What drives rampant gang affiliation?

[Robert_Sock]

Does gang affiliation serve a social function, as I suspect – a social regiment that is ultimately tied to social control within a problem population?

 

[GratefulFred]

What drives rampart gang affiliation?

Broken families. Lack of proper Love.

United we stand. Divided we fall. When the needed support of family is not there, individuals will seek out whatever support they can find. Too often that support is from gangs which, in turn, require one comply with their demands to behave in a certain way.

Gangs cannot provide jobs to pay for necessities, so crime provides income. Basic economics - allocation of scarce resources - demands protection of territory where those resources reside.

It is easy to see how the “Us vs Them” attitude develops.

 

[mountee]

My teaching career allowed me the opportunity to work in two different school systems in two different state where gangs were present. My personal opinion is that it is a necessity for some to survive the streets where they live, the gangs provide protection from other gans and in other cases they provide an identity for troubled kids who have absolutely no supervision or love at home. They get the love from the gang. They also get money, food, etc. from the gang. Those of us who have never experienced the poverty and danger these kids exist in would never be able to understand what they get from the gang membership.

 

[SuperLuigi]

Does gang affiliation serve a social function, as I suspect – a social regiment that is ultimately tied to social control within a problem population?

Gangs used to be more organized in terms of seeking out economic and personal gain. These days, it’s about being accepted and someone already talked about broken families.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

It’s not the old days with a bunch of juvenile delinquents waiting to be loved. These youngsters know what gang banging is and they want it.

Near me it’s pretty much the Folk Nation? They leave their graffiti on the wall of one the abandoned schools down the street. They seem to be preoccupied with selling drugs. A handful were killed a couple months ago doing just that.

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The departed…

I don’t doubt that being raised in better circumstances can have a positive effect. But we’ve all heard or read about kids from well to do families going bad. Why? Because they want it.

ATB

 

[christofirst]

This from Fr. Greg Boyle S.J., well-known for his work here in L.A. helping gang members:

"There are three profiles of children who join a gang, Boyle explained. The first is the child who is despondent, who cannot imagine a better future.

‘If you cannot imagine a better future for yourself, your present isn’t very compelling,’ he said, ‘And if your present doesn’t compel you, you won’t care whether you inflict harm, and you won’t care whether you duck to get out of harm’s way.’

The second profile of a child who joins a gang is one who is traumatized, who cannot transform his pain, so he just transmits it.

And the third profile is a child with mental illness.

Children don’t join gangs because of peer pressure, he said. And if they say they’re doing it to belong, it’s not true. Those three profiles are the only profiles."

From this article, “Kids joining gangs are always fleeing something. Always.”:

chqdaily.com/2013/08/02/boyle-kids-joining-gangs-are-always-fleeing-something-always/

Poverty and a sense of hopelessness would be my answer as to why gangs exist, as seen from my safe, gated condo on the westside. I would say gangs do provide a social structure that is lacking in family or community. But I printed Fr. Greg’s words because he is in the trenches, actually doing something to help, and meeting and treating these gang members as real human beings. He would know more about it than I would.

 

[livingwordunity]

Does gang affiliation serve a social function, as I suspect – a social regiment that is ultimately tied to social control within a problem population?

For the past 50 years, radical feminism has been encouraging women to divorce their husbands which resulted in unprecedented high numbers of broken, fatherless homes, latchkey kids, and children born out of wedlock in all racial groups but especially among blacks. This created a void which gangs have filled.

 

[Country_Gal]

Drugs, sex, anger, all expressed through uncivilized means. Some cultures foster gangs more than others.

 

[livingwordunity]

For the past 50 years, radical feminism has been encouraging women to divorce their husbands which resulted in unprecedented high numbers of broken, fatherless homes, latchkey kids, and children born out of wedlock in all racial groups but especially among blacks. This created a void which gangs have filled.

Here is more relating to my prior post. Note that “presence of a stepfather in the home” is not the same circumstance as “A child with a biological mother who is living with a man who is not the child’s father”. The latter is most likely referring to a marriage and not merely a live in boyfriend. But even so, the child is still at a significantly higher risk for getting molested. IMO, sexual trauma in the home could also add to the risk of a child deciding to get involved with a gang.

According to the APA…

Child sexual abuse: Family characteristics

Absence of one or both parents is a risk factor
-- Some research found that children living with only one biological parent at twice the risk of sexual victimization.

Older children from father-only families were also at increased risk of sexual victimization compared to other children.

Presence of a stepfather in the home doubled the risk of sexual victimization for girls.

Parental characteristics associated with increased risk

Multiple caretakers for the child

Caretaker or parent who has multiple sexual partners

Parents leaving child at home alone without adequate supervision

Source

And according to Dr. Phil…

Did you know that compared to a child living in what researchers refer to as an intact family:

A child with a biological mother who lives alone is 14 times more likely to suffer abuse.
A child with a biological father who lives alone is 20 times more likely to suffer abuse. 
A child with biological parents who are cohabitating but not married is 20 times more likely to suffer abuse.

And, most shocking of all:

** A child with a biological mother who is living with a man who is not the child’s father is 33 times more likely to suffer abuse. (Source: Dreamcatchers for Abused Children)**

Source

 

[livingwordunity]

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