Allure Of Gangs

Words: 538
Pages: 3

Many teens often are attracted to gangs because they think it will solve all their problems. Sometimes they think that being in a gang is the only way they can fill a void. In the article “The Allure of Gangs” and an excerpt from the book “The Pact” by Davis, Jenkins, Hunt I came to the conclusion that many teens that live in poor neighborhoods would join gangs. Sometimes that isn't the only reason, teens might feel as if it is the only way they will gain respect. One of the source titled “The Allure of Gangs” talked mainly about why the teens think it's a good idea to join a gang, and why they stay. Some would claim that teens only joins gangs because they want to be known as bad. However, most times teens want to join gangs because things aren’t good at home. This may mean that don’t have a good relationship with a parent, or they are neglected. Sometimes some parents could be abusive so the teen will feel safer with the gang. As stated in the text “Being in a …show more content…
Many teens in gangs live in rough streets and may not have a positive example to follow. The teens think that if you want respect you have to be bad. That can lead to trouble later on. Sometimes even losing their lives. As stated in the text “There were no doctors or lawyers walking the streets of our communities. Where we lived, hustlers reigned, and it was easy to follow their example.” This proves that teens will join gangs because that is the only group of friends that hang around their communities. The writer also points to “Among boys, particularly, there seems to be some kind of macho code that says to gain respect you have to prove that you're bad.” This also proves that the teens want to be respected. The would do anything to show they are bad, they want people to be afraid of