a unique style, wear distinctive clothing, and engage in criminal or antisocial activities on a regular basis. We’re not talking about a Little League team here. Gang members frequently utilize tattoos, scars, or cigarette burns to announce their affiliation. These markings are usually obvious, seen on the arms and/or chest, but can also be discreet such as wearing a tattoo on the inside of the lower lip. Even their vehicles may be distinctive, with lowered frames, neon, excessive chrome, or tinted windows.
Gang members hold three things preeminent—respect, reputation, and revenge. Consequently, if you cross a gang member in any manner, things will get ugly fast. For example, even looking at one with the wrong facial expression (commonly called “mugging” or “mean-mugging”) can get you seriously hurt or killed. Imagine a gang banger’s reaction to a more obvious sign of disrespect such as a derogatory comment, push, kick, or punch.
Unlike what you may have been led to believe, gang membership crosses all racial, ethnic, social, and economic lines. It is not just a ghetto thing. There are Asian gangs, black gangs, white gangs, Hispanic gangs, skinhead gangs, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and so on. These gangs include both umbrella groups and associated sets with names like 18th Street Gang; .45 Crew; Almighty P Stone Nation; Black Gangster Disciples; Bloods, Border Brothers; Crips, Dykes Taking Over (DTO); Friends Stand United (a.k.a. FSU or F*ck Sh*t Up); Hells Angels; Hispanic Nortenos; Hispanic Surenos (Sur-13); L.A. Death Squad; Latin Kings; Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13); Outlaws, Pagans; Banditos; Texas Syndicate; and Vice Lords.
Both male and female gang members instigate violence, carry weapons, deal drugs, participate in crimes, and take leadership roles within the organizations. They carry the marks of violence with pride, comparing knife scars, bullet wounds, burns, and various disfigurements to prove how tough they are and augment their reputations. Gangs get involved in everything from drug trafficking and manufacture to robbery, auto theft, carjacking, burglary, felonious assault, rape, murder, kidnapping, weapons trafficking, arson, prostitution, fraud, identity theft, vandalism, money laundering, extortion, and human trafficking.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, as of 2007 there are an estimated 21,500 active youth gangs in the United States with some 731,500 members. These gang members account for roughly ten percent of all violent crimes as well as ten percent of homicides in the country. This does not include prison gangs, motorcycle gangs, or adult gangs, which would drive these percentages up even higher. Furthermore, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics less than half of all gang-related crimes are reported to the police, so you can see that violence and gangs not only go hand-in-hand, but also that the levels of violence they create are significant.
While some youths seek gang affiliation to make up for parental abuse or neglect at home, others simply crave the lifestyle which is popularized in music, videos, movies, and television shows. Sex, drugs, money, and weapons can be quite glamorous to young people, especially young males. Some people live in the wrong neighborhood or spend a bit of prison time and are forced to join a gang in order to survive. Regardless of how they get involved, the gang becomes the member’s surrogate family so if you mess with one gang member, you have messed with all of them. This can result in anything from a severe beat down to a homicide.
However much “respect” you might feel you want or deserve, the average gang member craves it tenfold. Gang bangers will do everything they can to disrespect others while propping up themselves. Graffiti, hand signs, verbal challenges, stare-downs, and physical assaults are common in gang culture. While it is typically targeted at rival gang members, innocent civilians can easily become targets and/or get caught in the middle.
Be wary of stiff fingers, clenched fists, and other odd hand movements as they could be used to conceal a lethal device or indicate a general precursor of violence.
New gang members must pass through some form of violent initiation, such as being beaten to a pulp by other members, in order to join. This process is called “getting jumped in.” It instills a sense of toughness and pride by those who survive. New members are frequently required to commit a violent crime such as an assault, rape, or murder. As you can see, this is not your average club. Gang reputations are made through crimes, violent antisocial actions that strike fear into the hearts of others.
Reputation is so important that gang bangers will even brag to the police, admitting crimes or even making them up on occasion in order to boost their status. For example, when a 25-year-old gang member was arrested after a 2005 club fight where a 36-year-old victim was beaten to death, he told the responding officers, “I got good elbows. People don’t know about my elbows.” He later pled guilty to negligent homicide when it was determined that an elbow to the head had caused the victim’s fatal trauma.
Because gang bangers often do not expect to have a long-term future, they live in the moment, doing whatever they feel like without regard to consequences. Many do not expect to live past the age of twenty-five. That can seem like a pretty long time if you get initiated into the gang at the age of thirteen or fourteen.
This ain’t no geekwad fanny pack. The cord sticking out between the two zippers gives away the fact that it’s a concealed holster.
Revenge is a huge deal with gangs. If a gang member feels disrespected or thinks that his reputation has been harmed, retribution will certainly follow. If it doesn’t, he’ll get knocked down a peg or two, beaten, disgraced, or potentially even killed by his associates. Consequently, no assault or insult can be left unanswered, no matter how small.
Wearing the wrong colors, traveling in the wrong area, or gazing with an unsuitable expression can bring about the same type of murderous retribution such as a rape, murder, or physical assault. While this vengeance is often swift, that is not always the case. Asian gangs, for example, sometimes talk about the “100-year revenge,” patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike. If you think you are “bad” enough to take on a gang member, you are downright stupid.
Listen to the Subtle (and Not-so-Subtle) Warnings You Get
Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.
An individual can easily change his mind, so his movements are difficult to predict. You must appreciate this.
We’ve spent much time writing about awareness on the street. It’s important in relationships too. Don’t turn your brain off when you walk into your home. After all, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than half of all homicides are committed by someone known to the victim. That means that your wife or husband, girlfriend or boyfriend, sister or brother, friend, relative, or acquaintance might just do you in someday.
The song
After several verses describing increasingly horrific behaviors from his no-longer-in-love girlfriend, including things like telling all her friends that he’s the antichrist, pushing him down an elevator shaft, and slamming his face onto a hot BBQ grill, Yankovic drops the line:
