Quote:
Originally posted by Sistermadly
P-n-C:
My take on "being in a gang" and "gang activity" is that a person who is in this situation is guilty by association. So that even if someone is in a gang (for self-preservation purposes, meaning that if they didn't join, the consequences would be far worse if they didn't affiliate), it doesn't automatically mean that this person is engaged in criminal activity.
People have a right to association, regardless of the association. So the act of just being in a gang is not in and of itself a criminal act. Are there criminal elements within gang assocations? Sure there are. The problem is that if you associate with something that has a negative connotation, you're going to be painted with that brush even if you never lift a finger and engage in any criminal activity.
Gangs and criminal activity aren't mutually exclusive terms, but at the same time, it isnt' an equivalent relationship.
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When I think of gangs, I think of the Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, Ghost Shadows, and the Mafia. They are associations formed in order to commit crimes. I think that in order to be initiated into a gang, they must commit crimes.
Anyway I googled this topic and found a site called the National Youth Gang Center which contains a page of
Frequently Asked Questions about gangs. It is interesting.
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