“If gang tattoos function as representations of the contested identities of socially excluded youth, gang graffiti functions as one of the indicators of contested boundaries of gang influence or control.” – Something interesting I read on this site.

What are the purposes of gang rivalries?  The issues of money, drug trafficking, extortion, robberies, homicide, prostitution, and other organized crime activities all play central roles. Racial differences (like the Black-Hispanic gang rivalries in Los Angeles), are, of course, another major contributor.  But there is one unmentioned factor that all gangs always fight over – territory.  The need to expand and defend their territory, their turf, against one another is a crucial component of their existence.  If a comparison can be made with the businesses world, just as corporations compete against each other for the ability to make more money, gangs compete for the same thing in their own way, with the ultimate goal of gaining additional territory for increased drug sales through more people to extort.  This conflict over territory is called a “turf war.”

Most turf wars are common occurrences that don’t make the evening news, but one that recently did happened when violence erupted on May 17th in Waco, Texas between rival motorcycle gangs, The Cossacks and The Bandidos (although the FBI has named them “outlaw motorcycle gangs” because of their involvement in organized crime activities).  In what may as well be a scene from “Sons of Anarchy,” nine people were left dead in a shootout and many others were wounded. The fight actually broke out because of a bottom rocker—the bottom clothing logo on the back of a motorcycle jacket that identifies the geographic territory of a biker gang. This is just an example of how serious gangs can be when someone else tries to take over their turf.

Humans are tribal by nature and we tend to group ourselves with people who are similar to us. This tribal heritage also promotes an ‘us against them” mentality and territoriality. People in gangs are no different. They join because they want to be with people who they have a connection with. Many gang members don’t have families or were ignored as children, so they feel the need to belong in a group (as well as self-protection).  Other reasons, like thinking it’s cool, also explain gang membership, but there’s usually deeper sociological causes than something as superficial as this.

Will we ever know a world without gang warfare?  Based on the increased proliferation of gangs in my lifetime, even outside large cities, I can only hope that young people who are the most vulnerable to recruitment somehow receive opportunities for healthier lifestyles.

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/08/12/black-hispanic-gang-rivalries-plague-los-angeles.html

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-firestone18oct18-story.html#page=1

http://www.policemag.com/channel/gangs/articles/1996/08/tracing-the-roots-of-blac-gang-rivalry.aspx

http://www.businessinsider.com/dangerous-american-gangs-fbi-2011-11?op=1

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-firestone18oct18-story.html#page=1

http://www.destinyschildren.org/en/context/gangs-and-territory/

 

Photo Credits:

Photo By me_Studios via StockPholio.com

The post Gang Rivalries: The “Us Against Them” Mentality. Why Does It Exist? appeared first on The Poe Consequence by Keith Steinbaum.