"I had heard of the flaggers before but until my family was driven out of centertown, I had never had to deal with them. They seemed like immature children to me, even though some were my age."— Erevard Baxkaltus to Oyun Zayany
Choosing Family
In
Burim, away from the most central part of the city, groups have formed of - mostly - younger people, each group being associated with a color. Each color operates within its own territory and often gets into brawls with other color gangs over territory.
The families are made up of people who have chosen to be there, to accept the others as their family, to stand by them, and to follow the rules of the gangs. Often the people who join the groups are those who feel out-of-place at home - or have no home - for whatever reason; perhaps their parents have shunned them for who they love, how they present, or what they want to do in the future. As the youth of the
long city decide what their generation will look like, they butt heads with the ones that came before. Whatever their circumstances, for all, the flag families represent a home away from home.
Buildings will have paint markings or fabric hanging to identify their allegiance. Often this would be a member's home, a safehouse, or a shop under the - so-called - protection of a gang. In some locations there are two different colored flags or paint lines right beside each other, indicating the boundary of two territories.
The conflict between families has yet to result in any deaths but many people - parents mostly - are worried that at some point the activities of the young people will escalate from small brawls, crowded hangouts, and minor theft to much more serious crimes - and consequences.
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Colorless People
While it is dangerous for a member of one flag family to travel through the territory of another, it is safe for unaffiliated people - most people - to do so. People who aren't a part of a color gang are called "blanks" or "colorless" by those that are.
There have been a number of incidents of blanks getting accosted - even injured - because there were wearing the wrong thing in the wrong place. People in flag-controlled parts of
Burim have begun avoiding colorful clothes, sticking to whites, blacks, and browns.
They may look like two nations fighting each other but they have all agreed to the same code.— Report to the Burim Council
Hey! I think the idea of using colors to differentiate between gangs is pretty interesting. It makes me wonder, how do the colorblind fare in these areas?