Resrearch Paper on Gangs!

Breanna R.

5/13/2011

Period 2

Research Paper

                                                                 Gangs
Many people believe that gangs are all about causing trouble and violence. Gangs are looked to for protection, loyalty and a sense of identity. Members consider themselves part of a family and view their gang as a source of pride. Gangs may fulfill the need for acceptance, recognition and respect. People choose to join gangs for respect and protection.

A street gang is a group of people who share a name or symbol and join together for a reason. Marks or tattoos, symbols or names on their bodies. They wear particular items, styles, brands, or colors of clothing. Some gangs wear bandannas of a certain color or baseball caps of a particular team. Gang members use types of signs, to recognize each other, represent them self, and many other reasons. Some use special hand signs or handshakes to great each other or tell others the gang to which they belong. A gang sign or a symbol is a method used by gang members to make themselves known to rivals or allies. Traditionally speaking, these signs and symbols have manifested themselves in the form of gang-related tattoos, attire, graffiti and even hand signs.

Gang members all around the world have many reasons why they join a gang. A gang might be small in size and operate locally, or be large and have connections around the world. The major reasons for joining a gang are poverty, immigration, racism, discrimination, language barriers, family problems, community problems, male or female interest, money, materialism, independence, reputation, respect, retaliation, revenge entertainment. Gangs are looked to for protection, loyalty and a sense of identity. Gangs may fulfill the need for acceptance and recognition as well. Reasons for joining gangs are numerous and varied. Not only do they have to do with personal choices, but sometimes they are related to environment, race and fear. Understanding the reasons behind gang recruitment can go a long way in preventing people from joining gangs.

If gangs or gang members feel disrespected, retaliation or revenge is a guarantee. Retaliation can range from bullying or a beating, all the way to murder. It’s hard to escape the pressure to join a gang when your mom, your dad, your brother or grandmother is part of a gang. Some families have been involved with gangs for many years. A sense of belonging, acceptance and loyalty. Gangs may offer a sense of identity to their members and a way to gain attention or status. Kids who do not have strong ties to their families, communities, schools, or places of worship may turn to gangs for companionship and as a substitute family. Many people join gangs because they do not receive adequate family attention and the gang provides love, identity, and status; in turn they develop loyalty to the gang. Many people also feel that if they are gang affiliated they will be loved, respected, and protected with a group of people who are known as each other as family.

The need for physical safety and protection, in neighborhoods and areas where gangs are present, kids sometimes feel, or are told, that belonging to a gang will provide protection and respect from other gangs or people.People join gangs as a way to protect their own families, especially if family members are also involved in a gang, in which case they may be obligated to follow in their relatives' footsteps.In certain neighborhoods, gangs are a way of life, and those who don't join a specific one may be exposed to violence from both sides. Gangs provide a sense of family to those who lack a stable family environment. Most all gang members treat each other like “family"



References





Aufiero, Barbara. "Reasons Teenagers Join Gangs
eHow.com." eHow
How to Videos, Articles & More - Trusted Advice for the Curious Life
eHow.com. N.p., 23 Jan. 2011. Web. 18 May 2011. ."Gangs." Lawton



"My Gangfree Life." Gang Alternatives Program (GAP). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2011. .

Palomares, Rueben . "Why Do Teens Join Gangs? - NAM." New America Media. N.p., 19 May 2006. Web. 18 May 2011.

Lawton Police Gang Unit, n.d. Web. 18 May 2011. .

UnGoogleable Research Paper Highlight Reflection!

Reading and highlighting the sources for my UnGoogleable research paper helped me to go back and find the information that I found important an easier and faster way. I learned that a way of finding a good website is first it has the authors name and when it was published. It has a little amount of ads or none at all, and if it has good information and has a lot of facts. I can break my information into three sections. One section is “Why do people choose to join gangs?” Another section is “What is it like to be in a gang?” The third section is “How does it feel to be in a gang?” My next step to write a research paper should be to make a graphic organizer, get all the facts and information together, and then put it all together in a research paper.

UnGoogleable Research Paper Website Selection Reflection!

Today in class, I searched for websites that were on the form, I used the Hakia website the most. When I found the website related to my focus question, I read through it and decided whether or not it had good information. I knew some of the websites I found were unacceptable because either they had more ads than information, the author was a student, and was unorganized. I know the websites I selected are good because they had good information when I read through them quickly, it had the authors name and when it was published, and the ads and information was organized with not so many ads. Tomorrow, I expect that Ms. Priester will tell me to look through my website that I picked and get information out of them and put it together in a short summary.

UnGoogleable Research – What I Already Know

My focus question is “Why do people choose to join gangs, how does it feel to be gang affiliated and why is it that it may be dangerous?” I already know why some people choose to join gangs. My perspective is that people choose to join gangs for respect and family. People back up their hood by expecting respect when some one from a different hood comes by. When I say hood I mean the place they grew up in and live in. Also, people are in gangs because of their family members or close friends also known as hommies, they know that their family member or hommie is in the gang, so they also want to be in it, to be their for their family member or hommie to protect them. I also know how it feels to be gang affiliated. Being gang affiliated is like having another family to go to. It’s a feeling of being protected and knowing that someone always has your back. Being gang affiliated is a feeling of trust and respect. Additionally, being gang affiliated may be dangerous in some ways, but the main reason it would be dangerous is if somebody disrespects you or your hood. There could be serious damage to that person, his hood, and the people in his hood. By doing this research, I hope to learn other reasons why people may think that gangs are dangerous and  more about gangs.

UnGoogleable Research Paper – Website Evaluation Tips

I am doing Gangs. I chose this because of the interesting facts that people don’t know about and because of the way they say gangs are all about danger when it is not. I asked an upperclassman, how can you tell if a website is a good resource for writing a research paper she said, “If that site tells you everything you need to know about the subject or if it helps you. For example if you have a question and the site will answer it for you”. I interviewed an adult, and asked her the same question and she answered with “If the website has all the information you need for what ever you need it for then it should be a good research website and if it explains it in a good and easy way for you too.” I then asked another adult and they said, “If the website has a good explanations and good advice with examples and will help you then it if a good website to use for a research. The advice that they gave me would help me by being able to find the rite website with the good amount of explanations and information for my research.

UnGoogleable Graphic Organizer!!

Link to View Graphic Organizer:)