Question

Describe what you learned about gang life (or found most interesting about gang life) from viewing the video World’s Most Dangerous Gang. Don’t focus a lot on numerical information (like how many gang members are in a particular gang). Most of your focus should be on discussing how MS-13 compares to the Black Kings gang that was discussed in Gang Leader for a Day. Mention both some similarities between the two gangs and some differences between them.

Answer 1

Most gang members are exposed to gangs at a young age. The money and respect that older gang members earn impresses them. They may begin hanging around gang members, finding out who is important and learning what the gang does. This can happen as early as age 10 or 11. Gangs intentionally recruit children and use them to carry weapons and drugs or commit other crimes because they tend to attract less attention from police. If caught they serve shorter sentences in juvenile detention centers than an adult gang member would serve in prison.

When a new member joins a gang, he must usually go through an initiation. Initiations don't usually involve elaborate ceremonies or formalities, but the initiate will have to endure certain rites. The most common is "jumping in," a beating issued by all the gang members. Gangs that accept female gang members sometimes rape them as their initiation. Instead of a "jumping in," or sometimes following it, the new gang member must participate in a mission. This can be anything from stealing a car to engaging in a firefight with a rival gang. Some gangs don't consider anyone a full member until they have shot or killed someone. Getting a tattoo with gang symbols may be another part of the initiation.

Daily gang life is generally not very exciting. Gang members sleep late, sit around the neighborhood, drink and do drugs and possibly go to a meeting place in the evening, such as a pool hall or roller rink. They may work a street corner selling drugs or commit petty crimes like vandalism or theft. The notion of respect drives gang life almost completely, and for many gang members, gaining respect means committing violent crimes. While it is relatively rare compared to their other activities, gangs do assault, shoot and assassinate people for money, turf, pride or revenge.

Only a few gangs have far-reaching influences and run like a business. These are sometimes called "supergangs." For the most part, a street gang has a rough hierarchy based on experience — members who have spent time in jail or have participated in serious crimes get the most respect. However, age often divides gangs into groups, with senior groups, junior groups and younger initiates. Senior members do not always have leadership over the younger groups, though — it all depends on street status.

MS-13-

Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Over time, the gang grew into a more traditional criminal organization. MS-13 is defined by its cruelty, and its rivalry with the 18th Street Gang.

Many MS-13 members were deported to El Salvador after the close of the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992, or upon being arrested, facilitating the spread of the gang to Central America. The gang is currently active in many parts of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Most members are Central American, Salvadorans in particular.

As an international gang, its history is closely tied to United States–El Salvador relations. In 2018, the gang's US membership of up to 10,000 accounted for less than 1% of the 1.4 million gang members in the United States, and a similar share of gang murders. The gang is often referenced by the United States' Republican Party to advocate for anti-immigrant policies.

The black Kings-

When privilege speaks to poverty, the results can be disconcerting or even quirky. But it is always fascinating, for the two are not supposed to talkrather poverty is not supposed to talk, except in crime and charity. In academics it is best represented in statistical snapshots. But when a sociology student who doesnt believe in going by the book decides to study urban poverty, he has to cross the line. So the ponytailed privilege from the prestigious University of Chicago embeds itself in the most notorious ghetto of Chicago, courtesy the gang leader of the area who takes a liking to this oddball Professor.

He never imagined that as a result of this assignment he would befriend a gang leader named JT and spend the better part of a decade embedded inside the projects under JT’s protection. From a privileged position of unprecedented access, Venkatesh observed JT and the rest of his gang as they operated their crack-selling business, made peace with their neighbors, evaded the law, and rose up or fell within the ranks of the gang’s complex hierarchical structure. Examining the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, and often corrupt struggle to survive in an urban war zone.