Gang Bang Boom

“Us against them,” is the motto of a gang banger. Everything is today and now. The future is too insecure to think about. The pain of poverty and rejection in a society that offers no hope, is what causes a young person to seek out acceptance in a gang.

Being drawn into a gang is often like being sucked into a whirlpool for some kids. They swim too close to the temptation because they have no reason to swim away from it. Once they are part of the gang, it becomes a part of them, and they can’t get out. Gang bangers condition themselves to accept death to get back at society, for causing them to feel neglected and rejected. The hope of reaching adulthood is blinded by the frustration of seeing only negative attacks against them.

It is easy for people who have known security, to judge and condem those who have never had anything to build hope on. Gang bangers use the gang as their anchor to hold onto for support, acceptence and security. The hard core attitudes they express are their way of exposing the real pain that festers deep inside where no one wants to realize that in reality, all these kids ever wanted, was to also have a chance at living the American Dream.

Granted some kids grow up in the mist of Gang Busters and never get caught up in its attraction or seduction. One brother may be a gang banger, while another will totally abstain from it. Like one brother can be gay while another can be straight. Gang banging is a way to react in a society that discriminates against poverty, cultural differences, sexism and academic standards.

Everyone is born with individual talents and abilities. If those assets are not encouraged at an early age, an empty hole begins to grow. If that hole is not filled with love, hope or security, that young person will seek to fill that empty space with whatever they can grab onto. It becomes a means of survival. Some children have the ability to pull away from the lure of joining a gang. Other children are to weak in being able to pull away from the lure.

Being tempted into joining a gang to a young person is no different than being tempted into anything else in life. One person may find a wallet and be tempted to keep the money inside, while another person who is just as needy as the first person, is not lured to the temptation to keep the money. It all depends on the individual person, and how that person views the situation at hand.