What I Think about Gang Violence

I think the dumbest people in the world are gang members.

When I say "gang" I'm referring to groups of folks, usually in their teens to 30's (assuming they live that long), who, for reasons of their own, have bonded together into a loyal cadre, usually within a specific geographic region or common ethnicity. The goal of the gangs I'm talking about are not to better its members or the community they live in. Their goal is to dominate that community, to control it through violence, intimidation and exploitation. Since there's usually more than one gang in a community, there is violent competition between gangs for control.

Insanity.

Communities thrive when we help each other, lift each other up, help each other out. A community controlled by a gang is pushed down, ridiculed for yet another violent act in their neighborhood, admonished for their savagery, and worst of all soiled by the acts and attitude of the local gangs. If I walk through a neighborhood where there had been a drive-by shooting, I can see kids playing in the yards, someone mows their yard or cares for a garden. In appearance, the neighborhood is unlike any other. However, underneath that facade is a world where the next car driving down the street could hold someone who will shoot at you, attempt to rob or extort you or sell you drugs to fund their petty operations.

Gang members feel good about themselves. They have power through their guns and drugs and intimidation tactics. They feel in control. They have money. They feel accepted by their fellow gang members, and they feel obligated to follow whatever negative path they choose. Thus, the membership of the gangs continues to grow and feed the violence.

I'm sad to admit that part of me wants to just let them fight it out and kill each other. If they are so hell-bent to dominate and wage war, then let them! Let them wipe each other out as so many societies have done in the past. Gang members aren't going to be contributing to the welfare of their communities, strive to advance some noble cause, or heaven forbid make the world a better place. No, all they want is power, control and money. Well, instead of feeding off your community like the parasite you are, just kill each other and be done with it. That's your fate anyhow, a rival gang member is scheming to see to that right now.

Anyone who joins a gang, picks up a gun, sells a drug, etc. has no right whatsoever to feel good about themselves. They are parasites, sucking the life out of themselves, their families, their neighborhoods, hell, society itself. You are de-evolving the human race, forcing us to feed off each other rather than live together and thrive. You are wastes of space and you're using up valuable resources that more worthy humans, animals and single-cell organisms deserve. Please, just kill each other and let us go on with our meaningful lives without having to deal with your bullshit.

But, I like to think there is more to people, that we can exercise our free will and make good choices. We can choose to abstain from violence, choose to find professions that don't take advantage of the weaknesses of others (i.e. drugs), choose to make the world better rather than control it. But that requires everyone to do that. Even if one person grabs a gun and wants to take control, the problem starts up all over again. I call on parents to raise your children to stay out of gangs, to strive to make the world a better place rather than quash or dominate it, to set an example of how a modern human being should live. It starts with the parents. If they can teach their kids to be better people then violent gangs can disappear forever.