Breaking the Chain of Violence
_ G O D _
North American Transnational Youth Gangs: Breaking the Chain of Violence
by Stephen Johnson and David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/UrbanIssues/bg1834.cfm
Youth gangs are nothing new. They appeared in New York City
and Philadelphia at the end of the American Revolution. Their
numbers and violence correspond to peak levels of immigration
and population shifts that occurred in the early 1800s, 1920s,
1960s, and late 1990s. Entrenched in American culture, gangs
are romanticized in movies while rap artists copy their dress
and jargon. However, because of their growing membership
and globalization, gangs have become a public security threat
that must be addressed.
Gangs once provided outlets for marginalized youths to socialize,
control territory, and release aggression. More recently, some
have evolved into informally affiliated international criminal networks.
Two predominantly Hispanic gangs䊼alle 18 and Mara Salvatrucha
began to proliferate in Los Ange衍es during the 1960s and now
have fraternal links to some 130,000 to 300,000 members in
Mexico and Central America and have expanded across the
United States to major cities and rural communities on the
Eastern Seaboard.
Gang activities range from defending neighbor虐ood turf to armed
robbery, extortion, alien smug茆ling, and arms and drug trafficking.
Gangs provide a handy supply of young collaborators for organized
crime. Their transnational nature is facilitated by fluid migration
across porous national borders, incarceration with experienced
criminals in U.S. prisons, and the weak rule of law in Mexico and
Central America. Although no hard evidence links them with terrorist
networks, transnational gangs are a potential menace to the stability
of North Ameri苞an neighbors of the United States.
Read more @
http://www.heritage.org/Research/UrbanIssues/bg1834.cfm
--
_____________________________________________________
I intend to last long enough to put out of business all COck-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
___________________________________________________
--