manolo_chomsky

In your opinion, what should be priority #1 when addressing the root cause of gang violence in poor communities? I realize that there are no easy answers, but if you had to pick one single, easy to digest facet of the problem that you feel affects people the most in making the decision to join a gang, what would it be?

Thank you all for a very in depth response. There's a concept in sociology that I subscribe heavily to. Crime is an indicator of a need for social change. Moreover, crime is a solution to a lack of legitimate opportunity. People will seek out illegitimate opportunities where no legitimate opportunities exist.

I have a question in particular for Aquil. You mentioned that the people you ran with had specific political or idealistically informed goals. How common is this among gangs in the US? I think that a lot of people (myself included, which I'm realizing may have been a prejudiced and not entirely accurate viewpoint) see gang members as mostly uneducated and uninformed about politics, and that most gang related crimes are opportunistic in nature or otherwise centered around profit. Do you see that aspect as something which was more of a rationalization, or was it an overriding and sincere force which motivated your gang?