Youth Gangs

Gangs are a violent reality that many people have to deal with in today's cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being part of 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 first find the way that these morals are given to individuals. 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, the government, the theatre, drugs, and our own economic 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 (6 - 10 years of age, who is not already a member) is commonly shown how he or she could make between two-hundred to four-hundred dollars a month for a small part time gang job (Carroll 48). Although, one wouldn't think that factors such as this are 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. The average child spends more time at a television set than he or she spends all day in a classroom actually learning something productive (Clinard 73). Since nobody can completely turn off a child's mind, the youth must be learning something, even if it is morally wrong. Very few hours of television watched by the common child are educational, so other ideas are being constantly absorbed during this period of time. Many shows on television today are extremely violent and are often shown from a gang's perspective mainly because that is what interests' people, not because it is morally right.

A normal adult can see that this would not be an acceptable way to live. However, to a child this portrays a violent existence as acceptable. "'The Ends Justifies The Means' mentality is also taught through violence and is then being commended. A young child sees this as perfectly acceptable because he knows that the 'bad guy' was wrong but has no idea of what acceptable apprehension techniques actually are. (Nisbet 21).'' Gore in television also takes a big part in influencing young minds. Children see gory scenes and are fascinated by things they have not seen before. Older viewers see gore and are not concerned with the blood but rather with the pain which the victim must feel. A younger mind doesn't make this connection. Thus, a "gore fascination" is formed. Unfortunately, kids who are raised with this sort of mentality end up growing with a stronger inclination to become a "violent-accepting" member of society (Clinard 179). "Gangs bring the delinquent norms of society into intimate contact with individuals (Clinard 180)." So, as you can see, if television programs lead a child to believing 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 time to explain to their children what the actual meanings of the programs that they are watching on television are.

Quite often newer books and some types of music will also enforce this type of thought. 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 wanting to obtain a feeling of belonging 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 affects the ease in which a boy or 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 deal with issues outside of the local community, while children's lives are lived almost totally within their local community. Second, in a fully developed community, the network of relations gives every informed parent, in a sense, a community of 'sentries' who can keep him informed of his child's activities.