If you want to know how to stop gang violence, you should delve into the psychology of the gang members and learn what motivates them and what compelled them to be part of the gang to begin with. Gangs are there because they have become the very monster they were trying to kill. Some of the deadliest gangs in the world today were formed as a result of rebellion against victimization. The Italian Mafia – was once nothing but a group of scared peasants who banded together to protect themselves from the atrocities of an oppressive government in early 20th century Italy.
The Chinese triads, was a bunch of peasants who grouped together to protect themselves from highwaymen and soon they became highwaymen themselves and today they are the world’s largest crime syndicate. Likewise, the deadly Latin American gang MS-13 was born as a result of latinos huddling together to protect themselves from African American and white gangs. The deadly Crips gang was also born the same way. One thing become very clear from this – gangs are formed because people huddle together to protect themselves from oppressors. This is due to lack of security. The feeling to be protected and be a part of something is a basic human need. And sometimes, people join the wrong group of people in order to sate this yearn for belonging.
To know how to stop gang violence, you should know what causes young people to join gangs. Loneliness can drive people to become a part of something. Young men and women should instead be involved in something constructive like sports. Most people join gangs to bring excitement to what is otherwise a monotonous and unrewarding life. Joining a gang presents adventure and opportunity and the lure is hard to resist for some. Instead, if people embark on fruitful careers, careers, not jobs, they will find life to be very rewarding and they will hence have faith in the system and in society.
But there is one group of people who come across as wolves in sheep’s clothing and they can be much worse than gangs – religious people. Religions these days are nothing but gangs on a massive scale and there have been lots of cases throughout history of people using the fear of god as a crutch to manipulate people into doing their own bidding. The most famous of these cases is Charles Manson – leader of the world’s most notorious quasi-religious cult.