Why does LA have such Bad Gang Problem (Los Angeles, Compton: crime, house)

[shannon94]

Again.....nice post Sassberto!!

[Vicman]

I want to see if there is a followup to the article. Maybe the lack of poor people in the Westside and the new schools built in other neighborhoods caused LAUSD to change the attendance zones of the Westside high schools.

EDIT: Letters to the editor regarding the gangsters leaving the Los Angeles Westside: - Los Angeles CityBeat

[Hungry For Cheese]

L.A. has such a bad gang problem because of how the city allowed immigrants to come here illegally, followed by bad parenting. Like mentioned, education isn't valued and it is better for them to quit school to get a job and help the family. Only working the local store making pennies doesn't help much and selling drugs and getting into criminal activity does. They see the cars, jewelry etc and are enticed.
Of course there are some who honestly want to believe this is their own Wild Wild West and in some way believe this is their land and they are entitled to it. There are 14-21 year olds who REALLY go around thinking this is the only way of life. It's the best thing in the world for them. Plus they are lazy and the cool thing is to be ignorant and 'gangsta" these days.

IMO, they should all be killed and not placed in prison or sent back "home".

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by kgee

L.A. has such a bad gang problem because of how the city allowed immigrants to come here illegally, followed by bad parenting. Like mentioned, education isn't valued and it is better for them to quit school to get a job and help the family. Only working the local store making pennies doesn't help much and selling drugs and getting into criminal activity does. They see the cars, jewelry etc and are enticed.
Of course there are some who honestly want to believe this is their own Wild Wild West and in some way believe this is their land and they are entitled to it. There are 14-21 year olds who REALLY go around thinking this is the only way of life. It's the best thing in the world for them. Plus they are lazy and the cool thing is to be ignorant and 'gangsta" these days.

IMO, they should all be killed and not placed in prison or sent back "home".

So the Crips and Bloods were started by illegal immigrants? Last time I checked there were latino and black gangs in LA going back to the late 50's. Please explain.

[ibarrio]

Bravo Sassberto! You are 100% correct.

Not the questions should be. What does one say about the current American society/culture that glamorizes being a thug and gangster?

The MTV/BET Hiphop culture that shows flashy cars, women, and jewelry.

A culture that appeals not only to black and latino youth...but white mid American youth.

Many youth in Los Angeles (white,black,latino,asian) would rather emulate a lifestyle they cannot achieve then receive an education that is free to them. Education has no value across the board. Parenting is bad across the board.

Mom and dad are working two jobs so the family can live in a $500,000 home.

Johnny and Juan go to a school in which the Teachers are poorly paid and unappreciated. The good teachers leave for better jobs (non teaching) or to others states that do not require the battery of testing and credentialing that California does.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by StriderMatic

There are documentaries available about gangs in L.A.

Black gangs were started as social organizations like the Black Panther party, but degenerated into criminal groups as social problems improved and new generations of gang members came up. A lot of the original gang members realize their mistakes and do activism to stop gangs but it's beyond their control now.

As far as why there are (so many) Mexican gangs, who knows

Asian gangs do dirty work for the Asian Mafia groups and are mostly about periodically bullying storekeepers for money. Also I don't know how many Asian gangs there are in LA, but heard more about those that are in San Francisco.

Whenever you have an influx of anyone into a particular area and tensions rise, gangs usually form out of protection. When blacks went to LA in droves, they faced harrassment from other ethnic groups and formed gangs for protection. Part of this is lack of trust in law enforcement and in many cases the failure of law enforcement to SERVE and PROTECT. The rule was police officers were there to serve and protect, if you were white. If you were a minority during the Great Migration(1900s to 1960s), the police in many cases(more so than today) did the opposite of serve and protect.
There have been gangs for ages. When the Irish and Italian immigrants settled in New York, they faced ethnic tensions and in many cases, they would form gangs to protect their neighborhoods. Eventually, criminal activities resulted.

[THASPECIAL]

Originally Posted by Sorcerer68

Are you kidding? Miami has some of the most terrifying gangs in the nation. L.A. isn't any worse than Chicago or NYC. Big cities all have crime, gangs, traffic and pollution. To avoid them, move to the boonies.

You are right.........i am from Miami. I love it there but its not all South Beach there....if you think it is you probably lived inside your house all your life or on the Beach (on your beach towel to be exact) down there. The "Cocaine Cowboys" era of MiAMI brought a new style of criminal to Miami in the 80's and was the main entrance point for Cocaine in the U.S. at that time and alot of those drugs stayed in the city and created alot of addicts. Miami does have ghetto areas just like Compton and Watts......Not as strong of a gang presense in Miami because its more about drug dealing in Miami and thugs looking to rob people for drugs or money.......its more about making money in Miami than about being in a gang for loyalty and protection even though drug sales is what most gangs use to make money.....i am just saying that the "gang mentality" is less in Miami than L.A......but it is more alot of thugs in Miami just trying to make money whatever way they can but there is some gangs in Miami just not the way L.A. is.....Whoever said Miami was paradise compared to L.A. is oblivious.....both cities have major bad areas.....just different ways of doing things

[Vicman]

Besides West L. A., do you know any areas that have street punks and inner city thugs leaving in droves?

[warmweather!]

Originally Posted by marilyn220

Let's just say Mexicans do NOT respect education or believe in abortion or birth control.

If someone does not believe in abortion or birth control does that automatically mean that they are a bad dirty person or a criminal or gang member???? That is just their political/moral beliefs that they stand on.

[Lakewooder]

You have to admit the new arrivals from Mexico are from farms and ranches in basically third-world atmospheres. A bit different from the earlier immigrants.