The Curse in Society: Gangs

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

In society today, there is a major problem We live in a society where gangs are taking over our neighborhoods in numbers. It is the responsibility of the individuals to part take in getting their neighborhoods back under control. Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives or for acceptance. When youths join gangs, they drop all their social activities with school, family, and friends. However, individuals ruin their lives, and the chances of them having a decent education, and a successful life by getting involved in gang activity.

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

What first comes to mind when you think of gangs? Most people picture groups of dangerous individuals causing violence and gang wars, as portrayed in the media. John Hagedorn in his novel: A World Of Gangs provides the reader with a deeper understanding of how “gangs” operate, and that trying to stop gangs abruptly through police force is more of a problem than a solution. Hagedorn begins by describing what gangs really are and what causes them. He notes that the urbanization going on throughout the world leads to poorer neighborhoods or slums and is leading to higher gang rates. Claiming that by the year 2020 half of the urban population will be living in poverty he shows that this can cause social disorganization and mixing that with discrimination is not a good combination that will lead to the formation of gangs. Being that the novel is non-fiction Hagedorn provides many different expert opinions to further his research and beliefs. He also uses quotes from those who are/were in some sort of relation to gang life which is a great way fully understand how they operate rather than only looking from the outside in. Beyond understanding why they form, Hagedorn looks into what keeps them around as well as many other related topics, but also into the problems of defining gangs as well as the world of hip-hop music and its influence on gang life.

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.

This is a ‘touchy’ subject to most, as most people who live in an urban setting know someone either initiated into a gang or affiliated with a gang in one way or another. This is not a subject that is only skin deep. This is something that was created out of years of struggle and oppression, until the pressure years of social injustice found an outlet in the form of rebellion and organizations designed to fight the power that once suppressed them. At least that is how it began. Now the Gang mentality isn’t about protecting the community, it’s about power, local respect, fortune, and most of all fear. These are the same organizations that recruit children and adolescents to become drug dealers and

“Gangs have morphed from social organizations into full-fledged criminal enterprises” (Thomas, 2009, para 5). Gangs are highly sophisticated and more dangerous then ever. The number one reason to join a gang is money; and 95 percent of gangs profit comes from drug dealing

Gangs in the United States have increased rapidly, and are becoming more violent and deadly than ever. There are deaths of innocent, young, and gang affiliated people dying each year. This everyday occurrence brings moral and heart felt emotions to these death tragedies. These gangs are corrupting our streets and neighborhoods of America, which is something that is needed to be stopped. All members get introduced and jumped in for a reason, a reason of family, trust, acceptance, and respect which threatens many people today. Every year gang violence is proposed in which it should be prevented in today’s public because they have the urge to be involved with conflicts based on rivalries over reputation and turf, compensates on creating a lot of violence where innocent people are being killed, participate in drug trafficking, and encourages the youth to get involved and join a group of affiliated crime.

You think of a group of hoodlums who tote guns, sell drugs, and ruin neighborhoods as thugs, and gang members. These are things not tolerated or seen as good in society so it’s considered a violation of social norms. A street gang is group of people that form an allegiance based on various social needs and engage in acts that can cause harm to public health and safety. Members of street gangs engage in, or have engaged in gang-focused criminal activity either individually or as a group, they create and fear and intimidation in the community. They are punished by society and the consequences are different depending on the types of crimes committed. Societies “punishments” on the crime committed is what sociologist consider deviance; and

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.

The problem of gangs persists and lives are still being lost today. Gangs are truly are an assault on whatever community they are in. They tear at the very fabric of family and community life. There have been many attempts to solve the problem of gangs, but most were not backed up by data or hard evidence and therefore they are difficult to assess. One factor as to why gangs cannot be stopped permanently

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.

    Gang violence is a huge problem in America today. More and more children are joining gangs every day. It has become evident that these gangs made up of young people are causing numerous problems. Gang violence and gang activities impact all of those around the gang members. The kids in these gangs are hurting themselves, each other, their families, and the communities around them. Those who are associated with the gangs through family ties or just those who are associated with the gangs through geographical location. Before we can understand how gangs effect the people and communities around them we must first understand what gangs actually are. We must try and understand how the gang members think,