Gangs of London

Why are there gangs?

And how can we possibly stop them from being formed?


Everybody is familiar with the gang phenomenon in Los Angeles (Gangs like “Bloods” & “Crips” and different versions of them). This, because of the numerous of movies depicting the gang culture. However, similar gangs have also existed in London for at least two decades. London is much like the US; a melting pot. This melting pot is Britain’s legacy from colonial times. When the British Empire dissolved during the last century many of the inhabitants from the former colonies were given British citizenship and moved to England.

A greater deal of the new inhabitants settled down in the poorest suburbs around the larger cities. They were therefore exposed to unemployment, racism, and poverty. The children and grandchildren of the first immigrants grew up surrounded by all these negative forces. Such an environment and upbringing has been shown to be a fertile soil for youth problems. The English psychologist K.Drake has proven that young people that have a tough childhood becomes more easy to lead and are more susceptible to false facts and disinformation. They become less independent and will more easily join a gang and follow its leader.

The gangs of London are like a patchwork blanket consisting of multiple colours, they have different beliefs and interests. Most gangs are attached to a specific territory, this is called postcode warfare. Both boys and girls join gangs. Girls have been known to join gangs for other reasons than boys. They might join a gang to cure loneliness or to express anger and frustration from living in poverty. Boys might join a gang to get acceptance from fellow gang members or just for the excitement; Violence and danger. There are as many reasons to join a gang as there are gangs. It all depends on the individual. Some join gangs to make an identity for themselves. Others claim that being a gang member gives them security and respect. It is a fact that some gangs deal drugs, and being a gang member therefore has an economical aspect. Studies have shown that gang members may come from all social layers of society. Why do middle class children join gangs? They do so because a young person, whether he's rich or poor, may feel alienated in his own family and social setting. Some are neglected and have a feeling of not being loved in their own environment. That's why some youngsters might turn to a gang to get the love and affection that they can't get at home. In the gang they often have to obey a given set of rules. It is a fact that the majority of gang members come from the poorer layers of society. They are underprivileged and not able to purchase all the goods they desire and take part in activities that require a certain amount of money. Such youngsters will more easily form anti-establishment groups or gangs. These gangs aim to argue or act against the ruling class, or like the gang members might tell you: “Fighting the man”. Some people might spawn a gang to deal with everyday racism, the gang is supposed to give the members security. The gang offers them protection in the streets and at school against racism and against other people. To put it in contrast, gangs consisting only of white people may have racism on their agenda. Groups like the Neo-Nazis feel the immigrants from the former colonies have taken their jobs and non-whites are singled out as scapegoats for their misery and poverty.


One important influence that inspires young people to form gangs is the media. Through television, radio, music, internet, movies gang formation is idolized. This last influence is not to be underestimated, and should be taken into consideration when we come up with a solution to the problem. Music like “Gangsta Rap” that was popularized by the infamous rap group NWA (Niggaz With Attitude). The music focuses on the gang life, drugs and violence. This type of music is the most popular type of music in gangs, and has therefore got a big influence on the behaviour and culture of gangs. Most of today's “Gangsta rappers” are fake and commercialized. They create a false image of a gangster life where you start as poor, pimp the “bitches” sell dope and use lot's of violence to make your way to the top. This is nothing but a dream, but it's a believable dream and some people that are struggling might try to reach for that exact dream in hope of something better. If they do, they are doomed to rise fast and fall hard. Rappers like “50 Cent” and “G-unit” are the exact example of the rappers that belong to the mainstream of gangster rappers who destroys the music style, and more important, they destroy the people who are inspired by their songs. Now one of the mistakes that many people do is to condemn the whole form of music, but that doesn't help the youth, doe's it? One solution to teach the youth the proper values and to socialize them is by doing so through the music they love so much. Rap has been used by numerous rappers to give a message or to teach something. That is what needs to be done in London. And some are contributing to this. There are actually many new rappers in London who aim to help others through their music. This is one way to stop the gangs, by advising people to do stay out of gangs, or at least to not use violence to solve conflicts.


So why do these youth join gangs? we already know that they do it to get a feeling of belonging to the group, but why is that so important for them? Why do they use the gang as an alternative family? Most people will blame the youth when they hear about another young boy being shot in London, but who's responsible for the youth's situation?

Many of them lack the qualification for jobs which leads them to alternative ways to get money. Should the government not supply them with jobs that needs less qualifications so that they have an option? I'm positively sure that most of the youngsters would go for the job instead of hustling (getting money where you can) in a gang if they could choose.

The gang can work as an alternative family because it provides the members with a sense of identity, control and a structure. They can also get love and respect from the gang. This shows that the gang replaces the non functioning family. And this is good, but do we want the gang to raise our children? probably not. The parents should take responsibility for their children and provide them with enough love and affection. The parents are responsible for the first part of the socialization process, and if a child's not properly socialized it can't function in society. So if the family structure had been functioning for the poverty stricken part of the civilization the youth wouldn't have to turn to gangs to supply them with these things.


The answer to why there are gangs in London is easy, what to do about it is a far worse question. To answer our question, there are gangs in London because there are so many factors that lead to the formation of gangs that exist in the city today. Some of these factors are poverty (over half a million of london's children, 41 % live in poverty), To eliminate the gangs you have to better the conditions of the poor people, you have start several expensive projects, and it will take a long time to better the situation. Maybe that's why the politicians seem to avoid taking any action at all. Every time there's a new killing they promise to strengthen the police force and say that they are “thinking out a plan”, but what they really need to do is to strengthen the family bounds. So does democracy fail the people in the end? Politicians might see that it will take several years before any change takes place, so they might not bother doing it. Because they won't need votes then. There are government projects that target to halving child poverty levels by 2010. It remains to see if they fulfill their promise. The youth are forced to try and better their own situation and they can grow more depressed when they don't see a future or a goal in life. There should therefore be several youth clubs where they can spend their time in a productive way, instead of out on the streets.

Why is African-Americans' situation still so bad?

Introduction
The blacks were first introduced to America as slaves to the white man. Working at cotton farms and such under low living and working conditions they struggled to keep alive. Families were split apart when family members were sold to different families to serve and work for them. Their terrible conditions inspired “Blues”, music form in were they escaped their everyday struggle and hardships.

Separate, but “equal”
The civil war (1861–1865) ended slavery, but did it end the prejudice? In 1870 the Constitution granted blacks voting rights with a new 15th amendment.
The segregation did not improve the blacks conditions, and they were not treated equally. Schools for Afro-Americans received less public funding than Caucasian’s schools. This is what created the ghettos (or so called projects) were colored people were forced to live in a certain area. This is what created the infamous ghettos in New York, Detroit and Los Angeles. (Compton, Bronx, Watts & Bed-sty etc.) Wealthier Afro-Americans were allowed to move out of the ghetto and into suburbs. This created an economical collapse for many of the ghettos. They became zones of abandonment, below-average wealth, poorly maintained housing, and high crime. One of the earliest studies of this phenomenon showed that a quarter of all black children were born to unmarried woman. In addition the number of black welfare cases were rising while unemployment was falling. This study, called the Moynihan Report warned that the conditions would only get worse in time.

Present time
Today the ghettos still stand and it seems the author of the Moynihan Report was right. A new study carried out in early 2006 shows that 72 percent of all young black males are without High school education and unemployed. This is an even higher number than before. The crime statistics are not better. Six of ten black males who are in their middle thirties without a high school education have been to jail. In a report by William M. Rodgers III who’s a professor in economy shows that more money is being spent on maintaining the prisons than on higher education. There are about 37 million African Americans in USA this equals 14 percent of the population. There are 5 million black males in the age 20-39. It is they who dominate the crime statistics.

Still Struggling
The low skill manufacturing jobs that existed in the ghettos, were moved to the suburbs. This isolated blacks economically in the ghettos. Due to lack of marriageable employed men for mothers to marry there are more out of marriage births. New studies shows that a good half of all black males aged 20-30 have children out of marriage. Sociology studies show that children need the family structure and parents to teach them how to act and interact with people around them to fucntion in society. Since most blacks don’t wont settle for low paid jobs, and thus new immigrants (Pakistanis, koreans etc.) take these jobs instead of them, since they pay more than what they would do in their home country. Hoping to do better than their parents blacks disdain these jobs and end up working outside of the legitimate economy.

A news article in the norwegian newspaper Dagbladet tells the story of Curtis S. Brannon (28) Who quit school in tenth grade and started dealing drugs. He got four children with three different mothers and has been in prison several times. He says that he is going to set his life straight and that he’s tired of being in prison. He tells the journalist, optimistically, that he hasn’t been in jail for six months. This is the “typical” black male, who I describe here as being failed by society.

African-Americans are being treated unjustly by the judicial system and police. There are many stories of how police officers have arrested lawful citizens for no particular reason. One of these stories features Dewayne Thomas (27) who was walking home from the grocery store as he was approached by the police. They arrested him, and Dewayne was charged for blocking the sidewalk. Dewayne has got a charge for possesion of crack and has therefore not the same rights to vote, no right to receive scholarship, education or basic welfare rights as a roof over his head. Discrimination and racism is still very alive, though not formally, but in everyday life. There’s still evidance of discrimination towards blacks in schools, work places and in prisons.

Conspiracy?
If a white man is charged with possession of cocaine or heroine he will get a fine. If a Black man is charged with possession of Marihuana he’s likely to end up in prisons. It is a fact that there are much stricter regulations and punishment for possession of weed than coke. Why? Cocaine, heroine and such are the rich man’s drug. Crack, weed etc. is for lower classes. This is one of the reasons why minorities dominate prisons. Also a black man would be arrested for wearing the wrong clothes if police stopped him. So why do they fill up the prisons with minorities? The keyword is modern day slavery. Inmates in prisons work in chain gangs and work without pay to “make it up” to the society.

Israel & Jødedommen

Selve staten Israel er bygd av religion. Den ble skapt fordi det ifølge jødedommen skal komme en person som kalles Messias. Han skulle skape et fredsrike på jorden og at han skulle gjenreise Israel som en stormakt. Jødene hadde i lang tid vært bosatt i regionen hvor Israel ligger nå, sammen med palestinerne. I det tidligere Israel som eksisterte for over 2000 år siden var det store sosiale forskjeller og overklassen undertrykte de fattige. I 587 fkr. ble hovedstaden, Jerusalem erobret av babylonerne og store deler av folket ble sendt til Babylon. Dette kalles for det babylonske fangenskapet. Fra den tid av har jødene vært et folk uten land, og blitt spredd rundt i hele verden. Det har alltid vært tanker om å returnere til der Israel tidligere lå. Dette ser vi også i et "gammelt ønske" som jødene sa frem hver påske; Neste år i jerusalem. på begynnelsen av 1900 tallet startet en bevegelse som blir kalt for zionismen. Den bygger på at det jødiske folket skal returnere til det gammle landet sitt (Palestina) og gjenopprette Israel. en stor innvandring begynnte, særlig av jøder fra Russland. I 1948 ble den jødiske staten opprettet. Palestina som lå der tidligere hadde vært kontrollert av britene, men når det ble kjennt at de skulle trekke seg, tok jødene over makten. De dannet en egen stat i det området som Palestina allerede lå, med Jerusalem som hovedstad og håpet på verdens annerkjennelse. Det fikk de, stort sett pga. av den store jødeforfølgelsen under den andre verdenskrig. FN delte dermed inn områder der Palestinerne kunne bo. De ble fortrengt til små områder i hjørnene av landet, mens Israel opptok største delen av området. Dermed kan vi se at jødedommen har en sentral plass i staten Israel, for selve religionen kan tolkes som at landet Israel ligger på er deres ifølge gud. Men ikke alle jøder er enig i dette, siden de mener at å danne Israel vil være å ta rollen fra Messias, og dermed strider det med religionen.

Staten Israel kom fort opp i konflikt med de omkringliggende arabiske landene som ikke annerkjennte dannelsen av staten. De arabiske landene gikk til angrep, men ble slått tilbake igjen siden Israel nå fikk støtte fra andre europeiske nasjoner og USA. Det er viktig å ta med i betrakning at den største annsamling jøder innenfor et land, finner man i USA. Dette er en avgjørende grunn til at de valgte å støtte dannelsen av Israel. På grunn av at Israel overtok området til Palestinerne har de vært i stadig konflikt med dem. Det har vært en rekke ugjerninger fra begge sider, men verst er sannsynligvis staten Israel sine gjerninger siden det ikke er utført av en liten gruppe ekstremister, men faktisk ledelsen i et land. Israel holder en stor hærstyrke, hvor det er en obligatorisk førstegangstjeneste på flere år. En stor del av jødisk unge menn som har vært i det israelske militæret drar ut av landet, til bl.a. Asia for så å ikke returnere. Israel mener at de må gå hardt ut mot de omkringliggende landene og Palestinerne for å forhindre eventuelle terrorist angrep, men hvis man sparker en hund nok, biter den tilbake. De fleste innbyggerne i de forskjellige landene (Israel & Palestina) vil høyst sannsynlig bare leve i fred med hverandre, men forskjellig religion, Israels overtakelse av Palestina og stadige ugjerninger mot hverandre ødelegger for et avslappet forhold mellom de to partene. Det er viktig å skille mellom Staten Israel og jødene når man snakker om f.eks. konflikten mellom Palestinerne og Israel. Jødene som folk kan ikke klandres for terrorist lignende handlinger som Israel utfører siden det er en maktelite i landet som klarerer og igangsetter disse handlingene. Alle jøder er forskjellige akkurat som alle personer er forskjellige og har forskjellige meninger, synspunkter osv. Det er klart at religionen definerer noen av disse synspunktene, men alle personer er ikke like. I tillegg er det viktig å få med seg at ikke alle jøder (folket) følger jødedommen. Det finnes selvfølgelig personer av folkeslaget som ikke har en jødisk tro, og andre som kanskje kaller seg for jøder, men som ikke praktiserer alle deler av religionen. Akkurat det samme har vi i Kristendommen hvor vi finner ultra religiøse grupperinger som Jehovas vitner. På midten av treet finner vi en kristen som ber, går i kirken på helligdager, og på bunnen av treet en kristen som ikke utfører noen spesielle religiøse ritualer men som velger å kalle seg kristen alikevel.

Dette vil si at selv om en person velger å ikke støtte dannelsen av staten Israel, så er han ikke en "jødehater". Han kan godt like jødisk folk, akseptere jødedommen som religion, men gå hardt ut imot Israel. Det er derfor det er viktig å skille mellom synspunkter man har på Israel, jøder & jødedommen, slik at man ikke "feier alle over en kam".