Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 6 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 24 years, 5 months ago by
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Why are the majority of gang members in the United States minorities who reside in inner cities?
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Name : Penny-P, Gender : F, City : Porterville, State : CA, Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,I think a better question may be: Why do people join gangs? Once that question is answered you will see that many of the conditions which result in gang membership are prevallent in the innercity. There are various reasons for joining a gang. One reason is for safety and security. As a member of a gang, a person always has other people to back them up and help protect them. In violent areas, this can be a necessity. Another reason is a sense of belonging and family. In areas where the family structure is failing or non-existant, people must find their support network outside their family. Others join gangs for financial reasons. They grow up poor and see that selling drugs or stealing cars is a way to get the material goods that they have never been able to have before. Some people join up because it is like a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. Even though many gang members are still children, as members of a gang they command respect in their neighborhoods. Respect is something that they don’t know how to get anyother way.
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Name : Lucy22449, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 26, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,There are some historians and sociologists who believe street and youth gangs are a good indicator of what groups are being dumped on the most and are most frustrated in their attempts to get out of poverty. The first street/youth gangs in the US were German, Irish, and Dutch, going back at least as far as the 1840s. German and Dutch gangs lasted until at least the Great Depression, and there are still some notorious Irish gangs like the Westies in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen. Yes, there are plenty of nonwhite gang members, but that may only be relatively temporary. Already there are signs that it is the newer immigrant groups such as Russians that are the most troublesome gangs. Also please remember that a truer picture about crime in the US is obscured by the fact that most media is based in the larger cities. There are street gangs in many small towns in Texas, for example, as well as an increasing number of gangs that are multiethnic.
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Name : ACC25101, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : San Antonio, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Grad student, history, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,The ‘majority’ is not as clear or distinct as many seem to think. Here in L.A., where Latinos make up more than 50% of the population, there are plenty of white gangs. Peckerwoods, Nazi Lowriders, Nazi Skinheads, White Power… they’re all over the place, especially in northern L.A. County. Also, there are many white street gangs that follow the typical street gang model. For instance, there are certain parts of west and south L.A. that are considered to be ‘shanty-towns’ and are filled with ethnic Irish gangs. You can also find predominantly white gangs in Venice, Culver City, Santa Monica, all over West L.A., certain parts of the Valley. There are Russian gangs here (like the guy who killed Ennis Cosby) and there are also plenty of white kids who aren’t in gangs yet still go around doing that kind of stuff. Also, back in the 1850s most New York street gangs were Irish, Italian and Jewish. Some branches of these gangs still exist today on the east coast. And in many rural parts of the country there are white gangs who engage in speed dealing and whatnot. However, the precedent for the modern street gang was set by Mexican American gangs in Los Angeles, starting in the early 1900’s to 1940’s. Every gang from Latin Kings to the Black Rangers are based on this model. It seems that minorities are a clear majority because of media bias (evening news, etc.).
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Name : Dan31706, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 22, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,That depends on which definition of the word ‘gang’ you choose to apply. Analytically speaking, the U.S. military is considered a gang. Local and state police are considered gangs. The U.S. Congress is considered a gang. So don’t believe everything you see and read about in ‘white-owned’ media outlets.
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Name : Leory-J22865, Race : Black/African American, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States,What about the militia and the ku klux klan, aren’t they considered to be gangs? Aren’t the white supremicists considered gangs? They supposedly have large following..Have we forgotten the skin heads? Think before you speak.
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Name : gloria, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, City : Atlanta, State : GA, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Pretty much for the same reason there were Irish and Italian gangs at one point: they live in ‘inner cities.’
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Name : Ric-M30041, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 28, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Communications, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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