Analysis Of A Gang Essay, Research Paper
Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today’s
cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel
that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to
live? The long-range answer to these questions can only be
speculated upon, but in the short term the answers are much easier
to find. On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings’
personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively
end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are given
to the individual. Unfortunately, these can only be hypothesized.
However, by looking at the way humans are influenced in society, I
believe there is good evidence to point the blame at several
institutions. These include the forces of the media, theater, drugs, the
government, and our economic system.
By looking at the forces of the media, theater, drugs, and the
capitalist economic system we can apply Akers? social learning
theory and the Marxist theory as the cause of Gangs. Akers? social
learning theory addresses the forces of the media, theater, and drugs.
Akers? social learning theory states that criminal and delinquent
behavior are acquired, repeated, and changed by the same process
as conforming behavior. It also addresses four major concepts of
differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement, and
imitation. It goes on to say that this process will more likely produce
behavior that violates social and legal norms than conforming
behavior when persons differentially associate with those who
expose them to deviant patterns, when the deviant pattern is
differently reinforced over conforming models. Marxist?s theory has
capitalism the as the cause of crime. Marxist theory states that
ownership of the means of production by the capitalist ruling class
produces a society that is inherently criminogenic. The theory
believes that the crimes committed are either, ?crimes of
accommodation or crimes of resistance to the capitalist system.
On the surface, peer pressure and greed cause gangs. Many teens in
gangs will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it
all sound glamorous. Money is also a crucial factor. A kid (a 6-10
year old, who is not yet a member) is shown that s/he could make
$200 to $400 for small part time gang jobs. Although these are
important factors they are not strong enough to make kids do things
that are strongly
against their morals.
One of the ways that kids morals are bent so that gang violence
becomes more acceptable is the influence of television and movies.
This is an example of the social learning theory. The average child
spends more time at a TV than she/he spends in a classroom. Since
nobody can completely turn off their minds, kids must be learning
something while watching the TV. Very few hours of television
watched by children are educational, so other ideas are being
absorbed during this period of time. Many shows on television today
are extremely violent and are often shown this from a gang’s
perspective. A normal adult can see that this is showing how foully
that gangs are living. However, to a child this portrays a violent gang
existence as acceptable. ‘The Ends Justifies the Means’ mentality is
also taught through many shows where the “goody guy” captures the
“bad guy” through violence and is then being commended. A young
child sees this a perfectly acceptable because he knows that the “bad
guy” was wrong but has no idea of what acceptable apprehension
techniques are.
Gore in television also takes a big part in influencing young minds.
Children see gory scenes and are fascinated by these things that they
have not seen before. Older viewers see gore and are not concerned
with the blood but rather with the pain the victim must feel. A
younger mind doesn’t make this connection. Thus a gore fascination
is formed, and has been seen in several of my peers. Unfortunately
kids raised with this sort of television end up growing up with a
stronger propensity to becoming a violent gang member or
‘violent-acceptant’ person.
“Gangs bring the delinquent norms of society into intimate contact
with the individual.”1, (Marshall B Clinard, 1963). So, as you can
see if TV leads a child to believe that violence is the norm this will
manifest itself in the actions of the child quite, often in a gang
situation. This is especially the case when parents don’t spend a lot of
time with their kids at the TV explaining what is right and what is
wrong. Quite often newer books and some types of music will
enforce this type of thought and ideas.
Once this mentality is installed in youngsters they become
increasingly prone to being easily pushed into a gang situation by any
problem at home or elsewhere. For instance, in poor families with
many children or upper-middle class families where parents are
always working, the children will often feel deprived of love. Parents
can often feel that putting food on the table is enough love. Children
of these families may often go to the gang firstly out of boredom and
to belong somewhere. As time goes on, a form of love or kinship
develops between the gang members and the child. It is then that the
bond between the kid and the gang is completed because the gang
has effectively taken the place of the family.
The new anti social structure of cities also effects the ease in which a
boy/girl can join a gang. ” The formation of gangs in cities, and most
recently in suburbs, is facilitated by the same lack of community
among parents. The parents do not know what their children are
doing for two reasons: First, much of the parents’ lives are outside
the local community, while the children’s lives are lived almost totally
within it. Second, in a fully developed community, the network of
relations gives every parent, in a sense, a community of sentries who
can keep him informed of his child’s activities. In modern
living-places (city or suburban), where such a network is attenuated,
he no longer has such sentries.”2, (Merton Nisbet, 1971).
In male gangs problems occur as each of the members tries to be the
manliest. This often leads to all members participating in
“one-up-manship”. Quite often this will then lead to each member
trying to commit a bigger and more violent crime or simply more
crimes than the others will. With all members participating in this sort
of activity it makes for a never-ending unorganized violence spree (A
sort of Clockwork Orange mentality). In gangs with more intelligent
members these feelings end up making each member want to be the
star when the groups commit a crime. This makes the gang much
more organized and improves the morale of members which in turn
makes them more dangerous and very hard for the police to deal
with and catch (There is nothing harder to find and deal with than
organized teens that are dedicated to the group). This sort of gang is
usually common of middle or upper class people although it can
happen in gangs in the projects and other low rent districts too.
This “one-up-manship” is often the reason between rival gangs
fighting. All gangs feel powerful and they want to be feared. To do
this they try to establish themselves as the only gang in a certain
neighborhood. After a few gang fights hatred forms and gang
murders and drive-bye?s begin to take place. When two gangs are at
war it makes life very dangerous for citizens in the area. Less that
40% of drive-bye?s kill their intended victim yet over 60% do kill
someone. This gang application is one of the many reasons that
sexual stereotypes and pressure to conform to the same must be
stopped.
Lastly one of the great factors in joining a gang is for protection.
Although from an objective point of view, we can see joining a gang
brings more danger than it saves you from, this is not always the way
it is seen by kids. In slums such as the Bronx or the very worst case,
Compton, children will no doubt be beaten and robbed if they do not
join a gang. Of course they can probably get the same treatment
from rivals when in a gang. The gang also provides some money for
these children who quite often need to feed their families. The reason
kids think that the gang will keep them safe is from propaganda from
the gangs. Gang members will say that no one will get hurt and make
a public show of revenge if a member is hurt or killed.
People in low rent areas are most often being repressed due to
poverty and most importantly, race. This often results in an attitude
that motivates the person to base his/her life on doing what the
system that oppresses them doesn’t want. Although this
accomplishes little it is a big factor in gang enrollment. They then
commit crimes of resistance, which displays the Marxist theory of
crime.
So, as you have seen gangs are a product of the environment we
have created for ourselves. Some of these factors include
oppression, the media, greed, violence and other gangs. There seems
to be no way to end the problem of gangs without totally
restructuring the modern economy and value system. Since the
chance of this happening is minimal, we must learn to cope with
gangs and try to keep their following to a minimum. Unfortunately
there is no real organized force to help fight gangs. Of course the
police are supposed to do this but this situation quite often deals with
racial issues also and the police forces regularly display their
increasing inability to deal fairly with these issues. What we need are
more people to form organizations like the “Guardian Angels” a
gang-like group that makes life very tough for street gangs that are
breaking laws.
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