Gang Violence In America Essay

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.

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.

What ever happened to kids wanting saying they wanted to be a police officer, fireman, doctor or teacher when they grow up? Does anyone ever say, when I grow up I want to be in a gang? According to the National Gang Threat Assessment there are over one million gang members in California and over forty percent are under the age of eighteen. Just in Fresno alone there are over twelve thousand gang members and over 500 gangs (Overend). Gang violence is a growing problem and if we don’t try to control it now it will be a bigger problem in the future.

Violence, one of the biggest problem in the world right now, especially in America, where the gun control law are barely enforced, every citizen is at constant risk, considering the amount of people in this country that own guns. Crime and violence are rapidly becoming the prime epidemic in the U.S today, but what can we do to ensure our future generation’s safety?

The purpose of this paper is to understand, acknowledge and challenge communities to recognize gang behavior and gang affiliation. This paper will also describe the culture and what it means to be in a gang; key findings of the research; recommendations the community can employ to remedy the need; and discussions and implications for further study.

ethnic groups occurred in every ‘transitional’ neighborhood, the ‘succession’ of African Americans out of their areas of ‘first settlement’ was systematically blocked” (Hagedorn 197). By doing the aforementioned the white gang’s behaviors have contributed to the racial segregation of Chicago and the explosive gang related crime in the present day south side of Chicago.

Los Angeles and Chicago are two American cities that have a long history with gang violence. In the 1940’s the city of Los Angeles was experiencing a significant boom in the African American and Latino populations. During this time, there was also a massive influx of Caucasians into the Los Angeles area. The Caucasians wanted to keep African Americans and Latinos who they called ‘Zoot Suiters’ out of their neighborhoods, so they formed a white gang called the ‘Spook Hunters’. The formation of the ‘Spook Hunters’ increased racial tensions in Los Angeles exponentially and caused a surge in violence between the white gang members and ethnic minorities. During this time period the Ku Klux Klan had an active presence in the white neighborhoods of Los Angeles which significantly increased racial tensions. In the 1950’s and 1960’s African American and Latino gangs expanded and became more territorial and violent. To this date gang related violence remains a constant in the day to day lives of Los Angeles residents. Chicago history of gangs begins in 1860’s with Caucasians of different ethnic backgrounds. A pivotal moment in race relations in Chicago occurred when Regan Colts, a white gang, drowned an African American boy in Lake Michigan on July 27th, 1919 (White 25). This incident led to the first racial riots in Chicago where gang members openly attacked each other. Since that incident Chicago has experienced ongoing gang violence. In fact in Chicago gang related violence appears

Blood was running down Christian’s body as he got stabbed 40 times by local gang members. Christian, an 18 year old boy trying to run away from a gang, was afraid for his life because he was a police informant, and they were in search of killing him. Cristian was pulled into the woods by a young lady who promised him sex if he came into the woods, but little did he know it was all a plan, Three gang members came out of the bushes, held him down and stabbed him repeatedly 40 times to make sure he was completely dead. This is an unfortunate Salvadorian story told by the elders to scare off younger boys from joining nearby gangs. As El Salvador stood one of the most dangerous and violent countries back in the 90’s. Loyalty to any gang is very strong, the sense of family they have for each other is

The United States is infested with street gangs, from rural towns to inner-cities, that perpetuate violence and criminal activity. There are four gangs that have gained nation status--Crips, Bloods, People Nation, and Folk Nation. American’s strain on African Americans and Latinos creates oppression and has led to the creation of these gangs. Minorities are predominantly in the lower class, stratified by inequality in the workplace, schools, and social groups. Vince Staples, a former Crip, details how society created his childhood and forced him into a gang. These gangs are heavily involved with drug and weapons trafficking, their main source of income, and use violence to intimidate and protect their turf and sales.

At the age of just four, Cesar witnessed a group of men in his tiny hometown killing his father. He was a teenager when he says the same group of men began to threaten his older brother. When he was 17 he got tired of hiding in his house, Cesar left the war ridden Honduras behind and set out for the U.S.“I wanted to escape all of that,” he said. “You arrive at a point where you can take no more.”

The country we live in has been affected and influenced by something that we now call a “Gang”. According, to Dictionary.com a gang is defined as a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior. Since the early 1900’s The United States of America has been affected by gangs. They originated from the Italian immigrants that were closely related to the Sicilian mafia and others that were located in New York City, there main motive was to steal and kill to achieve what they wanted. Since the Italian Mafia in New York City many other ethnicity 's have popped up in the gang violence scene. Starting in the 1950’s and 1960’s Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans began bonding together to form gangs, and by the time the 1970’s and 1980’s came around there were many national gang alliances that swept from Los Angles California to New York City and many smaller towns in between. Along with all the widespread gang activities there was also a lot of illegal drug running throughout the country for gangs for that they can finance there gang activities.

In society most people feel safe and do not have a sense of urgency that something appalling will transpire around them. Although these people may hear about the surplus of current events going on around the world today that may be abysmal they tend to not care because they perceive that it will not arise around their home. Gang violence in youths is a prominent problem around numerous portions of the world today. Youths are forced to go along with the engagements taken place in the gang which can be cataclysmic to society and themselves. The life of a youth and their family can be altered by just one simple decision to join a gang, put many people in danger of being hurt, however there are still many workable solutions to put these

America is commonly referred to as the veritable “melting pot.” Individuals from all walks of life come to the U.S. in the hopes of achieving the American Dream. What began as a land of indigenous people has matured into a haven for cultural diversity. For the most part, these differences have strengthened the country. Nowhere else on Earth can a citizen enjoy French cuisine, partake in Chinese New Year festivities, and listen to live performances of Jamaican reggae all in the same day, in the same city. It is important to note, however, that this diversity is not without its flaws. Racial tensions still exist in modern America, despite considerable social progress since its inchoate stages. Even if racism may not be as obvious as it has

Introduction: Violence is everywhere and due to this notion people find ways to accept it. Violence is part of the national mythology. Meaning violence is a social construction. Violent acts cannot be wholly understood unless we examine them as but one “one link in the chain of a long process of events” (Schmidt & Schröder 2001, 7). Violence and the responses to it are socially constructed, they are phenomena viewed and interpreted in many different ways. For example, individuals become a product of their environment. The lack of parental support, inflected by peers and their community causes youth to act out violently. Every violent experience are molded and locked into the memory of mind. Therefore the social construction of violence and the idea of memory, of recollections of violence in someone life, is crucial to creating youth violence.