For some teens who have unstable or dysfunctional home lives, gangs fill the role of families. Joining a gang seems like a logical choice, as gangs promise them a place where they feel accepted and cared for. Teens who feel isolated from the conventional world and outcast from their peers might consider joining a gang a logical choice. When teens feel neglected, unloved, or out of place in their world, they quite naturally seek ways to fill the void in their lives. Gangs offer them the things they long for the most, and so joining a gang might seem like a logical way to end their unhappiness.
Gangs also offer opportunities to make money, even though the opportunities typically involve criminal activities. To teens who live in poverty and are denied many comforts and conveniences, joining a gang gives them a way to afford the things they need and want. Also, teens who live in poverty often live in high-crime areas. Because they feel threatened in their environments, joining a gang might seem logical because gangs promise to protect their members. These promises, however, are false ones, as gangs, by nature, are dysfunctional and people join them to escape dysfunction. Teens who join gangs for the promise of stability find that life in the gang is not at all stable, but tumultuous and unpredictable. Gangs thrive on conflict, and their members commit crimes or delinquent acts and engage in self-sabotaging behavior.
In chapter two of Real Gangstas, Lauger describes how most young people do not join gangs. He suggests that only about five percent of youths have ever been in a gang, only two percent are currently in a gang, and even seventy to eighty percent of youths in at-risk communities do not join gangs.
So, what is the reasoning—both logical and dysfunctional—behind the decisions of those young people who DO choose to join a gang?
Family Life and Street Participation: Participation in a gang can serve as an appealing alternative for youths who come from troubled homes where abuse, hostility, disruptions, and low-level parent supervision is prevalent. While these factors themselves do not necessarily result in gang membership, these factors do result in young people entering the streets at a much earlier age. It is the conditions of the streets, without the support of a stable home or family setting, that can then cause a youth to decide to join a gang.
Conflict, Protection, and Respect: Living on the streets means dealing with unending threats. One mistake—whether through a drug deal, a sexual partner, or elsewhere—could result in danger and victimization. Thus, many youth logically choose to join gangs as a way of negotiating and surviving the dangers surrounding them. Being out of a gang when gangs are prevalent can actually, thus, seem more dangerous. Youth are afforded protection and a sense of respect in this way.
Money and Gang Lifestyle: When emerging from poverty, the lifestyle afforded by being in a gang can seem incredibly attractive. Youth who are otherwise not old enough to enter a legitimate job market may begin selling drugs for gang members or participating in other illicit activities. The culture of superficiality and self-indulgence that surrounds these gangs seems appealingly extravagant. The truth is that this lifestyle can be very lucrative; it provides fast cash through the diverse channels of this underground economy. It provides learning opportunities and social contact with a group of "loyal" friends.
Social relationships: Again, on that note, we can understand that being in a gang provides a substitute for family or friend relationships that may otherwise be lacking in a youth's life. This creates a strong sense of belonging—of social integration when one was once forced into isolation and loneliness.
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