The roots and causes of gang membership. What's your opinion?

This is the forum for those who believe that there are other options to gangs and violence and hope to see young people make better choices about their future. Where does change begin?

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Lonewolf
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The roots and causes of gang membership. What's your opinion?

Unread post by Lonewolf » January 4th, 2005, 12:01 am

Art Blajos (ex member of the Mexican Mafia and also author of the book: Blood In Blood Out & also affiliated with the church organization Victory Outreach) - said he had become a gang member because he felt like he needed to belong to something. He said that there is a powerful drive and urge that brings people into gangs. He said that he believes that gangs are created for protection.

Kid Frost (Rapper) - said on the contrary to rumors that he is not a gang member, that he also is very in tuned with the Latino gangs in Los Angeles. He believes that people, today, need a little more respect for each other. He said that communication is important and that violence is the easy but wrong way out. He said that Latino gang members need to gain a knowledge of self and stop racial genocide. He stressed that people need to be strong mentally as well as physically.

Donald Garcia (ex member of the Mexican Mafia and also affiliated with Victory Outreach) - said that the Norteños and Sureños started off the same roots in the pennititary for protection. He believes that rival gangs are the result of a lack of communication.

Lynette Duarte (affiliated with Barrio Unidos) - said that kids that are rather well off perpetrate as gang members for a sense of identity. She also stressed the need for people to return to their spiritual base.

T-Bone (rapper also ex gang member) - said that artist are becoming repetitive when they rap about killing people and having a whole slew of women. He said that his raps are about finding the answer to the gang violence problem. He said that the answer is God.

Robert Loera (ex member of the Mexican Mafia and is now affiliated with Victory Outreach) - said there is hope for gang members in God.

Alejandro Vilchez (affiliated with Barrio Unidos) - said that Latinos are stereotyped in the media as criminals, and when newly arrived immigrants see this depiction they believe that this is the way they should act. He said that there is a need for positive role models in the Latino community. He said that people should not have the attitude that there will never be peace because with that attitude there never will be peace.

Maggie Diaz-Gonzalez (affiliated with Real Alternatives Program) - said that there is a lack of comfort in the family, and that is why gang members turn to the streets and their friends for comfort.

Steve Vigil (affiliated with Barrio Unidos) - said that the gang scene is, usually, comprised of new arrivals fighting against the more established gangs. He also stressed a need for Latinos to gain control of their communities.

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Re: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

Unread post by epun » January 4th, 2005, 3:11 pm

my opinion is that street gangs are the BASIC result of two things:

1. bored neighborhood friends with nothing to do in the summer but find innocent trouble to get into. It would have basically stayed that way if it had not been for the drug scene.

2. Parents finding it hard to spend more valuable time with their kids due to work, bad parenting or both.

These are the foundations of which gangs get their beginings.....

my opinion on how street gang membership can be detoured is:

1. the federal gov't spending more money producing and re-cultivating communities than in foreign countries and wars.

2. Spend more time with kids.

my opinion on why gangs will always persist:

1. Parents not spending quality and valuable time with kids regarding discipline and love.

2. The need for this country to develop GLOBAL ties and communities instead of the EXISTING ties and communites in this country.

good topic lonewolf......

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Re: The roots and causes of gang membership. What's your opinion?

Unread post by alexalonso » March 27th, 2017, 12:20 am

It a combination of several things
- community disfunction or disorganization
- family disfunctionality (comes in many forms with good and bad parents)
a. drug use
b. abuse (verbal, sexual, physical)
c. neglect, lack of supervision
- peer group

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