Welcome to the Gangs Gang Official Website
Gang Culture and Parent Awareness
Gangs have been around for
as long as one can remember. Yet as
civilizations and cultures have evolved over the ages, so has the mechanics of
gangs. What exactly is a gang? According to the Texas Penal Code, a gang is a
group of people who form an alliance for a common purpose and engage in violent
or criminal activity. Gang members may
either be male or female whose ages range from 14 to 21 years old. However, there have been kids as young as 8
and adults in their 30s known to be part of gangs.
In the
- Crips
- Bloods
- Folk Nation
- People Nation
The dynamics of a gang are
of a very versatile nature. That is,
changes may occur everyday. Loyalties may change within a short span of
time. Generally, there are three Rs used to describe gang culture:
- Reputation – also called Rep. This is used to refer to the extent of
their experiences and activities as a gang member. The higher the rep, the more status a
gang member has. Reputation applies
to both individuals and gangs as a whole.
- Respect – also used in the normal sense of the
word, respect for gang members are usually carried to the extreme. Hierarchy within a specific gang demands
respect for the people in higher position.
On the other hand, gang members are required to dis
(disrespect) rival gangs – as individuals or as a whole. Disrespect may be manifested through
graffiti, hand signs, and other actions.
- Retaliation or Revenge – most often this results
from an instance of being disrespected.
Drive by shootings, beatings, and confrontations are all
manifestations of this aspect of gang culture.
Quite obviously, being a
gang member is not what you would want for your child and yet there are many
children who do become gang members.
Why? For a
variety of reasons. Yet the most
common reasons for joining gangs involve factors such as identity, recognition,
belonging, discipline, love, and money.
As a parent, you must take
an active stand in keeping your child away from such elements. There are certain signs that you can look out
for in order to help your child before it is too late. One glaring sign could be major negative behavioral
changes. Withdrawal from the family and
aggressive behavior may be signs of gang involvement. Another possible sign would be changes in the
way your child dresses. Gangs have
certain color schemes and clothing styles that they follow. Of course, just because your child wears
something similar to gangs does not mean he is a gang member. Yet combined with other factors, you should
take a deeper look into the situation. Gang
tattoos and weapons are other signs which you should be on the look out for.
It may seem that your child
is merely going through a growing up stage.
You may be tempted to just let him outgrow this. Yet think of the innocent people that have
been hurt. Take the case of Joseph Adetula. The young
boy was merely walking home from a convenience store at night when he was
gunned down. He was not part of a
gang. He was an innocent. Yet he was victimized. Imagine the pain and suffering that his
family went through – and are going through.
Until now, his case has not been solved.
Yet he is just one of the many who have been victimized by gang
activities. Are you going to wait till
it happens to you?