GANGS Essays (1641 words) - Crime, Criminology, Urban Decay

GANGS Essays (1641 words) - Crime, Criminology, Urban Decay GANGS OVERVIEW OF GANGS Originally the word gang had no negative connotation. In Old English, gang simply referred to a "number of people who went around together-a group." Today a gang can be defined in four basic ways: ? an organized group with a leader ? a unified group that usually remains together during peaceful times as well as times of conflict ? a group whose members show unity through clothing, language ? a group whose activities are criminal or threatening to the larger society. Gangs are one of the results of poverty, discrimination and urban deterioration. Some experts believe that young people, undereducated and without access to good jobs, become frustrated with their lives and join gangs as an alternative to boredom, hopelessness and devastating poverty. Studies have attempted to determine why gangs plague some communities but there has been no definitive answer. As a result, people working to solve gang problems have great difficulty. They find the situation overwhelming, and the violence continues. EARLY GANGS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY No groups completely fitting the above description of gangs existed in America until the early 1800s, but from the beginning of the European settlement in America there was gang-like activity, especially when class distinctions came into being. Gang members tended to be from the poorer classes and tended to be from the same race or ethnic background. They banded together for protection, recreation or financial gain. THE 20TH CENTURY GANGS In the early 1900s the U.S. economy worsened, the population grew at a rapid pace, and the gap between the rich and poor widened. All across the nation gangs appeared where poor, hopeless people lived. The dawning of the 20th century also brought with it a widespread use of firearms. 1920s By mid 1920s there were 1313 gangs in Chicago and more than 25,000 members. Gang warfare in Chicago was widespread and fighting took place along ethnic, cultural and racial lines. Some gangs had no noticeable cultural, ethnic or national ties and consisted mostly of whites. Chicano Gangs The 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of Chicano (Mexican-American) gangs in Los Angeles. By the 1940s Chicano gangs established their place in Los Angeles-their zoot suits (a style of dress incorporating tapered pants, long wide- shoulder coats and broad-brimmed hats) had become a familiar sight. Fighting back against harassment of white residents and visiting soldiers during the so-called zoot suit riots in 1943 strengthened their cause. Post World War II After World War II gang membership: 1.became younger, 2.the nationality of the membership became largely non-white (though Italians, Irish and other white ethnic groups still made up a percentage), 3.drugs became a more publicized concern, 4.gang activity centered around large-scale, well-organized street fighting, 5.fire-arms were used more often, 6.the structure of organization became more rigid, 7.and society at large became concerned with gangs as a social problem and worked toward rehabilitation. Changes in Ethnic Populations The 1950s During the 1950s gang fighting rose to an all time high in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Cleveland. Gang members were usually in their teens. Codes of dress (black leather jackets were popular) and mannerisms were an important means of identification. Body language said a lot about the nature of the gang. When a gang decided to become a fighting, or "bopping" gang, its members immediately took on a different way of walking. A rhythmic gait, characterized by the forward movement of the head with each step. Terms for fighting were: bopping, rumbling, jitterbugging. Gang members used guns, knives, and homemade weapons. Most common drugs-alcohol, marijuana, heroin. New York gangs fought along racial lines-African-American, white, Puerto Rican. Usually they fought over girls or turf. Turf could be anything from a few blocks to an entire neighborhood. Gang members believed it was essential to protect the honor of their girlfr! iends. And in the late 1950, girl gangs, with strong ties to boy gangs, began to form. Revenge was required by an inflexible code of gang loyalty. It was from such incidents that gangs drew their sense of pride, of "being somebody." In order to combat the rise of violence, organizations like the New York City Youth Board sent social workers into the slums to form relationships with the gangs. In some

John Muir Biography

John Muir Biography John Muir is a significant figure of the 19th century as he stood opposed to the exploitation of natural resources at a time when many believed the resources of the earth were infinite. Muirs writings were influential, and as co-founder and first president of the Sierra Club, he was an icon and inspiration to the conservation movement. He is widely remembered as the father of the National Parks. As a young man, Muir demonstrated an unusual talent for building and maintaining mechanical devices. And his skill as a machinist might have made a very good living in a rapidly industrializing society. Yet his love of nature drew him away from workshops and factories. And he would joke about how he gave up pursuing the life of a millionaire to live like a tramp. Early Life John Muir was born at Dunbar, Scotland on April 21, 1838. As a small boy, he enjoyed the outdoors, climbing hills and rocks in the rough Scottish countryside. His family sailed to America in 1849 with no apparent destination in mind but wound up settling on a farm in Wisconsin. Muir’s father was tyrannical and ill-suited to farm life, and young Muir, his brothers and sisters, and his mother did much of the work on the farm. After receiving some infrequent schooling and educating himself by reading what he could, Muir was able to attend the University of Wisconsin to study science. He gave up college to pursue various jobs which relied on his unusual mechanical aptitude. As a young man, he received recognition for being able to make working clocks out of carved wooden pieces and also inventing various useful gadgets. Travels to the American South and West During the Civil War, Muir moved across the border to Canada to avoid being conscripted. His action was not viewed as a terribly controversial maneuver at a time when others could legally buy their way out of the draft. After the war, Muir moved to Indiana, where he used his mechanical skills in factory work until an accident nearly blinded him. With his sight mostly restored, he fixated on his love of nature and decided to see more of the United States. In 1867 he embarked on an epic hike from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico. His ultimate goal was to visit South America. After reaching Florida, Muir became ill in the tropical climate. He abandoned his plan to go to South America, and eventually caught a boat to New York, where he then caught another boat that would take him â€Å"around the horn† to California. John Muir arrived in San Francisco in late March 1868. That spring he walked to the place that would become his spiritual home, Californias spectacular Yosemite Valley. The valley, with its dramatic granite cliffs and majestic waterfalls, touched Muir deeply and he found it difficult to leave. At that time, parts of Yosemite were already protected from development, thanks to the Yosemite Valley Grant Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Early tourists were already coming to view the astonishing scenery, and Muir took a job working in a sawmill owned by one of the early innkeepers in the valley. Muir stayed in the vicinity of Yosemite, exploring the area, for most of the next decade. Settling Down, for a Time After returning from a trip to Alaska to study glaciers in 1880, Muir married Louie Wanda Strentzel, whose family owned a fruit ranch not far from San Francisco. Muir began working the ranch, and became reasonably prosperous in the fruit business, thanks to the attention to detail and enormous energy he typically poured into his pursuits. Yet the life of a farmer and businessman didn’t satisfy him. Muir and his wife had a somewhat unconventional marriage for the time. As she recognized that he was most happy in his travels and explorations, she encouraged him to travel while she remained at home on their ranch with their two daughters. Muir often returned to Yosemite, and also made several more trips to Alaska. Yosemite National Park Yellowstone was named the first National Park in the United States in 1872, and Muir and others began to campaign in the 1880s for the same distinction for Yosemite. Muir published a series of magazine articles making his case for further protection of Yosemite. Congress passed legislation declaring Yosemite a National Park in 1890, thanks in large part to Muir’s advocacy. The Founding of the Sierra Club A magazine editor with whom Muir had worked, Robert Underwood Johnson, suggested that some organization should be formed to continue to advocate for Yosemite’s protection. In 1892, Muir and Johnson founded the Sierra Club, and Muir served as its first president. As Muir put it, the Sierra Club was formed to â€Å"do something for wildness and make the mountains glad.† The organization continues at the forefront of the environmental movement today, and Muir, of course, is a powerful symbol of the club’s vision. Friendships When the writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Yosemite in 1871, Muir was virtually unknown and still working in a sawmill. The men met and became good friends, and continued corresponding after Emerson returned to Massachusetts. John Muir gained considerable fame in his life through his writings, and when notable people visited California and specifically Yosemite they often sought his insights. In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt visited Yosemite and was guided about by Muir. The two men camped under the stars in the Mariposa Grove of giant Sequoia trees, and their campfire conversation helped form Roosevelts own plans for conserving Americas wilderness. The men also posed for an iconic photograph atop Glacier Point. When Muir died in 1914, his obituary in the New York Times noted his friendships with Thomas Edison and President Woodrow Wilson. Legacy In the 19th century, many Americans believed natural resources should be consumed with no limits. Muir was utterly opposed to this concept, and his writings presented an eloquent counterpoint to the exploitation of the wilderness. Its difficult to imagine the modern conservation movement without the influence of Muir. And to this day he casts an enormous shadow over how people live, and conserve, in the modern world.