Newman 1 LawsonAdvanced English 717 April 2000Gangs and Teenage Violence A gang is a group of people who interact among themselves. Teen violence is contributed to these gangs. Most gangs claim neighborhoods as their territory and try to control everything inside that territory. This kind of antisocial behavior is a major problem in American Society. Gang members are typical members of the same ethnic group. Fear and hatred for people of another race is called xenophobia. People who are victims of racism are often racists themselves. Rap music often features lyrics that are offensive to Asians, Jews, and African Americans. Earlier this century, the United States was divided into ghettos. Those days’ gangs were from all races. Gangs today sell drugs to every race and share or compete for street corners. Most of gang’s enemies are gang members of the same background. The Crips and Bloods continuously wage war at one or another. They even shoot members of the same ethnic group. One type of racist gangs is the Skinheads. Skinheads take their name and style from British working class gangs from the 1970's. A shaved head is a characteristic of this style. Not all skinheads believe in supremacy of the white race. The skinheads who do believe in white supremacy are believed to be apart of the fastest growing hate group in the United States. The numbers of hate groups seem to be declining. The fastest growing hate group consists mostly of young people from the ages 16 to 25. White racism is a social problem. Membership of the 125-year-old Klu Klux Klan is at an all time low. The Klan was formed in the south after the Civil War. Members of the Klan often hanged or burned blacks. Few skinheads have joined the Klan and many have joined a group called WAR. Gangs began to form in th...
