"But if you only have love for your own race
then you only leave space to discriminate
and to discriminate only generates hate
and when you hate then your bound to get irate"
-Black Eyed Peas(2003)
Growing up in Idaho gangs have always been somewhat of a phenomenon to me, there was an absence of this level of deviance where I grew up and I always wondered what drew individuals toward this type of group. Gangs are developed through a group of people sharing the same beliefs, and share a common identity. The most rapid growth of gangs seems to happen when the population in a certain area also grows or changes. Gang members often live lives outside of the gang although if there are things that need to be done for the gang it is usually required to be priority. Gangs are usually involved in some sort of violent activity; this requires all members to be willing to participate. Often the newer and younger members of the gang do more of the physical and violent crime along with intimidation. Violent and gang activity is usually related to drugs or racial issues. The most recent of problems seem to be shown in the Latino gangs, this could be attributed to many different things but as stated in our text book the relationship with the drug lords in South America could be a major contribution.
- This is a journal article i found very interesting since it had to do with youth gangs, which was the main area that really peaked my interest. It showed the hard facts on the youth gangs and i found it very helpful.
- Below is a Youtube video talking about the gang issues in Oakland California. Specifically between two Latino gangs, and how the problem is being coming bigger and bigger. This Video "Gang Wars 2-Oakland Latino Gangs"(2011) is a documentary talking to both victims and the offenders.
- the two sites I have listed below I found very useful and interesting. The first on I found to be very user friendly with an ample amount of information on different gangs. The Second has great facts on gangs and is very straight forward.
