What can be done about the gang problem in US?

[Pekka]

I just read AS's thread about an incident in Philly, so I thought I'd make this thread since I can't remember discussing about this, ever.

I've read few books about it, written mostly by former gang members who are now in jail (like Kody Scott etc).

So, what can be done about it? It's like ME.. Do people there really care about it? Young men (and women too) shooting each other with record pace? What should be done?

[SlowwHand]

If the gangs would limit themselve to shooting each other, eventually the problem will solve itself.

Other than that, load their asses on the boat to Cuba.

[Pekka]

If you had your ways Sloww.. Cuba would be one helluva place to visit

I believe they mainly shoot each other, or at least try to. Some collateral damage happens every now and then..
But to me it seems like no matter how much they kill each other, there will be just more and more gang members and younger and younger. I can't remember the figures, but it was something astronomical about how many there are.

[st_swithin]

I often wish someone would shoot me. I can't afford a gun.

Oh, and yesterday was Nikola Tesla's birthday.

[MikeH]

Simple. Reduce the gap between rich and poor rather than increasing it.

[Sava]

It would be nice if we could take away some of their money making criminal ventures.... like legalizing drugs and undercutting their business. We could pass gun control laws to decrease the likelihood of so-called "law abiding citizens" from funneling legally bought guns to gangs. We could insititute job creating economic policies to decrease unemployment in urban areas. We could give proper funding to inner-city schools and decent pay to teachers to encourage more people to become teachers so that inner-city kids have an opprotunity to live productive, crime-free lives. We could stop wasting law-enforcement resources on unproductive means (such as drugs, safety-nazi-traffic laws, etc) so that cops can patrol and enforce law in urban areas...

there are lots to do... but some politicians don't care.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by MikeH
Simple. Reduce the gap between rich and poor rather than increasing it.

I think there would be a revolution if we instituted Finland style tax rates.

[SlowwHand]

You shouldn't say things like that, st_swithin.
Not the birthday remeberance, the other.

I think I may need to start a thread about something I've been trying to ignore.

[Sava]

I think there would be a revolution if we instituted Finland style tax rates.

yeah, working class people would rise up and remove the super-rich influence in Washington...

[Pekka]

You can also talk about other countries problems with gangs and violence related to it.

MikeH, But that's impossible. At least in the next 100 years it is.. I don't think US wants to become socialist .

[MikeH]

I know but as long as you have people living in such relative poverty you're going to have them turning to crime as a way out of it.

[DinoDoc]

Rich people don't commit crimes?

[Al B. Sure!]

actually, gangs, as portrayed in movies and what not, are a rarity now... they were very common in the 80's and early 90's when i was growing up but my generation apparently never got into it too much so you'll never see gangs fighting over colours and **** like that. in some predominately white poor neighbourhoods in philly (in south and the northeast) you will see some people behaving like gangsters did ten years ago and they do criminal behaviour but i got a feeling they're more playing gangster than anything else, even if somebody does get killed.

the problem is crews... a drug dealer has a problem with someone, so he gets his friends to roll on whoever he got a problem with... some guy got a problem with another guy over a woman and they get their crews to fight it out... not gangs per se but thats whats most common here and thats what i suspect that incident i referred to in north philly was about... a conflict between individuals escalating into war between their friends.

there's also the matter of young boys playing tough... in all seriousness, most people my age are either drug dealers, drug addicts, in jail, or they're working a job and being good... the people who go around car-jacking, robbing random people, beating up people, toting guns, etc. are almost always 14 year old boys who run the streets, trying to play tough. they're also the ones who usually go around rolling on out of towners and claiming they repping Girard or Hunting Park or Olney or whatever...

[MikeH]

Rich people don't commit as many crimes. They also are a lot less likely to end up selling crack on street corners and shooting each other. I don't think that's a controversial statement.

[Pekka]

Seems like the only way to get away from that violence (if you live there) is to get educated and leave. Are there any real attempts and projects to raise the level of education in problem areas? Encouraging youth to make it themselves and get out.

But I guess that has been tried before and didn't really work out good. Maybe they should invest more money to it? Or how about a good army program, you get pinched with illegal gun, they send you to army. Or any other minor offence.. instead of jail, you have to go to army. For few years.. that could straighten out few souls?