Los Santos Sociology

Gentrification is displacing gangs and causing turf wars. Gentrification and the tearing down of public housing in Chicago left many gangs homeless (Brief outline). Due to this, gangs battle over land and housing, known as turf wars. The violence rises, along with the number of deaths. Therefore police attempt to limit the gangs, but that also leads to fighting and violence with police. The whole cycle involves violence and is vicious.

The documentary Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008) focuses on conditions and causes of gang violence in Los Angeles, California, as well as the history and background of the main gangs that reside there. The information in the film is compiled from interviews of past and present members of the Crips and Bloods, which are the two main gangs that contribute to the violence in the area. The interviewees explain how the gangs work and the conditions under which these people live daily. There can be parallels drawn from the film to Elijah Anderson’s article titled “The Code of the Streets”, published in 1994, that discusses violence in terms of gang and criminal activity.

For the past few weeks in this class, we have discussed the strategies of navigating poorer urban neighborhoods and the scholarship that has been done on the populations in those communities. We have discussed gang formation, policing, gendered interactions with gang life and the code of the street. For this paper, I plan to synthesize all of these topics into a cohesive analysis of the importance of these works, especially as it pertains to racial and ethnic tensions. I have selected two pieces to go alongside Streetwise by Elijah Anderson: “Disorderly community partners and broken windows policing” by Ana Muniz and “Dreams Deferred: The Patterns of Punishment in Oakland” by Victor Rios. While the focus will be on these three readings from this class, I will make casual reference to the other readings as they become relevant.

For many young Chicanos in America, especially in the Los Angeles area, gang involvement begins at a young age. Many die before reaching adulthood, succumbing to gang violence and those who live past 18 often remain involved until they die. In, Luis “Chin” Rodriguez’ memoir, La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A., Rodriguez walks us through the harsh realities of growing up while being involved in gangs. He expresses graphic memories, leading us through his initial involvement in gang life, what kept him there, and how he was finally able to emerge from them and go on to educate others about his experiences. Although there is no sole answer to why so many young people get involved in gangs and are unable to get out of them, Rodriguez explains that the lack of acceptance of Chicanos in American society and the need for protection pushed many into gang life. Gangs appealed to those needing a sense of belonging and acceptance, making it hard for them to leave once jumped in. Even though many remained involved in gangs until they died,

“The Republic of East L.A. Stories” captures the heartbreaking experiences Mexican-American’s were forced to endure. Escaping poverty, alcohol abuse, drug use, and gang violence was an everyday struggle for many families during this time. African American and Latino gangs were initially created as a response to white racism. They were restricted as to what areas they could live in and where constantly harassed. As their populations increased, so did white gangs, in order to take control of their “territory”. African Americans and Latinos had no choice but to protect their families by fighting back. As time went on, the violence only continued. The Civil Rights Movement led many gang members to join organizations like the Black Panther Party, but the government quickly responded by breaking them up and soon enough, street gangs quickly returned. The violence escalated, alcohol,

Chapter Four is entitled, “[The] Scope and Nature of the Current Gang Problem.” It focuses on recent trends in number of gangs, gang members and gang-related crimes in each city. In Inglewood, almost all the neighborhoods were claimed by at least one gang, with gang-unit officers agreeing that the city was facing a major gang problem. In Albuquerque, gangs were involved in drug trafficking and property offenses, with 7 out of 8 gang-unit officers believing the city had a major gang problem. In Las Vegas, migration from other cities was thought to be the primary cause of an increase in gang members. 50% of crime in Las Vegas is attributed to gangs, with most officers believing they had a moderate to major gang problem. In Phoenix, the gang problem is described as wave-like, with 70% of gang-unit officers thinking the city had a major gang problem. These statistics were backed up through interviews with officers and city records.

Chicano gangs have been a prominent part of the Los Angeles community since the early 1900s. These Chicano gangs consisted of young Mexican-Americans, another name used for Chicanos, which were formed as a way for some youth to identify with something. The behavior of gang members was a way of adapting to the social and economic living situation that was upon them. There was a large migration of Chicano immigrants to the Los Angeles area that resulted in several changes directly related to the larger and present Chicano presence. The most notable being the prominent presence of Chicano specific gangs. This is likely due to the fact that many people of Chicano descent are immigrants who came to America with little to nothing. This resulted in large groups of Chicanos being located in some of the poorest areas. Such areas became known as “barrios”, a Spanish term for neighborhood that became specifically in reference to the poor neighborhoods with a high Latino population. The people living in them were often working the lowest paid and hardest jobs needed by those of a higher class in society. It is commonly found that when poverty is heavy throughout a community, many youth will feel the need to act out in some way, and band together in their mutual discontent with their surrounding environment and society. In addition, many youth were also dealing with trying to identify themselves as something and weren’t sure if to identify themselves as latino, chicano, or something

The residents of Pilsen witness how violence in the community has affected the youth and the causes in which many continue to drop out of school or are killed. They have a different level of understanding and different perspective of how violence is affecting many families. Overall, it is how the community members have framed the issue of violence that has pushed many to advocate towards policy reform.

The Lower East Side formerly once joined with the East Village is home to many working class families, many of whom are foreign born. Over the past 50 years, this neighborhood has gone through many changes, both negative and positive. Located in Manhattan, the Lower East Side is surrounded by 14th street, the East River, Bowery, and the Brooklyn Bridge. This area today has faced gentrification and has also faced many housing developments that threaten the character of the community. The LES has gone from once considered a slum to be one of the trendiest neighborhoods today in New York City.

Opponents of these views present many arguments. They claim all gangs derive from minority communities. Also of this view, people associate many murders that are acclaimed to derive from poor communities. Moreover, they think that all people from poor communities are uneducated and therefore don’t know any better and result in a life of violence.

The documentary Crips and the Bloods: Made in America tells the dramatic story of the perpetual gang violence that runs the streets of Los Angeles, California. Gaining an inside look at how and why this violence is continued, the video focuses on the individuals that are affected by the gangs. Families are torn apart due to endless murders, children are taught to hate and act violently towards their neighbors, and people lose their soul to the gangs that they call their families. Of course every person must make a choice to engage in this sort of life, but sometimes these people are put into situations where there are no other options. In order to further think about what has caused and maintained the violence in the LA area, we can look towards Agnew’s General Strain Theory and the Labeling Theory.

The purpose of this paper is to review and verify a recent study by Scott H. Decker of the University of Missouri – St. Louis, entitled Collective and Normative Features in Gang Violence (Decker & VanWinkle, 1996). The study will attempt to address why our local increase in gang violence has reached monumental heights causing an increase in gang members appearing your court.

Gang crimes, such as graffiti, burglaries, murder and extortion, are devastating to a community’s well-being and sense of security. “The vast majority of violent incidents involving gang members continue to result from fights over

What is the reason for all the madness that’s going on in our city today? I thought we were stopping the lack of jobs, no motivation, no child left behind, violence, and death. The world is changing everyday are we strong enough to handle those changes? Sure we are, in this paper I will show the cause and effect for city violence.

The statistics show that elimination of each gangster costs lives of around six civilians besides security personnel. It is tragic and appalling. Residents of the violence-wracked locality have been shifting to safer places to avert attacks. They are also faced with severe food shortage and continuous failure of electricity and gas supply.