Felix Padilla Primary Thesis

Felix Padilla’s primary thesis is that young people, also known as youngsters, are unable to connect with social life efficiently, so these individuals turn to gang participation to form their self- identity, self-connections within the society, and to promote upward mobility, meaning to move forward in society. I must note that these youngsters including Padilla are Puerto Ricans from Chicago. One example to support Padilla’s thesis is ethnic and cultural discrimination. This was a major disadvantage for these youngsters because they viewed themselves as victims of ethnic and cultural discrimination. They explained that outsiders of larger societies treat them poorly due to their ethnic and cultural background. Thus, they viewed that as long