Gangs and Society
Gangs can have a tremendous effect on society. They have existed for hundreds of years, especially in America. Although gangs are usually created from people who intend to offer safety in numbers, this safety is usually done through acts of crime. This book will explain how gangs and their actions affect society. Chapter one is “Initiation”. This included getting high with the other gang members, then getting beaten by his new comrades, then going out with a 12 gauge shotgun and ambushing a rival “set”. Sets are subsets of larger gangs like the Crips or the Bloods.
Most gang violence occurs within these gangs between neighborhood “sets”. For example, Kody’s gang, the “Eight Trays” are Crips and mortal enemies to the “Rollin’ Sixties” Crips. Not only must each set fight their neighboring rivals, but also they are expected to respect the larger scale wars. If a group of sets declare war on another group of sets then your set may be expected to take a side. This can result in some very awkward diplomatic situations with Crip sets allied with Blood sets against Crip sets and their allied Blood sets.
At one point in the book, the Eight Trays found themselves at war with a previously good ally, because of these larger conflicts. Kody took to the violence. He saw it as the step from childhood into manhood. He was good at it and soon received the gang name, “Monster”. He willingly and joyfully joined “Fly”, “Tray Ball”, “Huckabuck”, “Lep”, “Crazy D” and “Gangster Cool”. These youths were very much aware of the gangster legends, who had gone before them. This older members were mostly either dead or in jail. They seldom appear in the book, but when they do, there is respect and admiration from the younger members.
Kody’s goal was to build such a reputation. He even had a three point plan to reach his goal. First, he had to build his personal reputation by effectively using violence. Second, he had to build his name in association with his set, so that when his name is spoken his set is spoken of “in the same breath”. Third, he must establish himself as a promoter of Crip. their activities affect society. Weapons were easily obtained from older members. 12 gauge, . 44, 9mm, . 38 were common. A “banger” seldom moved about without being “strapped” with his “gat”. The war was financed by thievery and drug sales.
This was before crack and its associated money made full automatic the weapons of choice. Kody would patrol his neighborhood on his bicycle carrying a loaded hand gun. They shot their enemies on sight. I was frightened at times by the fearlessness, heartlessness, and cold bloodedness of some of the armed guiltless homicides. Avenging assaults, initiation attacks and a peppering of random acts of murder accompany this proclaiming of manhood. One gang member, challenged to a private duel, responded, “I’m a killer, not a gunfighter. ” Monster’s reputation built quickly. He was a very effective killer.
Kody found himself the target of older gang members who wanted him dead. He was ambushed, shot six times. He survived and went right back to banging. It all seemed quite normal to him. He couldn’t imagine living life as a “hook”, a civilian, a victim. He was at war for control of the civilians, the hood, their turf. Killing civilians was frowned upon. There was no glory in civilians, too easy. Some civilians even welcomed and protected the hood’s bangers as defenders. Later in the book, while in prison, Kody was recruited into an army of bangers, the Consolidated Crips Organization.
That’s CRIPS, as in Clandestine Revolutionary International Party Soldiers, defender of the C-Nation, unifier of the warring sets with claim to the Crips name. The older gang members were very aware of the need for more unity between gang members to reduce the crippling infighting. There is much talk and effort placed in creating a Gang. The primary motivation to such unity was surviving the larger scale wars. The Crips were allied with gangs of Southern Mexicans against the Aryan Nazis with their Northern Mexican allies. California prison reads like a race war.
This causes me to have nightmare visions of a possible Earth, where the racial and tribal lines of loyalty and disloyalty exists on a bloody worldwide scale. I took comfort in the fact that this book is the story of transformation, from a boy killer to a mature man. Gangs of all levels and types usually have a negative effect on society. Gangs, gang violence and gang wars typically suck up a city or town’s police resources because of the sheer number of people involved, lack of witness cooperation and types of crimes connected to gangs.
Higher-level gangs that are investigated by the FBI sometimes force the agency to utilize very risky and very expensive resources like high-tech surveillance, informants and witness protection programs. Gangs also can bring down the property value of neighborhoods from the violence and vandalism involved with gang life. Big money investors may shy away from places where they feel that their properties and resources will not be used for fear of gang crimes. Gangs can also drive up prices of local groceries and commodities via their intimidating schemes that force businesses to pay them sums of money in exchange for “protection. Gangs have been threatening the progression of our society due to the fear that has been put into everyone’s eyes. In my own hometown of Fairfax Virginia, now whenever people hear the police car sirens, the first thought that comes into their mind is someone got shot. Gang violence is not just an issue in Fairfax; gang violence is known to be an issue all over the world. Gang violence seems to be increasing all over the world throughout the years, and it’s becoming a major issue. Many people agree that innocent live get taken due to terror and violence that gangs bring to our society.
The lives of young people are being put in danger because most gangs recruit young people as members. The younger members are the ones being sent to kill each other just to gain respect by the older people in the gangs, and the gain reputation in the gang too. Innocent’s people’s house get shot at because of the gangs trying to kill a gang member, and sometimes they end up killing an innocent person. Some people feel the criminal justice system is failing to control the growth and strength of gangs in communities and prisons alike.
In today’s society, the age of gang members continues to decrease while the number of them continues to increase. As youth continue to age the chance that they will end up in prison increases. There will be focus on the relationship between prison and street gangs and how society is affected as a result of these gangs. It is important to look at how gang violence can be reduced if not prevented all together Mike Torbert “The Autobiography Of An L. A GangMember” By: Sanyika Shakur Sociology Paper 3/22/12
