Gang Life The term gang (noun) is simply defined as an organized group of criminals. However, the gang sub-culture is more complex. A gang is better defined as a group of adolescents and young adults who are united upon on a common idea/identity, and are often involved in delinquent activities to better their own stature. Gangs usually have a somewhat military like structure, with leaders at the top, lieutenants and sergeants, and soldiers at the bottom. Young children have various reasons for joining street gangs, but do not realize the ramifications caused by the gang life. Children often believe joining a neighborhood gang will make them become recognized, or safer, but the harsh reality is that so many youths don’t realize the hazards associated with gangs until it is too late. The history of street gangs in America dates back to the formation of America herself. The first gang-like groups formed in the Northeast right after the Revolutionary war ended, in 1783, in New York City. These groups were mainly young white immigrants from Europe who just fought over turf in the city. In the Midwest region (mainly Chicago) the first street gangs developed in the 1860s and were mainly white immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and Lithuania. In the most western region of the United States Mexican gang-like groups started appearing in Los Angeles sometime around 1890s. Gang-like groups have been around America for quite some time but a few key events escalated gang presence in the United States. In 1920 the eighteenth amendment to the United States constitution effectively established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States. This meant the production, sale of, and transportation of alcohol was an illegal act punishable by law. This created a huge demand for alcohol and illegal traffickers (a.k.a. bootleggers) took advantage of this demand. Bootlegging was one of the main contributors to American organized crime because organized gangs could control an entire region of bootlegging operations. Gangs were determined to secure large territories where they could establish a monopoly of alcohol distribution. This was a very lucrative business because there was such a high demand for spirits. Gangs began to expand their methods of organizing far beyond bootlegging to prostitution, narcotics trafficking, gambling rackets, and much more. More and more gangsters would arise from the bootlegging operations of the 1920s and early 30s. During World War II, two key events in Los Angeles stimulated the growth of Mexican gangs: The Sleepy Lagoon murder and the zoot suit riots. Jose Gallardo Diaz’s unconscious body was discovered on the side of a road in August of 1942. The local newspapers coined this the “sleepy lagoon” murder because it was by a nearby swimming hole later named the sleepy lagoon. The cause of death is still a mystery to this day, but the Los Angeles police arrested seventeen Latino youths despite lacking critical evidence. Nine of the seventeen defendants were convicted of second-degree murder and imprisoned. At a time of war, tensions were very high between white sailors and Latino youths. In 1943 following the Sleepy lagoon case, tensions hit a boiling point and exploded. A series of violent incidents had occurred leading up to the riots between U.S. servicemen and any Mexicans wearing zoot suits. Thousands of servicemen marched through the streets of Los Angeles looking for any zoot suit they could find. One eyewitness, journalist Carey McWilliams wrote, “Marching through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, a mob of several thousand soldiers, sailors, and civilians, proceeded to beat up every zoot suiter they could find. Pushing its way into the important motion picture theaters, the mob ordered the management to turn on the house lights and then ran up and down the aisles dragging Mexicans out of their seats. Streetcars were halted while Mexicans, and some Filipinos and Negroes, were jerked from their seats, pushed into the streets and beaten with a sadistic frenzy.” Facing this terrible segregation, Mexican-American youth and any non-white races were forced to associate only with members of their race, which in turn produced social isolation. These youths had very limited access to social outlets like public pools and parks, leading them to create their own social venues. The combination of all these factors and the acceleration of Mexican immigration in the early 1950’s lead to the formation of the Mexican-American youths forming their own gang sub-culture in the west simply because it was the only way for them to create an identity for themselves. Gangs had a presence in the Los Angeles community many years before the 1970s. However, the violence seen around the time of the Second World War and into the 1950s and 60s was somewhat mild compared to what was to come. In 1960 there was 6 deaths from gang related violence in Los Angeles, and that was considered a very bad year. (BET, “American Gangster”) After the Watts riots of 1965, political groups like the Black Panthers provided hope for those at the bottom of the social ladder. However, in the late 1960’s, the Panthers and the civil rights movement came undone. A younger generation of African-Americans had watched leader after leader get systematically eliminated and turned its backs on politics and literally began to retreat into the neighborhood. The black community had a void of leadership that needed to be filled. Raymond Washington formed a tiny gang on the Eastside of south central Los Angeles that he called the “crips”. Stanley “Tookie” Williams had a similar crew on the Westside of South Central that dressed like Raymond’s crew and the two sets both claimed to be on a mission to protect the community from predatory gangs; which lead to the two sets joining forces. The crips were the first L.A. gang to recruit outside of a single neighborhood, but this was easy for “Tookie”. He had been expelled from seven different schools and had friends all over the city. The gang was beginning to spread like wildfire. One former crip said, “It really spoke to a lot of the wounds that everyone experienced in their own life, the gang almost became a conduit to express this pain.” (BET, “American Gangster”) In 1972, twenty crip gang members brutally stomped a 16-year-old high school football star to death after a concert. This incident brought a lot of attention to the crips and the community began to realize there was a problem. By the mid 1970’s gang violence in south central Los Angeles had reached new levels. Seventy people had died from gang gunfire in 1974. With founder Raymond Washington in prison on a burglary charge, Stanley “Tookie” Williams was at the head of Los Angeles’ most notorious street gang. On March 15th 1979, “Tookie” Williams was arrested and charged for four brutal murders in Los Angeles. He was convicted on all four murders and sentenced to death in 1981. Five months after Williams’ conviction, Raymond Washington, fresh out of prison himself, was shot to death on crip turf in south central. Around the time when the notorious leaders went down there were about 60 crip and blood sets in south central. By 1982, that number had skyrocketed to 155; the rise of the crack cocaine trade in the 1980s spiked the violence. In 1988, operation Hammer hit the streets with intentions to sweep the streets rid of gang-bangers and anyone who looked like one. But it didn’t work, former Los Angeles police chief Bernard Parks said, “On the way back to the station, I’m looking and seeing new kids hangin’ on corners, kids who I really didn’t know, but clearly they were taking the place in this void, of all theses guys we just took off the streets. And that’s when I realized, I said you know what? We don’t have anything to do with the feeder system.” The crips and bloods just kept growing: by the mid 80s there were over 50 thousand gang-bangers in L.A. county, and more than 350 gang-related homicides each year. While unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction on the rise, recruitment was easier than ever. One former crip said, “When you go back in the neighborhood and see these guys driving nice big cars, nice Cadillac’s, the diamond rings, the way we dressed, and the stuff that we had. Which one would you take? Crack momma laying on the couch too high to offer you anything, or go with the crew.” (BET, “American Gangster) Stanley “Tookie” Williams had helped turn Los Angeles into a battlefield of gang violence. In the early 1990s it was estimated that there was more than 70 thousand active gang members in Los Angeles. (Friedrichs, 1) Gangs were no longer just a problem for those who lived in crime-ridden neighborhoods; it was now everyone’s problem. There are also substantial economic costs that come with the gang violence. A study showed that, “The economic impact on the criminal justice system and the public attributed to gangs in California may total $1 billion per year in the early 1990s. Findings also indicate direct medical costs pertaining to gang violence may have reached $231 million in Los Angeles County during 1991, and indirect costs may total approximately $540 million for the same period. Gang suppression funding for local agencies from the Office of Criminal Justice Planning amounted to $7,161,560 for fiscal year 1989/1990.” (Friedrichs, 2) During the 1990s people began to realize that rather than spending money to fix all the problems caused by gangs, that same money should be used for the prevention of kids joining gangs in the first place. Young kids have various reasons for joining neighborhood gangs. Some kids are basically born into the gang life. If a child’s’ Father was or is a gang member, their brother is a gang member, or their cousin is a gang member, then that kid pretty much knows no other life and is destined for gang-banging. Some kids might join a gang for recognition; they think that since people don’t know who they are the time, joining a gang will make them know who they are. Other young kids might have a feeling that the only way they can survive is to join a gang, and they join for protection. However, the fact of the matter is that these young kids don’t realize they’re only putting themselves more at-risk. From 2006-2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated over 15,000 gang related homicides across the United States. (National gang center, 2011) Young kids see older gang members in their fancy cars and nice clothes and are quick to believe that’s the life they want to live. However, they don’t realize that 90% of gang members are arrested by age 18, and that 60% of gang members are dead or in prison by age 20. (Conroe Police Department, 1) The gang life is a fast one; the life often involves fast money, fast women, and even fast cars. At the same time the gang-life is a fast way to a prison cell or even a casket. Young kids often believe that joining a street gang for whatever reason will benefit them, but in the end it is a life nobody would ever choose for their child. The average life expectancy of a gang member is 20 years, five months. Gang members often don’t plan on living much past their teen years because they know how the sub-culture works. The short-term ramifications of the gang life seem so sweet to youngsters, because they do not have the experience or education to know any better. Children need the help and guidance of their parents, teachers, and role models to prevent them from becoming just another statistic. Bibliography
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