The Similarities Between The Crips And Bloods

The Crips and Bloods that the American society has come to know are commonly, and rightfully, thought of in a negative light. The same can be said for Americans view on the U.S Congress. While they are the same in this aspect, one may assume that while both take on negative auras, it is for vastly different reasons. Despite this, it is safe to say that they have many more similarities than one may initially think when looked at through the three main lenses of Sociology.
Simply looking at the racial composition of both groups exemplifies both similarity and difference. Both the U.S Congress and the Crips/Bloods are made of diversity lacking members. White people are the overwhelming majority when looking at the U.S Congress, taking up over

80 percent in 2017 (Pew Research Center). The Crips/Bloods are mostly made up of African Americans, but in some cases, there are other races included.With that said, there is truth in the common phrase “There are similarities in differences”, even though both groups are made up of different races, they both lack diversity.
Purpose, something that can be applied to any group formation, is a good start when comparing both Congress and the Crips/Bloods.

Representation and protection are a common thread when comparing these two groups. While it is fairly obvious that Congress is structured around representation, with its members representing the fifty states of the U.S, so are the street gangs. The Crips were originally formed because of a man who was a member of the Black Panther Party (Fanon 63), an organization created for the protection of African American people mistreated by Police officers in the 1960s. Due to the outlandish treatment that was imposed upon the African American community during that time, the Black Panther party was formed. The Black Panthers served as not only a form of protection from the police, but as a representation of the community. Not simply representation of their people, but of their struggles as minorities in the racist environment of Los Angeles during that

time.
Symbolic Interactionism is a lense in which the similarities of the U.S Congress and the street gangs are very prevalent. Both the U.S Congress and the street gangs are both expected to constantly represent their respective groups, due to this their perceptions of each other are very important to the group. Something as simplistic as the intentions drawn out by the attire worn by both groups contains similarities. Both forms of dress are heavily reliant on the perception of others inside and outside of the groups. Congress members are expected to look clean and presentable, and in failing to do so are noticed. A representative of Ohio, John Boehner, once noticed an inconsistent level of formality in the attire of other House members during a meeting. Upon noticing such informalities, John spoke out to the crowd of attending members for not wearing what was considered the “norm” or appropriate. In the Bloods and Crips, it is very important to maintain an image of looking “good”. The clothing worn in Capitol Hill has no formal dress code, but those who work there say that there is an unspoken rule on what is appropriate and what is not in terms of decorum and clothing. “There is no sense of creativity, it is squeezed out by pressure and job competition’, Susan Huggins, a staff aid for the Democratic representative of Tennessee stated, “It's safer to stick with the norm” (New York Times). A very famous ex-member of the Black P. Stones (Bloods), T. Rodgers, spoke on the importance of dressing properly stating, “You don't wanna dress like no sucka… not in a gang” (Peralta). In slang terminology, looking “hard” is of utmost importance, “You wanna look hard, everything is hard” (Peralta). Also, a man whose name was left anonymous in the movie Crips and Bloods: Made in America stated, “You gottah be respected as a man”, in reference to attire. The attire that this man was specifically talking about was the inclusion of loud jewelry and tattoos, all to maintain that “hard” and “respected” look. In comparison, both groups have very high expectations when it comes to what they choose to wear out in public. Whilst their clothing choices are in no way congruent, yet again there is similarity within their surface level differences.
Language is another branch of symbolic interactionism to be explained in the context of this essay. The education level of U.S Congress members is reflective of the language they should/ are expected to be using. Higher levels of education go hand in hand with higher levels of literacy. The one hundred and fifteenth Congress had members of which 94.1% of house members and 100% of Senators attained a bachelor's degree. 60% of house members and 76% of Senators held degrees beyond a bachelor's degree (Congressional Research Service). Gang members are very representative of where they are from, thus the slang terms found in the gang members language is indicative of wherever they come from. Gang members are identified by “set” names, which are names that signify where they come from, as exemplified by T. Rodgers from the Black P. Stones (quoted earlier). The “black P. stone”, is located in the West Adams/ Mid-city district of Los Angeles. In terms of title, Congressional members are identified by which state they represent, which is similar to how the Gang members are identified through their set names.
Taking a look through the structural functionalist perspective of comparing the U.S Congress to the street gangs, there is a more functional aspect of both groups to review. Within the Bloods and Crips, the length of time you have been involved indicates your ranking and the amount of respect you are given. The rankings start from newest member to longest. For Crips, The rankings are as follows; tiny gangsta, baby gangsta, original baby gangsta, original gangsta, double o.g, and triple o.g. In some sets, there is little to no defined leadership (Blood Street..Intelligence Report). For each specific set, there is more of a familial feel because the gangs are brought together through location and hardship brought about through their class (Peralta). As for Congress, there is a more complicated structure with defined leadership and specific roles. Due to the bicameral organization, the complications call for more structure. When broken down, Congress has multiple leadership positions within both the Senate and house of representatives. The leadership positions carry more weight than they do in the composition of the street gangs. Congress leaders have set responsibilities, whereas being a triple o.g in the street gang simply leads to more respect. All in all, both groups seem fairly different when it comes to the formal structure. This could be due to the fact that the U.S Congress is a federal institution.
Money is one of the more interesting topics when comparing Congress and the Bloods/Crips through a structural-functionalist perspective.

Most street gangs make their money the same way, illegally. Money that is made by the Bloods/Crips is primarily obtained through the selling of drugs, theft, and killing (Peralta). They do this because, for the most part, they have no other way of obtaining jobs due to the oppressive system they live in. The money they make is for their survival. On the other hand, there's Congress, whose main purpose for making money is election. Running campaigns cost money. In 2016, the average winning Senate candidate had spent 10.4 million dollars on their campaigns (Kim). The main way the U.S Congress receives its money is through taxes. In essence, this is just taking money from other people. Taxes may be how they receive their formal salaries, but for a very long time, Congress members have been looked at as immoral in the way they make money. Earmarks, which is money for public projects, are abused in a way that ends up giving the Congressmen money for personal use. In fact, when looking at The Washington Posts analysis in 2012, 55 members of Congress received money for projects that would essentially aid their own outside business or companies (Fallis). In the end, both the street gangs and Congress seem to have immoral ways of getting money. In contrast, the street gangs have a less discreet and sly way of doing

so.
Looking through the conflict theoretical lense of comparing both the U.S Congress and the Bloods/Crips there is a similar picture painted with the structural functionalist perspective. Bloods and Crips themselves have issues between each other. For the most part, it is fully dependent upon location.The Territorial aspect is a very influential part of being involved in the gangs, and being caught in someone else's territory could be fatal (Peralta). Issues between the two groups could be drug related, people caught selling in another's territory and so on. Congress, on the other hand, has its conflicts rooted in stepping on each other for power. The leadership positions in Congress call for higher salaries, and competition for those positions becomes hard. Incumbents, people who currently hold office are more likely to keep their jobs after campaigns despite poor approval ratings. The conflict between them and potential candidates is also likely. At the end of this conflict, for the most part, the only consequent is the loss of one's position. This is most definitely not the same as the fatal conditions in the street gangs.
All in all, when comparing both the U.S Congress and the Bloods/Crips there are more similarities than one may initially think of being asked. Both are organizations that are representative of some larger unit, as well as both having an objective of personal gain. That being said, most of their similarities lay within their differences, especially when looking through the symbolic interactionist lens. Through the Structural Functionalist lense there are some similarities, although their differences, for the most part, are overwhelmingly present.The conflict theoretical lens is similar in only saying that both groups definitely have interrelated conflicts, yet the result of those conflicts are vastly different.