Gangs Have A Long Negative History Essay

Gangs were first originated so ethnic or neighbored groups could defend themselves against other people/outsiders. Gang names were usually taken from the area the gang resides in, which would be the street name or street number. There are many reasons why people group up and make a gang. Gangs see that violence gets them what they want faster than most of the other methods. They turn to violence for fun, profit, and most of all control. Most of the gangs were minorities who were being oppressed or bullied for their race or color and sometimes homosexuality.

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.

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

The history of gangs goes back to biblical times. Gangs have always caused social issue and unlawfulness. The history of gangs in America leads back to the colonization of this country. Immigrants came over here from Europe with little or no money. The money that they didhave ran out quickly. Poverty caused and fueled illnessand

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

Furthermore, the book, Youth Gangs in American Society by Randall Shelden, Sharon Tracy, and William Brown (2013) discusses several theories about why people join gangs. One theory that I think especially fits the explanation as to why people join gangs, with regards to this book, is the control/social bond theory. Shelden et al define control/social bong theory as “when a youth’s, bonds or ties, to society are weak or broken, especially with family, school and other institutions, when this occurs, a youth is apt to seek bonds with other groups, including gangs, in order to get his or her needs met”(p 193). I think so many groups in society let this boy down in My Bloody Life, including his family, the school system and even the police. Consequently with his ties to society so weak, he reached out to a gang that gave him a sense of comfort and belonging.

Gang violence has been around for a long time all the way back to the 1800 and have greatly increased all around the globe ever since. Gangs are a group of people that fight and kill other gangs over turf,money,pride, and drugs. People usually join gangs from around the age of 8 to the age 20. Most gang members join because they have been abused by their parents or because they don 't have a family. Gangs treat each other like a family, that is the most common reason why people join, they want to be accepted, they want to feel like if they belong something.

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.

Gangs come into existence and flourish because the needs of the young people in a neighborhood or culture or family are not being met. The gang, in essence, fills the void, there are several gangs in the south, west and east sides of Chicago, with gang wars over territories that become disastrous. The gangs known in Chicago are the Latin Kings, Maniac Latin Disciples, King Cobras, Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Black Disciples, but there are up to hundred or more street/folk gangs in the different neighborhoods of the sides of Chicago. Many consist of young children that may have dropped out of school or have family members affiliated with gangs, they are easier to persuade and control, they are more likely to search for somewhere where they could feel needed or apart of something, and that’s how gangs grow and recruit new

Most gangs have a rite of passage before a person can be considered part of the gang family. So why do people want to affiliate themselves with a gang? Monotony, poverty, lack of schooling, these are some of the issues that children and adults face daily in the city of Chicago. A child that comes from a shattered home (parents are divorced, one parent maybe in jail) faces certain socioeconomic struggles early on in life. Gangs offer a family structure, and lead them to believe that if affiliated, they will always have a family they can be contingent on.

A famous former baseball player once said in an interview: “A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide.” (Mantle). Members of gang violence usually are hiding from who they truly are in the inside. They find that the gang is the best path out of their personal situation which definitely is not the right choice. A gang is an organized group of people affiliated with acts of violence or illegal behavior. Such things like gang violence as a whole have been a great problem with the social society of American people. Gang members are usually referred to as gangsters and most take great pride in that name. In the effort of joining gangs it is difficult to see the practical or beneficial aspects in the long run.

People in gangs are usually poor and sad. If someone has lost all their money and family and they have nothing left they will probably join a gang. For some people their gang is like family to them. People in gangs are usually called gangsters. Others in gangs are totally fine and they just want to have fun. The typical stereotype for gangs is that they are bad and people should stay away from them. Not all gangs are bad. There are so many different types of gangs and not all for them are bad. For example the greasers are not totally bad.

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

People join gangs to feel welcome or people that live/once lived in a broken family and want another family, that group is now a family of ‘brothers’. The gangs want money and so they commit crimes and/or make and sell

Juveniles often join gangs to be accepted into a society of their peers. These juveniles are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging. They join these gangs for special status amongst their friends, protection from other gangs, financial help, peer pressure, excitement and for some juveniles, they are born into a gang society and it is a family tradition. Gangs can also act like a family. They will praise, chastise and show them a form of love and respect that they are looking for but cannot get at home.