Bleeding On The Sidewalk Bleeding Quotes

Why is it that when you ask anyone the first race that comes to mind when you say the word gang, they say african american or black people? These are what I call stereotypes most people are always assuming black people are in gangs and that they are causing all the violence that is going on. Most of the time people associate gangs with violence but in facts not all gangs are deadly and violent. “Blood in, blood out” is an old phrase many street gangs would say. Usually joining a gang is suppose to require an intense initiation. The world’s biggest threat is mankind. People join gangs for a feeling of being secure.

Initially gang activity could only be found in large metropolitan cities, but now gangs have invaded neighborhoods of all sizes across the country. Gangs introduce violence and fear to the communities they occupy, raise the level of drug activities, and destroy businesses and property which brings down the overall value of the whole area. Instead of going to school, many young people find themselves drawn in to the gang life which in most cases either leads to being locked up or death. There are various reasons why people would want to join a gang, but no matter what that reason might be one can only expect a life of violence and troubles.

The sad reality is that society does not take a minute to step out of their shoes and try to understand why someone becomes a gang member. Throughout Barking to the Choir, two common themes that arise is the lack of love, and growing up with a rough childhood. For many, survival becomes the priority, especially if they have siblings to look out for. Thus, gang life is not an ideal choice but rather a lucrative option. Through Rational Choice Theory, it is easy to place blame on the gang member, but the reality is that for a plethora of gang members there was no other

Gangs have been a growing issue across the United States for many decades now. Youth gang violence may have started around the ‘50s, but did not become a serious issue until the ‘80s and from there went through a downward spiral in some cities like downtown Los Angeles, which was where the notorious Bloods and Crips gangs both started. First, let’s simply define a gang as a group of people, mostly men ranging for ages 14-30, who claim territory and use it to make money for themselves and their neighborhood through illegal activities such as trafficking drugs and weapons. There are many reasons and components that are factored in when conducting research to hypothesize “why do people join gangs?” That is why it is necessary to compare and contrast all the social, biological, psychological, developmental, and substance abuse aspects and relate it to joining a gang. It is also important to touch base on the differences between males and females that join gangs, such as power differentials, social learning differences and social stratification differences.

Anderson posits that this is a major reason why they join gangs; they want to earn their “manhood” or at least learn what it means to be a man. This leads to them getting a twisted idea of what it is to be a true man (Anderson 14-16). Another issue that Anderson discusses is the growing intensity of girls becoming more violent in reaction to different types of threats to respect such as rumors and gossip. While Anderson does say girls are less prone to killing others based on these issues, there is still a rise in fighting amongst those in the areas these gangs run rampant (Anderson 16-18). Finally, Anderson ends his article with a final component in which gang members try to earn a reputation for being “bad” as they call it. This comes down to the willingness to perform risky behaviors, and how little they fear death as a result of their activities (Anderson 18-19). Anderson terms this kind of culture to be an oppositional culture (Anderson 20).

In society today, there is a major problem We live in a society where gangs are taking over our neighborhoods in numbers. It is the responsibility of the individuals to part take in getting their neighborhoods back under control. Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives or for acceptance. When youths join gangs, they drop all their social activities with school, family, and friends. However, individuals ruin their lives, and the chances of them having a decent education, and a successful life by getting involved in gang activity.

Gangs originated naturally during the adolescent years of a child. They started from small play groups that eventually found themselves in conflict with other small groups of youth. Due to the conflict between the two small groups of youth it became a part of a child’s mind set to come together as a gang and protect their rights and satisfy the needs that their environment and families couldn’t provide. There are about 24,500 gangs in the U.S and out of those gangs 40% of them are juveniles (Hess, Orthmann, Wright, 2013). There are numerous reason why a child would join a gang, and the

Qualitative descriptions suggest that, for many, gang membership represents 104 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice / May 2005an opportunity to enhance social capital as a means to cope with a multitude of problems. Although on balance gang life appears to be neither very rewarding nor satisfying (Hagedorn, 1988), identification with the gang is solidified in response to conflict—often with other gangs—as members pursue their individual and collective interests.

This book was different than other literature that had been produced, because Duran was able to get closer and inspect the deeper characteristics of gang life and gang members themselves. This is something that other researchers in the field are typically not able to accomplish. He took on the perspective of investigating what role racial oppression had with the development of gangs. His perspective and his ex-gang membership background allowed him to be more trusted by all the gang members that he interviewed for this research.

As horrible as gangs are, gang members themselves believe that they are beneficial to inner-city society. A former Gangster Disciple, for example, maintains that gang life taught him a lot: "I grew up without a father and I turned to my Disciple brothaz for love. They knew exactly how to treat a brotha and were always there for me, through thick and thin" (Douglas 162).

This paper was done in response to an article that I came across in which a child was convicted as an adult for homicide. The homicide was supposedly gang-related; the young child that was only 14 years of age was painted as an entrenched gang member. This article made me think what contributed to this situation and how it can be eradicated from today’s society so this will never happen to any of our youth.

The book has lots of different times where I feel I am personally connected with the story or can make connections with the characters or setting. The setting of the book is in an old rural town where there isn’t many people. The town is constantly being described in further detail throughout the book. The more the town is described, the more it reminds me of the little old towns we passed on our way done to Coffs Harbour in NSW. In particular, this one that ran down a river with a sugar can mill all old buildings and a dodgy road. It matched the exact description of the town in the book. Also in the book the main character and his brother Keith always spend afternoon with their dad eating chips or special special treats.

I think the most surprising myths about gangs from reading the material is that the want to-be is a going to be section. I lived in Peoria Illinois for a time when I was younger we lived in the Greeley projects, there were a lot of tough kids there that claimed to be members of a gang. I being ten years old and new to the area believed them. But now that I’m older I understand that they were just wannabes acting like they were gang members, I’ve actually talk to some of them on Facebook now who are well into 40s and most are married and have kids of their own living in suburbs with 9-to-5 jobs. I think growing up in the 80s it seem like everyone wanted to be a member of a gang, maybe it was the mystique of being feared by others around you

Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.

    Gang violence is a huge problem in America today. More and more children are joining gangs every day. It has become evident that these gangs made up of young people are causing numerous problems. Gang violence and gang activities impact all of those around the gang members. The kids in these gangs are hurting themselves, each other, their families, and the communities around them. Those who are associated with the gangs through family ties or just those who are associated with the gangs through geographical location. Before we can understand how gangs effect the people and communities around them we must first understand what gangs actually are. We must try and understand how the gang members think,