Gangs Essay

While the free essays can give you inspiration for writing, they cannot be used 'as is' because they will not meet your assignment's requirements. If you are in a time crunch, then you need a custom written term paper on your subject (gangs)
Here you can hire an independent writer/researcher to custom write you an authentic essay to your specifications that will pass any plagiarism test (e.g. Turnitin). Waste no more time!

Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live? The long-range answer to these questions can only be speculated upon, but in the short term the answers are much easier to find. On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings' personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are given to the individual. Unfortunately, these can only be hypothesized. However, by looking at the way humans are influenced in society, there is good evidence to point the blame at several institutions. These include the forces of the media, the government, theatre, drugs and our economic system.

On the surface, gangs are caused by peer pressure and greed. Many teens in gangs will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it all sound glamorous. Money is also a crucial factor. A kid (a 6-10 year old, who is not yet a member) is shown that s/he could make $200 to $400 for small part time gang jobs. Although these are important factors they are not strong enough to make kids do things that are strongly against their morals.

One of the ways that children’s morals are bent so that gang violence becomes more acceptable is the influence of television and movies. The average child spends more time at a TV than she/he spends in a classroom. Since no one can completely turn off their minds, these children must be learning something while watching the television. Few hours of television watched by children are educational, so other ideas are being absorbed during this period of time. Many shows on television today are extremely violent and are often shown from a gang's perspective. A normal adult can see that this is showing how foully gangs are living. However, to a child this portrays a violent gang existence as acceptable. 'The Ends Justifies the Means' mentality is also taught through many shows where the "good guy" captures the "bad guy" through violence and is then being commended. A young child sees this as perfectly acceptable because he knows that the "bad guy" was wrong but has no idea of what acceptable apprehension techniques are.

Gore in television also takes a big part in influencing young minds. Children see gory scenes and are fascinated by these things that they have not seen before. Older viewers see gore and are not concerned with the blood but rather with the pain the victim must feel. A younger mind doesn't make this connection. Thus, a gore fascination is formed, and has been seen in several of my peers. Unfortunately, children raised with this sort of television eventually grow up with a stronger propensity to becoming a violent gang member or 'violent-acceptant' person.

"Gangs bring the delinquent norms of society into intimate contact with the individual."1, (Marshall B Clinard, 1963). So, as you can see if television leads a child to believe that violence is the norm this will manifest itself in the actions of the child quite, often in a gang situation. This is especially the case when parents do not spend a lot of time with their children at the television explaining what is right and what is wrong. These parents do not have the adequate amount of time in their busy schedules to monitor their children properly. Therefore, the influence of newer books and some types of music will enforce this type of thought and ideas.

Once this mentality is installed in youngsters they become increasingly prone to being easily pushed into a gang situation by any problem at home or elsewhere. For instance, in poor families with many children or upper-middle class families where parents are always working, the children will often feel deprived of love. Parents can often feel that putting food on the table is enough love. Children of these families may often go to the gang firstly out of boredom and to belong somewhere. As time goes on, a form of love or kinship develops between the gang members and the child. It is then that the bond between the kid and the gang is completed because the gang has effectively taken the place of the family.

The new anti-social structure of cities also affects the ease in which a boy/girl can join a gang. " The formation of gangs in cities, and most recently in suburbs, is facilitated by the same lack of community among parents. The parents do not know what their children are doing for two reasons: First, much...

Carroll,Peter. South-Central. Hoyte and Williams, L. A., 1987.
Clinard Marshall B., Sociology of Deviant Behavior. University of
Wisconsin, Wisconsin, 1963, Page 179.
Nisbet, Merton. Contempory Social Problems. Harcourt, Brace & World, New
York, 1971, Page 588.
Webb, Margot. Copying with Street Gangs. Rosen Publishing Group, New York, 1990.
Whyte, William Foote. Street Corner Society. University of Chicago, Chicago,
1955. You should cite this paper as follows:

MLA Style
. EssayMania.com. Retrieved on 25 May, 2012 from
    <http://essaymania.com/95520/gangs>

More College Papers

Supplemental Childcare Program essay
Families' reliance on childcare has risen significantly over the past 30 years. In 1993, 9.9 million children under age 5, needed care while their mothers worked (Bureau of the Census, 1995). More than two-thirds of all infants receive nonparental child care during their first year of life, with mos

Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X essay
A Drive for Justice “I have a dream, that one day little black boys and black girls will join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sister and brother.” (de Kay 75)…Martin Luther King Jr. During the past century, the United States of America has wresled with the problem

Affirmative Action Now essay
Robert J. Boone III Capt. Lovrak English 29 Nov. 00 Affirmative Action Now The purpose behind affirmative action programs during the admissions process of universities is to promote equal opportunity, and to further desegregate our educational system. Those who do not promote affirmative action