The Sad Story Behind Gangsters Analysis

The Sad Story Behind Gangsters The start of life, childhood is often a very simple yet complicated time which has most influence on a person’s life. Most people 's childhoods will have a big impact on the type of adult they turn out to be later in life. There are warmhearted and sagacious kids who turn into brilliant adults. Besides, there are also enraged and immoral kids who become perilous gangsters, the dangerous criminals. The reasons why kids become criminals and join gangs are caused by the people they encountered and the things they experienced which have negative influence on them. The physical abuse which are acted upon kids can make them suffer psychological pain and become egocentric; moreover, they might engage in criminal behavior …show more content…
In “Poor Parenting Causes Some Children to Join Gangs”, Yablonsky, a writer, states that kids who are physically abused “denigrate themselves, feel worthless and are less likely to care about what happens to them.” (20) Yablonsky claims that physical abuse can make kids feel depressed and terrified which then develop low self-esteem and the kids might feel that they are worthless to live in this world. As a result, they do whatever they want without caring the consequences. Therefore, kids who are physically abused are more likely to commit crimes. In Always Running, Luis Rodriguez, a writer and a former gangster, writes about one of a gangster’s youth life “whenever she lost, her older brothers would slice her tongue with a razor. She wasn’t ever supposed to lose. This made her meaner, crazier – unpredictable.” (106) These words indicate that some people falsely believe that beating is a good discipline to make the kids stronger and better than others. However, this is not a discipline, but this is a kind of physical abuse. This just makes the kids feel timid to lose to others because they know that they might get abused if they lose. Hence, they become mean ,and they bully others which might lead them to engage in criminal behavior. Thus, kids who are physically abused might develop sociopathic personalities which make them …show more content…
According to Yablonsky, “a child can’t learn to be compassionate if he never sees any example of caring in his crucial early years.” (23) Yablonsky believes that kids need to learn from adults how to care others, since kids are new to life, and they are very dependent upon adults to live properly. Their personalities are what they learn from adults by imitating. Similarly, if they are physically abused, they might not know how to care others, and they only realize how to abuse others. In “A Need for Power and Respect Encourages Gang Behavior”, Isis Sapp-Grant, a social worker and a former gangster, states that “the way I felt was, no one cared about me and so I wasn’t going to care about them.” (28) Isis claims that kids’ reactions are what they receive from others. If a kid is cared and loved by others, he will also care them back. On the other hand, if a kid is physically abused, he will not care others, and he might become egocentric which might lead him to engage in criminal behavior. Luis also states his early youth that “years of rage erupted out of me.” (87) These words show that he was physically abused by others when he was young, and his anger and humiliation were accumulated little by little. When he was strong enough, his rage erupted which causes him to commit violence and join gangs. Therefore, physical abuse does not teach kids how to be compassionate, but it might lead them