Gangs
Originally the word gang had no negative connotation. In Old English, gang simply referred to a "number of people who went around together-a group." Today a gang can be defined in four basic ways:
• an organized group with a leader
• a unified group that usually remains together during peaceful times as well as times of conflict • a group whose members show unity through clothing, language
• a group whose activities are criminal or threatening to the larger society.
Gangs are one of the results of poverty, discrimination and urban deterioration. Some experts believe that young people, undereducated and without access to good jobs, become frustrated with their lives and join gangs as an ...
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in America there was gang-like activity, especially when class distinctions came into being. Gang members tended to be from the poorer classes and tended to be from the same race or ethnic background. They banded together for protection, recreation or financial gain.
The 20th Century Gangs
In the early 1900s the U.S. economy worsened, the population grew at a rapid pace, and the gap between the rich and poor widened. All across the nation gangs appeared where poor, hopeless people lived. The dawning of the 20th century also brought with it a widespread use of firearms. 1920sBy mid 1920s there were 1313 gangs in Chicago and more than 25,000 members. Gang warfare in Chicago was widespread and fighting took place along ethnic, cultural and racial lines. Some gangs had no noticeable cultural, ethnic or national ties and consisted mostly of whites.Chicano GangsThe 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of Chicano (Mexican-American) gangs in Los Angeles. By the 1940s Chicano gangs established ...
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immediately took on a different way of walking. A rhythmic gait, characterized by the forward movement of the head with each step. Terms for fighting were: bopping, rumbling, jitterbugging. Gang members used guns, knives, and homemade weapons. Most common drugs-alcohol, marijuana, heroin. New York gangs fought along racial lines-African-American, white, Puerto Rican. Usually they fought over girls or turf. Turf could be anything from a few blocks to an entire neighborhood. Gang members believed it was essential to protect the honor of their girlfr! iends. And in the late 1950, girl gangs, with strong ties to boy gangs, began to form. Revenge was required by an inflexible code of gang ...
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Gangs. (2004, June 6). Retrieved April 25, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Gangs/9048
"Gangs." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 6 Jun. 2004. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Gangs/9048>
"Gangs." Essayworld.com. June 6, 2004. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Gangs/9048.
"Gangs." Essayworld.com. June 6, 2004. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Gangs/9048.
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