You know a lot of people join gangs when they're very young just to feel accepted, right? They do it because they feel it's like their only family, which is why so many people who are in gangs come from broken homes and families. They're young impressionable kids. If they're growing up poor and they see people not much older than them walking around with expensive clothes, jewelry, cars, etc - it plays on them and they want it, too. It's not like all gang members love being in a gang once they find out what the life is truly all about, most of them regret it and can't get out of the gang or else they'll be murdered for it. Once you're in, there's no way out - depending what gang it is.
Not all of them are assholes and look for trouble on a daily basis - it really depends what gang you're in, though.
There is truth to this.
My brothers joined a gang at a very young age.
No glorified bullshit. They rolled with legit so cal
killers. Bad men.& They had homies who were as
young as 11. Smoking meth, doing dirt...
Basically, kids who were highly
impressionable, running away from dysfunction
at home & looking for validation from older, more
respected men. It starts out small... put in some
work here & there... pick up a few bad habits along
the way of strengthening bonds. Until someone
inevitably gets killed & now you got your loyalty
challenged. Now you gotta rep your set. & I feel like
this is the breaking point. There's a lot of pressure on
an individual to respond appropriately in these
moments & imo, is when people start seeing the
vicious cycle that lies behind & ahead of them.
Not everyone makes it out... ultimately, what breeds
all of this is human nature of wanting to belong to
a group, as we are social animals. But what perpetuates
it is a childhood of dysfunction & an inability to cope
with the demands of young adolescence, alone.
To me, gangs make sense. & will always be apart
of society. Especially while drugs are illegal, as they,
more often than not, are merely an organization
Which reflect capitalist ethics & business models
that placate into the demands and addictions of urban
areas. There needs to be a reformation of families,
as well as the prison industrial complex & it's sister
"War on drugs" effort to be able to move towards
ridding their appeal. But ultimately, people will be
people. & if they don't find the appeal in the money,
they'll find it in the comraderie. Regardless of how
contrived, fickle & fleeting it may be.
