In this article, the author gathers information on gang members from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, digging deeper into the lives of gangs. The author also gives us a new perspective by adding in many unexpected and surprising statements, including: “The pain,” he said, “seems a small price for a new life. I dream of being clean, even if it means being scarred.” (Quoted by gang member Christian Antunez during a tattoo removal process). By giving us a clear dominant and counter culture, we can piece together information to form a hypothesis, draw a conclusion, and think like a sociologist would.
• What is the dominant culture? Counter Culture?
I came to the conclusion that the dominant culture is the government, police force, and what would be considered “normal society”. Based on the fact that society and the government are trying to disband the counter culture, or what I concluded to be the gangs and gang affiliated members. This quote can be used to see that link: "People deserve protection," he added. "And I believe gang members are terrorizing our communities." • What taboos are committed by each group? Taboos are definitely committed by both the dominant and counter cultures. The dominant culture, or society/government, has been proved to murder the gang members and/or take massive, unnecessary abusive measures towards the counter culture. The counter culture, on the other hand, seems to be taboo all on its own, everything, according to the dominant culture, is bad and deserves punishment: As read on the first page, “Society thinks that we are monsters” Mr. Antunez said. “The police want us dead. That’s why we do this. If we do not take off these tattoos, we will never be able to live in peace.” (Also quoted by Antunez during the tattoo removal). • What has the dominant culture done to enforce rules? The dominant culture, government in this case, has done quite a lot of unsuccessful methods to enforce the rules/laws. …show more content…
For one, throwing everyone in jail that has a gang tattoo, talks to gang members, and are suspicious of gang activity is something they try to do, although it is highly ineffective. The zero-tolerance laws known as Mano Dura (or roughly ‘firm hand’) allows the presidents of both Honduras and El Salvador to send men to jail for simply having a gang tattoo. For two, they have deported many gang members who are illegal immigrants, sending them back to the country where this behavior is rooted. “An increasing number of gang members are seeking asylum in the United States. Still, the federal government continues the deportations that started the cycle of violence 10 years ago.” The U.S. deported more than 78,000criminal illegal immigrants. 7,000+ to Honduras, and 2,000 to El Salvador from 200 to 2003. • Material and Non material items in the cultures? In the dominant culture, prisons and weaponry seem to be possible material items, while violence and the law seem to be non-material items. In the counter culture, the material items seem to be tattoos, clothing, and their art form of graffiti, while their non-material items are music, hand signs, nicknames, attitude, and their values of life, clearly expressed in these paragraphs: “Gangsta rap pumps raw and angry. Maximum-security perimeters are covered with graffiti. Restless young men pace like caged tigers. They wear baggy jeans, shaved heads and hardened stares. Their bodies are tattooed with serpentine numbers and letters that looked scrawled by the hand of the Devil. They greet each other with the strange hand signs and call each other “homies.” And when they introduce themselves, they turn on the bravado and use …show more content…
“Sixty-eight people, most of them members of Mara 18, died in a fire at a prison called El Porvenir. The authorities at the prison said the gang members shot other prisoners and then barricaded themselves in their cellblock and set a suicidal fire. An investigation by a presidential commission, however, found that 59 of the victims were stabbed, shot, and burned to death by guards and soldiers. Some, the authorities say, were gunned down as they ran out of the fire with their hands in the air.” The government wants peace for their citizens and society so they would rather murder these gang members and attempt to cover up their tracks to do so, instead of working with the counter culture to fix behavior and
• What is the dominant culture? Counter Culture?
I came to the conclusion that the dominant culture is the government, police force, and what would be considered “normal society”. Based on the fact that society and the government are trying to disband the counter culture, or what I concluded to be the gangs and gang affiliated members. This quote can be used to see that link: "People deserve protection," he added. "And I believe gang members are terrorizing our communities." • What taboos are committed by each group? Taboos are definitely committed by both the dominant and counter cultures. The dominant culture, or society/government, has been proved to murder the gang members and/or take massive, unnecessary abusive measures towards the counter culture. The counter culture, on the other hand, seems to be taboo all on its own, everything, according to the dominant culture, is bad and deserves punishment: As read on the first page, “Society thinks that we are monsters” Mr. Antunez said. “The police want us dead. That’s why we do this. If we do not take off these tattoos, we will never be able to live in peace.” (Also quoted by Antunez during the tattoo removal). • What has the dominant culture done to enforce rules? The dominant culture, government in this case, has done quite a lot of unsuccessful methods to enforce the rules/laws. …show more content…
For one, throwing everyone in jail that has a gang tattoo, talks to gang members, and are suspicious of gang activity is something they try to do, although it is highly ineffective. The zero-tolerance laws known as Mano Dura (or roughly ‘firm hand’) allows the presidents of both Honduras and El Salvador to send men to jail for simply having a gang tattoo. For two, they have deported many gang members who are illegal immigrants, sending them back to the country where this behavior is rooted. “An increasing number of gang members are seeking asylum in the United States. Still, the federal government continues the deportations that started the cycle of violence 10 years ago.” The U.S. deported more than 78,000criminal illegal immigrants. 7,000+ to Honduras, and 2,000 to El Salvador from 200 to 2003. • Material and Non material items in the cultures? In the dominant culture, prisons and weaponry seem to be possible material items, while violence and the law seem to be non-material items. In the counter culture, the material items seem to be tattoos, clothing, and their art form of graffiti, while their non-material items are music, hand signs, nicknames, attitude, and their values of life, clearly expressed in these paragraphs: “Gangsta rap pumps raw and angry. Maximum-security perimeters are covered with graffiti. Restless young men pace like caged tigers. They wear baggy jeans, shaved heads and hardened stares. Their bodies are tattooed with serpentine numbers and letters that looked scrawled by the hand of the Devil. They greet each other with the strange hand signs and call each other “homies.” And when they introduce themselves, they turn on the bravado and use …show more content…
“Sixty-eight people, most of them members of Mara 18, died in a fire at a prison called El Porvenir. The authorities at the prison said the gang members shot other prisoners and then barricaded themselves in their cellblock and set a suicidal fire. An investigation by a presidential commission, however, found that 59 of the victims were stabbed, shot, and burned to death by guards and soldiers. Some, the authorities say, were gunned down as they ran out of the fire with their hands in the air.” The government wants peace for their citizens and society so they would rather murder these gang members and attempt to cover up their tracks to do so, instead of working with the counter culture to fix behavior and