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Gang Culture and Parent Awareness

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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 United States, there are countless local gangs in different areas. However, they seem appear to somehow be affiliated with four major gangs:

• 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?

Warning Signs

With the exception of bona fide gang tattoos, there are few, if any, single indicators which can be taken as airtight guarantees that a particular young person is involved in gang activity.  The following list can serve as a guide.  However, if several of these become observable, they should serve as a red flag, and professional intervention should be sought.

• A sudden drop in grades and a lack of interest in school;
• New friends (boys or girls) who are "questionable" characters in the eyes of parents.  Extreme loyalty/exclusivity to core group of friends;
• Secretive/defensiveness about activities with friends;
• Disengagement from family;
• loss of interest in normal activities and interests;
• Delinquency issues with police;
• Out of control behavior:  curfew, runaway, defiant;
• Flashing of hand signs (hand gestures) to friends (or even when alone);
• New interest in "Gangsta" rap music (not soft Rap0;
• Changes in manner or dress and adopting gang-style clothing, jewelry, and/or tattoos;
• Gang graffiti or symbols on his/her personal property;
• Changes in vocabulary and use of gang slang;
• Changing a nickname to something more acceptable to a gang;
• Unexplained increase in his/her personal monetary income;
• Possession of commercially made or "makeshift" weapons;
• Possession of drugs or other controlled substances;
• Changes in health that may be due to drug/alcohol abuse;
• Unexplained threats/messages from callers who refuse to identify themselves to parents;
• Otherwise unexplained damage to property;
• Inability to account for time spent away from home;
• Curfew violations on a regular basis (17 years of age and younger).

OUR MISSION!

This site is devoted to all of our dead Homies and Family members that are talking to us from the Grave. More unwilling "Martyr" Joseph Adetula lost his live on July 4, 2005. What is that date saying to you? What are our unwilling Martyr's saying to you? I hear 911!!! I hear them!!! I believe that they are COMMANDING us to find a way to live in PEACE. This Web Site and my Life is devoted to that Mission.
Dayo Adetula

“To succeed, you must have objectives and constantly aim at them to reach your goal.. There will be some hindrances or stumbling blocks on the way, but if you can cleverly go round it, you’d reach that goal and you’d get whatever you want. You don’t have to start pressuring anybody because it won’t last. Slow and steady will win the race.”
Adetula


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