Not to celebrate the less fortunate, but when I hear this kind of thing I feel that its a good thing. Maybe it is a bit cynical but it is a genuine response.
Just wondering what other people reactions are. (I dont feel that life is always precious and buy this “live by the gun, die by the gun” nonsense!"
take on this?
I don’t think it’s “good”, the whole lifestyle is just such a sad waste of life. But I don’t think it’s surprising or such a “shock” as they like to play it up on the news.
I don’t feel good about it. The death of a gang member does not weaken gangs in an area, and can serve to make one of the gangs involved even stronger. It also encourages those affected by gang violence to turn to violence themselves in the future (whether to avenge the death, or to maintain whatever advantage was gained by it), especially when the damn stupid “no snitching” thing discourages police and prosecutor involvement and encourages retaliation. It guarantees that the now-dead gang member won’t get a chance to turn his life around, and virtually guarantees that the gang member(s) who killed him will be unable to ever get out of the lifestyle.
And, personal anecdote time: I did mentoring in an inner-city junior high for a while a few years ago, and had a few “gang members” in my group. Junior-high gang members, 12 or 13 years old. Maybe they were going to grow up to kill, maybe not. At the time, they were being groomed by gangs in their neighborhood (often by older neighbor kids or siblings), but they were used at the time mostly as mascots, and to do petty errands. They would be around when there would be parties or whatever, too. So, when I hear “gang member killed,” my first thought isn’t that some banger got shot, but I think it could be one of those 12 year old kids who are members in name only. Not a good feeling at all.
I’m not generally one to blame society for the acts of criminals, but in the case of gangs, it’s pretty much society’s fault. Most people join gangs for protection from gangs; they’re self-perpetuating that way. If their neighborhoods didn’t exist in a legal vaccuum - if the state were capable of providing law, order and protection - gangs wouldn’t exist, because there wouldn’t be a need for them.
Besides, I’d prefer to live in a country were people aren’t killing each other.
Gang wars have terrible effects on innocent people. People are killed by stray bullets. Innocents are shot in cases of mistaken identity. People are shot for wearing the wrong color of clothing. The dangerous atmosphere drives away business and lowers property values. People are afraid to go outdoors in their own neighborhoods. Children are recruited to join the gangs at the risk of their lives, often under the threat of violence if they refuse to join.
in other words, a gang shooting is tragic for everyone in the neighborhood, not just for the one who was shot.
You didn’t even mention the related criminal activities - gang members are constantly boosting cars and slinging drugs as a way to fund their organizations. The vandalism too but that’s the least of it.
I don’t like it. Smart people will think, what a shame that fatherless youths have no other way to escape poverty. Stupid people will think, that’s the coolest shit in the world, and they even got on the news for it! Imho, you never want to publicize what stupid people do. It just encourages more stupid people to do the same thing.
I don’t think it’s a good thing - it will probably lead to more violence, and given the number of gang shootings that hit innocent bystanders (please, stop holding the gun sideways), that can’t be good for anyone. I’ll be damned if I shed a tear for the dead gang member himself though.
I think about how much it must suck for regular people to live in that neighborhood.
I don’t understand. Doesn’t “live by the gun, die by the gun” imply exactly what you say you feel – that violent people should come to violent ends? Yet you’re calling it nonsense and say you don’t buy it? I can’t tell what you’re getting at.
One problem with gang members killing off other gang members is that, being by definition stupid, they occasionally kill off perfectly innocent people they mistakenly believe to be gang members. I see this fairly frequently in the papers; here’s a very recent case: Dennys Guzman-Saenz, a clean kid, was mistaken for a gang member and stabbed 70 times by a rival gang (Washington Post link requires registering an e-mail address but is free).
Definitely not a good thing. Even if you don’t give a damn about the gangbanger who died, gang violence is always bad for the neighborhood.
I’m another chiming in for “It’s a bad thing because it’s bad for the neighborhood.” Bullets don’t know who they hit.
I think you do have a point. I don’t think gang bangers are intrinsically evil. I think in many cases they really don’t know any other way of life. In addition to the issue of many poor neighborhoods being lawless zones, you also have the issue that in areas where the education system is piss poor, being a drug dealer or gang banger may look like the only realistic way to get any money or respect from people.
This is why I do believe in programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters. Kids in these kinds of neighborhoods need positive role models to show them there are other options in life.
Not at all true. There is definitely gang activity in my very safe town. There is a very active part of the police department tracking gang activity, and they’ve managed to keep gang violence down, but the gangs are still there. It is a social thing.
As for the OP, the news is better than the news that the gang killed some innocent kid either in the wrong place at the wrong time or wearing the wrong colors, or some totally innocent bystander who got hit by a stray bullet - sometimes in their houses.
I’m not thrilled by it, but my first reaction is “One more scumbag off the streets”.
The point that so many of us are trying to make is that when a gang member is shot it will be followed by more shootings. It’s likely that innocent people will be hurt at some point, even if it didn’t happen this time.
Oops - I accidentally attributed the above quote to Alessan and didn’t get back in time to edit the posting. Sorry about that.
If/when I hear about it its usually motorcycle gangs and I know way too many bikers from way too many years of riding. Sometimes I know both parties involved. OK - that lifestyle isn’t my thing. But I still don’t like seeing names I know in the news like that.
I think it’s one of the saddest circles of life. gangsters are often kids who were born unwanted, raised in abusive, neglectful or drug-ridden homes, accepted by gangs, possibly the first real “family” experience they’ve ever had, and end up in prison or dead. it’s a life that was doomed from the day the miracle of conception happened, and it’s a waste and I hate it.
not to mention we bankroll the intervention, enforcement, punishment and other consequences, and none of that money is putting a dent in the problem.
I don’t think it’s a “good” thing, but I will certainly not mourn his loss or give it any second thought.