Gangs have become a harsh reality in today's society. But despite what one might think, gangs illustrate many communication theories. This is done through the power gangs possesses, "gang warfare", and the trust between gang members.
Gang power can be seen in many communication theories. There are several types of power that gangs and gang leaders fall under. An example of this would be referent and legitimate power. Referent power can be described as the role model power. We identify with this person and therefore try to be like them. Legitimate power comes from people who we believe should be in power, like children to teacher, law-abiding citizen to the police. Therefore referent and legitimate power go hand in hand, because of the organizational structure within the gang, a gang may "have officers much like that of a cooperation." (Internet Source 1) Generally "adults play leadership roles." (Internet Source 3) Also youngsters who have had severe prison terms are usually found to be the leaders of the gangs, thus being an example of expert power. The reason this is considered an example of expert power is because the individual possesses special knowledge in prison life, etc. By serving a prison term they can come back to the streets, "with more knowledge than ever could have been gained on the streets." (Internet Source 2)
Attitudes, meaning how we as people respond to a subject, values, what we perceive is right and wrong, and beliefs play a major role in what brings youngsters into gangs. How does one develop a "gang attitude" to begin with? To answer this we must look at the culture. The values we Americans tend to have, make the alternative life style very appealing, this in conjunction with the glorified gang life style portrayed through the lyrics of the "Gangsta" rap artists all influence the young impressionable mind. This may make the child feel a sense of power, identity, or family, reflecting on the child's attitude. Also one must look at the neighborhood. A child can turn a corner and buy cocaine, see a gang war being played out, etc. It is obvious that the child cannot help but be influenced by this.
Gang conflicts boils down to who has power and who wants, and/or deserves it. Most conflict is not within in the gang itself but between two gangs. Conflict can be described as a struggle over ideas or concepts between two parties, or people.
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of the Roman Empire. There were speeches made by Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, which references groups of men who constantly fought and disrupted Roman politics (Curry, 2013). The history of street gangs in the United States begins with their emergence on the East Coast around 1783, as the American Revolution ended. Though many believe the best available evidence suggests that the more serious street gangs likely did not emerge until the early part of the nineteenth century (Sante, 1991). Although our country has had their share of feared gangs like in the 1980’s with the turf war between the Bloods and Crips, back in the 17th and 18th century the Mohocks of Georgian, England were one of the most feared gangs. What draws juveniles to the gang lifestyle? Many people will say that most gang members are children from impoverished communities, single family homes where there was no father present, or maybe there is a more psychological/sociological answer? By appearance and presence most gangs cause fear, crime, and disillusionment in the communities they occupy. Throughout history joining a gang has been perceived as a life without any reward, yet by joining this lifestyle many juveniles are able to gain the needed stability and security in their lives.
Chinua Achebe, a well known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe," (Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilizations" (Achebe, p.252). By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "The African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props" (Achebe, p.257).
In general, illegal immigrants come in America for the search of opportunity; illegal immigrants want to abandon their hard life that they leave behind in their original country.
Firstly, Hunt explains to his readers the history of bastardry throughout the Tudor dynasty so that it is clear how the content of King Richard III reflected Tudor bastardry and why this was a potential risk for Shakespeare. He begins with John Beaufort the Earl of Somerset, who was Henry VII 's great grandfather who was declared a bastard . He then goes on to Henry VII 's grandfather Owen Tudor who fell in love with Catharine of Valois (the widow of Henry V). They had three children, Edmund, Jasper and Owen, however his sources show that Owen and Catharine may in fact never have been married, or at least right away,
Conrad’s character Marlow describes the natives as having “a wild vitality” and their “faces like grotesque masks.” These remarks demonstrate his fear and reinforces the distinction between himself and the natives.
Conrad’s main character Marlow is the narrator for most of the story in Heart of Darkness. He is presented as a well-intentioned person, and along his travels he is shocked by the cruelties that he sees inflicted on the native people. Though he is seemingly benevolent and kindly, Marlow shows the racism and ignorance of Conrad and in fact of the majority of white people in his era, in a more subtle way. Marlow uses words to describe the blacks that, though generally accepted in his time, were slanderous and crude. He recalls that some of the first natives he saw in the Congo looked at him “with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages” (80; part 1). Marlow casually refers to the Africans with the most offensive of language: “Strings of dusty niggers arrived and departed…” (83; part 1). To Marlow, and thus to Conrad, the Africans are savages, dogs, devils, and criminals. Even the stories that Conrad creates for Marlow to narrate are twisted and false. The natives that Marlow deals with in the book are described as cannibals, and they are even given dialogue that affirms th...
Historically, gangs began to develop around the time frame of the 1970’s. Irish gangs have been known to be the first initial gang, followed by the Germans, Jewish, and Italians (Pacheco, 2010, p. 10). Gangs are larger in population and tend to be more prevalent in the United States, compared to other countries. In 2008, statistics showed that there were 20,000 active gangs and more than 1 million gang members in the United States (Pacheco, 2010, p. 12). According to Pacheco (2010) there are different types of gangs. Although these gangs are formed for individual purposes, broken up, they can form a multitude of different types of gangs. There are your traditional gangs (Crips, Bloods). Business, profit gangs, which are generated around financial gains. Hate group gangs, which their purpose is to target different ethnic groups, races or homosexuals. Copycat and delinquent social gangs, which seem to be the least relevant. Street gangs, which are prone to target younger individuals, but the actual ages of the gang members vary. Third generation gangs which are known as “terrorist”. Hybrid gangs are new to this generation, they could be considered the “hipster” of gangs. Then there are prison gangs. They are usually small in population and are structured along an individuals ethnicity (Pacheco, 2010, pp. 12-15). Gangs serve a multitude of purposes for their members. The gang becomes their family. They are able to trust them, rely on them, and the gang gives them a sense of self and importance. Gangs have the ability to offer status, refuge, protection, and opportunity of stigma free life within this population (Tower, 2013, p. 82). In the PBS show Interrupter ex-gang members and ex-gang enforcers joined together ...
This paper will cover issues that young minorities encounter in the movies; Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008), Gran Torino (2008), A Better Life (2011). Movies will be summarize, and compare and contrast youths experienced. Criminological theories shall be utilized to further elaborate issues. Finally steps and theories will be utilized towards solving issues, also possible methods to correct the issues will be addressed in the end.
Tobin, Kimberly. Gangs: An Individual and Group Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
Gangs are responsible for ten to twenty percent of the criminal activity in the United States, which estimates to an approximate thirty to sixty billion dollars of taxpayers' money a year. Gangs are often associated with the use of drugs, including heroine and marijuana. Gangs also are connected to the illegal use of many weapons and as a result, many bloody murders. So, it is...
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]
Gang violence is a major problem in our society today. If nothing is done soon, gang violence could take place in our neighborhoods. MW Klein, a gang researcher, says that gangs are an aggregation of youths who perceive themselves as distinct, and that are viewed as distinct by the community. Klein also states that the gangs call forth a consistently negative image of themselves through their actions (Klein). To those involved in gangs however, gang membership provided a youth means of attempting to consolidate their gender identities (Douglas). Most of the early American street gangs have historically been ethnically based. Early gangs were mainly Irish, Polish, or Italian (Klein).
Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness.” Massachusetts Review. W.M. Norton and Co. n.d. Web. 9 Dec.2010. .
The people of America throw away more trash than any other society in the world! America consumes 80 percent of our planet's resources, even though we make up only 20 percent of the world's population (Cooper 267). The average person throws away 4.3 pounds of trash each day. That's about 30 pounds per week and 120 pounds per month! (“Reduce and Reuse” 1). Americans throw away too much - that's the bottom line (Cooper 265). There is a garbage crisis in America and “the only part of the anti-waste message that has taken hold to any noticeable degree is the call to recycle” (Cooper 267). Our country's issues on trash and recycling go hand in hand. America produces too much trash, and the environment is suffering. There is some effort being put into countering these issues through recycling and trash management, but is it enough? (Cooper 267).
Landfills are a bigger issue in this world than humans realize. Everyday people are harming the environment more and more just by using landfills. By harming the environment all living things on earth are being harmed as well. such as humans. Landfills impact the world significantly. There are many causes to the use of landfills as well as many environmental effects from them. Even though there is a significant amount of damage done to the world from landfills it is never too late to fix this issue with any of the many solutions.