One reason for teenagers joining gangs is to feel accepted. To understand why a teen joins a gang, you have to live in their areas and understand their environment. In gang neighborhoods, the majority of the teens may be in a gang. This is almost equivalent to a cool club, because those who are not in the gang are viewed as outsiders and members of the gang may choose to avoid them for not being part of their club. So, in an effort to be accepted and to be liked, many teenagers will join the gang. Most young people want to be accepted and want to be considered cool by their…
First of all, gang violence is everywhere although we do not see it at times, it is there and we should be aware of this social issue that happen in someone life. Some folks may think that these people that are in gangs were born into it or they just like to break the laws. Some of us may never know the answer why they are in gangs but we can seek our answers in books. For example in the book “ Always Running” , by Luis rodriguez in pages 50-68 it summarizes that Luis rodriguez joins a gang with his friend name the Animal Tribe in which he says he wants respect and to show he can take care of himself. As a result this ruins Luis’s relationship with his mom which makes him leave the…
Supporting my claim, Stanton E. Samenow states, “Gangs offer a hierarchy of leadership and a path to gain approval and achieve success.” This statement discusses how gangs offer a way to gain leadership. Dr. Samenow also states, “ In almost every instance of my interviewing a gang member, that person had siblings or neighbors living nearby who faced similar or even worse adversities and were confronted by the same temptations…
As mentioned before, gangs will almost always have a defined goal or purpose, usually to cause crime. Some gangs will participate in robberies, others might deal drugs. They may also just stay together for friendship or protection, or even social status. Gang members can profit from selling illegal goods, robbing people or…
Many gang members come from poor and/or broken homes, and they get the support and structure they need from gang life. Kids from the dangerous environment of inner cities often feel that they need to belong to a gang as a form of protection. Gang kids usually have a low self-esteem and sense of self-worth. Membership in a gang makes them feel important and recognized within their peer group. Poor kids are often enticed by the money and material items that they see gang members acquiring usually through illegal means. Many kids join…
There are various reasons why youth in Toronto join gangs. Poverty, protection, influences, are just some of them. Gangs are usually people of the same ethnicity, blacks from gangs with other blacks, the same goes with Hispanic, Indian, and White. A gang is formed to make it easier for individuals to carry out illegal activities such as drug trafficking, robbery, break and enters, ect. It also makes it easier for them to control the area where they sell their drugs. In…
Gang membership could be attracted because it gives the youth a sense of prestige or status among friends. According to Rochester study, Thornberry (1998) states the most important community risk factor is the level of social integration (attachment) is low. Those youth who grow in social disorganized neighborhoods who do poorly in school and associate himself with delinquent peers are more prone to become gang members.…
The most assumption about joining gangs is to get rich. Some young people believe that gang members are rich, drive nice cars and do not have to work. However, very few gang members get rich, because most of their money supports a flashy and stylish lifestyle rather than for living or saving. They are always on the guard, watching for the police or rival gang members. They are constantly in danger of getting arrested or being killed. Even on their own turf they are at risk of getting shot by dive by or becoming a target and be put on a dead least as the rival gang gets new…
• Gang members typically come from low income areas and may even be considered to have been “forced” into gang life in order to survive. The gang provides a sense of belonging in a world where members may lack positive role models and the ability to attain status in a way considered acceptable by society.…
A proper understanding and perception of gangs requires an understanding of when a group turns into a gang. Additionally an understanding of the significance of the gangs’ characteristics is required. Understanding gangs is a crucial step in being able to reduce the violence and inequalities all around the world. This is because gangs are a global phenomenon and they are the voice of the millions of individuals that are marginalized.…
There are many different reasons as to why a young person may join a gang that lives in the inner city, however for this paper, only a few will be discussed. One reason that a young person may join a gang is peer pressure from other teenagers and the need to fit in. A young person growing up in a family that has gang members in it is another reason for a young person to join a gang. “One way to know about gangs is to know gang members, to live with gang members, to see gang members on neighborhood streets” (Cadwallader 2002). If a young person is exposed to gangs then the chances are good that they will join that gang so that they fit in or to make their family members…
These crimes often lead to prison time. For the outsider, the high likelihood of being incarcerated seems like enough of a negative element of gang life to deter people from joining, but the reality is contrary to that assumption. A possible explanation is that crime and incarceration may be seen as a normal part of life. Just as a child who's farther goes to work every day would see going to work as being normal, so too would a child see crime and prison as normal whom grew up in a society where people went to prison everyday. Society outside of gang life may be perceived as predatory by gang members and the gang itself might be perceived as having the moral high ground. Incarceration doesn't appear to be a strong deterrent in the decision to join a gang. The perception of some must be that with or without gangs, incarceration is an inevitable possibility, and may even be seen as a badge of honor. Under this logic, gangs could provide a conduit for social justice from the perspective of the disadvantaged. Through organized crime efforts, the individual gang member gets to lash out at what they may believe to be an inequitable society — giving them a powerful platform as to inflict more damage…
The poverty that comes from inability to obtain a job or being forced to work at a low paying job because of racial discrimination can lead a young person to join a gang. In her…
Members receive a sense of identity and recognition from being in a gang. It sets them apart from their peers and gives them a sense of power and success. Alone these youth may feel small, powerless, and inadequate. They lack direction. Belonging to a gang, however, makes them feel strong and invincible (Interview, 1985). Gangs use this recruitment pitch sometimes, "There is another family waiting for you- all you have to do is join or join or get beat up or be a “momma’s boy.” This pitch particularly appeals to children from single-parent families" (Miller, 1980). In many cases, there is no positive role model. They look to other gang members and see them as people who will pay attention to them. In a gang everyone is accepting and works together for the common goal of the gang. It provides them with a sense of meaning and direction. "The need for family, for those who love and accept us, is a powerful human need. Either as parents we supply it, or the gangs…
They feel that a lot of the members are more like they are their own flesh and blood. The youngsters get more attention than at home even though it may be the wrong type of attention. They also feel like they have power and independence and can shy away from the authority figures in their lives. It is an escape from reality however grim it may be. Some have joined gangs because of poverty level in the house, abuse, neglect or even to avoid reality. Gang members generally don’t care who or what they have to do to be accepted in this world. They do as they please and whatever they please. What the younger population doesn’t realize this is where the get in the most trouble and get sometimes get the title of being juvenile delinquents. With the gangs crime rates go up, drug distribution and use is higher. You will have this wherever you go no matter how far away you seem to think you move away from it. It is a very difficult thing to watch your child or a friend’s child get caught up in. It will happen whether you want it to or not. It is happening more and more every day. This is where interventions need to come into…