Trapped Between Innocence and Death: a guide to being free from gang life
by: John Saroyan, Ed.D.
Paul Cosores, BSW, DPO
"Can I stop this child from joining a gang?"
White, Black, Chicano/Hispanic or Asian, gangs and gang
violence affect everyone no matter what their socio-economic
background. Adolescents who are drawn into gangs hail from
typical families found in all corners of the United States and
beyond.
We gain knowledge of gangs through scientific fields as sociology
and psychology; we analyze gang programs, we research books
on gangs, we examine gang clothing, "colors" or signs, but we
have yet to discover gang alternatives that take into account both
the working mind and the motivation of the gang member. Until now. . .
We must understand gang members' motives, develop the
appropriate preventive programs and work closely with law
enforcement officers, mental health professionals and lawmakers
to stem anti-societal acts by gangs from graffiti to robberies
and murder and break the chain of violence that destroys
youths as well as the fabric of a civilized society.
Anti-gang programs promote alternatives to gangs while
supporting and maintaining parental influence. Psychotherapy
is an excellent tool to help a child gain insights and change
destructive behavior to combat the lure he or she may have of
acquiring a gangster identity but has limited power when applied
only to the individual gang member. A focus on family and
family dysfunction may be effective depending on the level of
parental involvement and parents' willingness to participate in
frank and serious family therapy. This book will help determine
which combination of methods may be most effective for any
specific child's situation.
Trapped Between Innocence and Death: A Guide to Being
Free From Gang Life offers the reader the latest information
on gang living in a useful and practical format and provides
the scientific causes and intellectual roots of such a destructive
affiliation to our susceptible youths. Parents, teachers, police
as well as concerned citizens will greatly benefit from this book.
The following is an exerpt from the book Trapped Between Innocence and Death: a guide to being free from gang life
". . .
Part II
Understanding Gang Motivation
What is a Gang?
One of the better definitions of a street gang that has been recognized
by law enforcement is the following: two or more
individuals hanging out or associating with each other for
either antisocial or criminal activities. The criminal activities
range from graffiti to murder with all the crimes in between.
Therefore, with this definition in mind, are taggers or graffiti
artists gang members? Yes, they are. How about party animals
that ditch school all day and go to a house to party and drink
and use drugs and are not in school? Would they be considered
gang members? Yes, they are breaking the law and are
associating in groups while breaking the law. Some of you may
recall the car clubs of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Most car
clubs had constitutions where it stipulated their members
could not break the law or become involved in any unlawful
activity or they would lose their membership in the club.
Therefore, they were not gangs. A number of car clubs duringthat period did make the step over from being a car club to
becoming a gang. They openly broke the law, were involved in
stealing other cars, crashing cars and dismantling them, and
playing "chicken."
How Gangs Impact Businesses
If there is gang activity (or any other form of unlawful
activity) in the area your business is located, you and your
customers may face intimidation, robbery, theft, and/or other
dangers. Your business may be vandalized and painted with
graffiti leading to an increase in cost of maintenance and
insurance coverage. Loss of revenue from shoplifting, burglaries
and robberies will not only affect your insurance coverage,
but your employees, and possibly the customers. You may
choose to invest in additional security systems or security
personnel, another added expense. You may decide to add
foliage around your property to cover or restrict access to
walls, making them less accessible as graffiti targets. You may
eventually experience decreased revenue from lost customers.
Your business district may undergo gradual deterioration as
other businesses eventually give up and leave, creating empty
buildings and storefronts. This is a reality experienced by
many urban business areas across the nation. As businesses
leave, employment opportunities for area residents can be
acutely affected, as well as the city's important tax base.
Additionally, gang activities in a community can create a
"no growth" status. It can significantly impact the real estate
market, making it extremely difficult to sell or lease residential
or commercial properties. When any criminal activity is
present, new businesses may be reluctant to move in and
invest in the community. As gang activity increases in your
area, the community may experience negative media coverage,
which reinforces this destructive cycle.
Impacting of Citizens
Gangs impact each of us. You can surely identify with at
least one of the following: City government, city service units
(city street maintenance, zoning and parks), school personnel,
emergency services (fire and rescue), social services,
retail businesses, courts, probation, detention personnel and
facilities, medical services, parents and family members,
recreational facilities, shopping centers, churches, Section
Eight housing, HUD, welfare agencies, property owners,
local police departments. Gangs are expensive. They create
big bills for all of us to pay. City management must pay for
repeated clean-up of graffiti and repair of property damage to
all city buildings, parks, and facilities, resulting in costly
additional manpower hours. Schools constantly contend
with the criminal mischief (violence on campus, cost of
clean-up, additional security) that increases on their campus
with the presence of gang activity. Homeowners experience
similar expenses as well. Living in a "bad area" will raise
insurance premiums and lower property values. Public service
agencies, such as police and fire, have their resources
stretched thin trying to combat this ever present menace.
Gang Values
In understanding gang members, it is very important
that we not only understand what motivates a person to
become a gang member, but also to understand the different
value systems that each group has developed. One of the
problems suffered by most anti-gang busting groups has
been the fact that they attempt to attack the beast with one
tool and/or one weapon. First, you need to understand the
value system attached to gang members. Due to the geographical
location of the writers, information and insight
presented in this book on understanding values of gang
members are directed toward Los Angeles-based gangs and
may not necessarily reflect what is happening in other counties
or other states. It may not be indicative of all gangs in all
regions, but rather a general overview to help you understand
gang values. This will be a significant tool for you
when you decide to attack gang problem.
Because the gangs in Los Angeles County are generally
organized by race, it is much easier for us to ascribe the
value system of each gang separately. This is not meant to
be a racial value system, but it helps us define each ethnic
group of gang members. It does not depict any ethnic or
racial group as better or worse than another. This is sometimes
a very difficult area for people to understand until they
take a few minutes and looks at it to see that these are not
racial statements, but factual descriptions of different gangs
within Los Angeles County. It definitely is not an attempt to
offend or make derogatory statements about any racial group
but merely to serve as a tool to better understand the gangs
in Los Angeles County. Also, "naming" the various ethnic
gang groups is meant to simply delineate them from each
other for the sake of reference. Therefore, the different
names, such as "Hispanics" or "Chicanos," "Whites," or
"Blacks," are specifically used to identify the groups. In fact,
these terms are commonly used by several professional
groups as well as many of the ethnic groups themselves,
but do not always reflect each individual's personal view in
naming their culture or gang subculture.
It is important to remember that gangs are truly a subculture
of our own culture. Though they may play the role
of concerned human beings, they solely exist for the sake of
criminality and most citizens within their communities are
law abiding.
Let us first discuss the values of gangs in general, which
we illustrate with a "pie of values" chart. The list includes
neighborhood, members, family, money, drugs, criminal
activities, mi vida loca (my crazy life), machismo, loyalty, self,
clothing, cars, motorcycles, weapons, colors, music, race,
women, power, respect, and religion. These are the basic values
that most gang members possess. Before reviewing this
information, at times some people might believe that gang
members have no loyalties and no values. To better understand
the individual gangs, we must address the top three
values for the gang. . . ."
Purchase This Book Online
Back to Books Page
|
