Establishing clear fields of fire, kill zones, etc need to be planned out and carried out to the best of our abilities. Training that is fun for the whole family. That's what this is all about in a nut shell is Plain Jane survival.
Maybe this was a little wake up call. Every now and then needed to keep us on track. We all work jobs during the day and on the weekends trying to make ends meet. Not a whole lot of time to do other things. I was wondering if some time can be spent in this area for your readers. . Maybe some readers with prior military experience could chime in? Concerned, - Larry in Kansas