Gang Behaviour And Conformity Essay

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.

When individuals decided to get involve in those type of activities many of them do it for specific reasons. For example, people join gang for acceptance, protection, and some are forced into it, because of their family are gang affiliated. Gangs partake endlessly in finding different method for individuals to more effectively get the things they want, particularly power. Therefore, people that are easily influenced tends to gravitate toward gang activities for recognition in the community. According to Goldman, Giles, & Hogg (2014), “Gang members’ actions impact other gang members as well as the wider community; everyone is at risk of being a victim of gang violence” (p. 825). Gang violence goes further than racial issue, but it more intensely touches African American and Latino communities.

Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.

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

Gangs can be classified as a group of adolescents who are perceived to be a threat to society, are mostly recognized by their name and territorial power, and have been involved in numerous acts that violate criminal law procedures in North America. (Esbensen, Winfree, He and Taylor, 2001). The first theme that was present in the pieces of literature collected was the lack of opportunities. As previously stated before, becoming involved in a gang starts at a young age. An article titled “Youth Gangs and Definitional Issues: ‘When is a Gang a Gang, and Why Does It Matter?’” explicates what exactly constitutes a gang, starting with young adolescents. Using a survey conducted in the United States, Finn-Aage Esbensen, L. Thomas Winfree, Jr., Ni

“ Gangs offer a hierarchy of leadership and a path to gain approval and achieve success,” Samenow states in the article “ The Myth of the Street Gang as a ‘Family Substitute’”. As stated, He believes that gang members come from broken families, searching for support, sustenance, acceptance, and a structure that the average family provides. He states that most gang members come from “criminogenic”

Future gang members tend to become involved in delinquency--including violence--and alcohol or marijuana use at an early age. During childhood and early adolescence, friendships with aggressive peers, conduct problems, and involvement in delinquency are stepping stones to gang membership. Future gang members are likely to have other gang members in their school classrooms, they perform poorly in elementary school, and they have a low degree of commitment to school. They often are identified as learning disabled. They show higher levels of stability in the family, peer group, and school settings, and they spend lots of unsupervised time with friends. Many youth gang members have none of these characteristics. These are good kids, from good families, and they are good students; however, these youths do not remain in gangs long. Adolescents ' allegiances to friends, gangs, and other peer groups tend to be brief.

The reason behind the street gangs has been largely associated with myriad of social and economic reasons. Among the reasons as to why youth join gangs are desperation due to poverty as well as breakdown of a family as a cohesive unit. According to the survey of gang areas, Los Angeles showed identical poverty map within the area. In ss much as there are some other reasons behind youth joining gangs, when critically analyzed it, reveals that such reasons are always directly or indirectly related to family poverty and situations. Examples of these gangs are Surenos and Nortenos whose mode of operation and activities though different, share some similarities.

Another reason why kids join gangs is because they feel like they are misunderstood. They feel like school, parents, and law enforcement don’t understand who they are. “One felt besieged, under intense scrutiny. If you spoke out, dared to resist, you were given a “jacket” of troublemaker” Rodriguez mentions (18). School and polices see a group of adolescents living in poverty, give them the “jacket” of troublemaker and label them as a lost cause to the community. They don’t understand the reasoning of why they have chosen to gangbang, they don’t see the struggle that they face

Dr. Samenow for example says that teens look for acceptance and love not found at home .He also says gangs resemble family solutions( gang of a lack of family structure) such as friendship , love, and family. Concerning gangs, Samenow points out that not all families living in gang-infested neighborhoods have children who get involved in the gangs. It's common to refer to them as unsocialized, but the dyssocial sociopath does socialize to the mores and values of a dyssocial outgroup, like a gang.That these teens and young adults socialize with similar-minded peers leads to self-reinforcing affinity groups without real boundaries or structures, since the older gang leaders are dead or imprisoned and no longer on the street.Though their

As an undergraduate at Sonoma State University I was able to expand my knowledge on why Latinos drop out of high school and explore why some end up joining gangs. Some of the recurring themes that emerged

Gang affiliation is a major problem today. No parent would like to see their children in harms way or in a bad situation. Gang affiliation may make someone feel as if they are fitting in and etc. but it only causes more negative outcomes. It all begins with one mistake which then goes to how some people are for gang affiliation, leading to consequences because of that incident but there are many ways this can be prevented.

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.

Gangs don’t offer a normal family.According to Dr. Samenow he says,“Some gangs require engaging in elaborare, often violent ,initiation rites so that the prospective member can prove that he is tough enough to merit acceptance.”Instead of offering a family they offer leadership, power, and responsibility. “Gang membership because of family is a Myth.”

Instead they worry more about being accepted into the right crowds and owning lots of expensive items to show off. Most people fail to realize gang members are products of a bad environment that they are forced to live in. Immigrant families arrive with little money and have no choice but to live in bad neighborhoods. Society sees ghettos that are overfilled with immigrants and gangs so all low-class minority teens end up being stereotyped as being gangsters. The violence is not only on the streets but also at home. Often times, lower-class minority teens come from unstable homes. Immigrant parents no doubt already have a difficult time trying to make it in this prejudice society. With hard time the common cycle of poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and sometime physical abuse arises. As a result teenager often rebel against their parents and find solace elsewhere. Because of the lack of love and guidance from parents, teens often stray from the family and wander blindly into the life of a gangbanger. Many of these ghetto troubled teens feel that they have nothin going for them so choosing this type of lifestyle is their way of getting through life and it is the only way they know to get through llife. Adolescence is the most crucial time to shape a young mind. When the world is against them during these times, many minority teens tend to easily stray from the right path and enter into the wrong crowd. Gangs have become a growing