Gangs: Good Or Bad?

From the outside looking in, many would few gangs as a tight knit, criminal enterprise that causes violence and problems for the community. They believe that their violence and feuds are with rival gangs. In reality, gang members fight against members of the same gang, they are not organized in their structure and many join gangs to meet some psychological or emotional

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

People seem to struggle to understand the concept of gangs. There are a lot of strange factors that go into the makeup of gangs. Yes, there are no positive aspects of gangs, but those negative aspects have reasons as to why they are so negative. It is the people who join, that make gangs so threatening. Men and women who join are trying to get away or rebel from someone or something. They may feel that joining a gang will give them the security of a “family”. Those who join are so broken that they try to put the pieces together when joining a gang. This has been the case throughout U.S.

‘’Teen shot dead in gang wars’’, ‘’ two bystanders killed in gang shootout ‘’, these are familiar headlines at the front page of the local newspapers, aren’t they? Every day thousands of people are affected by gangs across the world. Women are left widowed, children are orphaned and parents are left childless. Let me put what most people are thinking ‘’ gangs are a threat to all of us no matter what sex, age or background we are from. They ruin the safety of a society as a whole, is a never-ending cycle which needs to be stopped and finally being a gang member most probably wrecks an individual’s life.

A combination of the social disorganization and strain theories brings a new concept, which is considered as the cultural deviance

Did you know that Chicago passed the 1,000 mark for shooting victims this year, a pace faster than those of previous years? Gangs are a huge problem in the world. I believe that the only way we can weaken them or stop them is to rely on social programs.

     Youth gangs have been getting a tremendous amount of press and media attention as the problem grows worse and worse, and because of this attention and exposure the rate of adolescents joining these gangs is constantly increasing. As of right now, gang life is in a lime light all to its own. There has been documentaries, movies, books and so on that have demoralized it as well as glamorized it, and to trouble youths who think that they have no place else to turn, gang life seems as though it can be a very acceptable and possibly through their point of view, a positive change in their some what hitched lives. Social experts chalk up the sudden increase of youth gang activity to two distinct reasons; “ (1) the diffusion of gang culture through popular media, and (2) economic

Not only are these teenage boys and girls committing heinous violent acts; they participate in drug distribution, prostitution, grand thefts, vandalism, human trafficking, and they themselves often become drug users. Gangs make schools unsafe in many areas and increase the risk of other children becoming involved in the gangs. Parents who live in the inner-cities are worried daily about the possibility of their children becoming gang members. They must also fret about the possibility of their children being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being caught in a drive by shooting or something of that

Gangs may be taking children off the street to save them from their home they want to leave behind, but they are a horrible influence for the young children to grow up around. The children are not in a safe environment for their own well being and the gangs will not help them be successful. Many people have different views on how they see gangs, with some being positive thoughts and some being negative. Either or, gangs are ruthless and not good to have around a society full of small children who only do what they are taught through the things they see around them. First off, many children who wind up in a gang are seeking for help out of the family they are coming from.

Many people are known to join gangs as a way to feel acceptance. In doing this there is a sense of belonging, and the belief that one’s well being will be cared about. And that if anything were to come up, help would be there if ever needed. Others join as a way for protection. Violence is becoming more of the American culture, and it is only becoming worse. High schools are a prime example of this. Students act out in violent fits of rage for questionable reasons. Rather than merely fight someone one-on one, they have their friends help them against their adversary. To many people this is considered cowardice, yet to them it is more of a form of protection. Not only that, it is a way to send a message that if one person is affected, everyone in the gang is affected. When each member is affected there is bound to be tragic

The most notable differences I see in modern day gangs compared to gangs of the past are the changes in style, organization, and criminal behaviors. In the early 1900’s during the Al Capone days, “Gangsters portrayed the image of business man, but took their style to the extremes” (Valdez, 2009). Style can vary, ranging from Zoot Suits, to the oversized khaki pants and Pendleton sweaters, which are commonly worn by Latino gang members. The style of clothing has changed, but the significance remains. The gang each member represents can be identified the clothing he or she wears.

Gangs are very dangerous to everyone in society. “Gangs are groups of people (mostly young males) who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. The U.S. Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity” (Gangs 1). There are about one million gang members in more than 20,00 criminally active gangs in the United States. Also, that group of about one million people, are accountable for up to eighty percent of our nation’s crimes. Since 2005, gangs have nationally added about 200,000 members (Targeting Gangs 1). This is why more action from the community needs to be taken to help with the growing gang-related crimes here in America.

The Social Work Dictionary defines a social problem as “a condition among people leading to behaviors that violate some people’s values and norms and cause emotional or economic suffering”. The above definition accurately describes the social problem that gangs are, and their impact on a community. People who live in gang infested neighborhoods live daily with fears of losing their lives and the lives of loved ones. That fear, along with the fear that their family members will join the gang, or that they will be physically harmed in some way by the gang. They may exhibit many emotional, psychological and physical problems that people who don’t live in gang infested neighborhoods do not. Since before the 1940’s law enforcement and others have attempted to put a stop to gangs. These solutions usually hampered gang activity but didn’t eradicate it. Gangs evolve their practices over time to adjust to law enforcement tactics. Today gangs are involved in sex trafficking rather than drug dealing. Sex trafficking is easier to hide, more profitable and has less legal ramifications.

Gangs have direct effects on a society, such as increased levels of crime, violence and murder. Gangs also have long-term or late suggestions in that gang members are more likely to drop out of high school, struggle with unemployment, abuse drugs and alcohol or in end up in jail. These factors not only contribute to the gang members, but they also force taxpayers to pay for welfare and community-assistance programs. Common reasons for the younger generation to join gangs, include trying to find a place where they belong and sharing in mutual desires for safety from family problems or life challenges. Together, the feelings and attitudes among gang members haze them to act violently, often self-contradictory with rival gangs. This violence leads to injury and death of not only members but also of bystanders in the community. High gang activity also causes fear among community members, discourages business activity and obstructs home-value appreciation. Communities, also must pay for higher levels of law enforcement when gangs are prominent.

Imagine if there were no more gangs roaming the streets. There would be less violence and less reasons for mothers to be worried. This may sound impossible, but this can be reality if we take the proper steps in fixing the problem. We have to focus on the starting point of gangs, we have to find out why people join gangs in the first place. We need to focus on the young people and providing them more opportunities to better themselves instead of lowering themselves. If we pay attention to the youth, that will bring us one big step closer to our goal of ending all gangs, but it's not that easy.